Recording of McCarthy talking about Gaetz pic.twitter.com/a2SmXgJCKt

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 26, 2022

Former speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), in a rare public appearance at AEI, expresses frustration that Donald Trump did not want to cut entitlement programs because doing so would prove unpopular pic.twitter.com/lEYoJm1gdj

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) April 27, 2022

Ryan has been unsurprisingly heaping praise on Reagan, and said George W. Bush's compassionate conservativism "never really took hold ... Because of circumstances — wars and the rest, I won’t get into it all”

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) April 27, 2022

Asked about the unpopularity of cuts to Social Security & Medicare, Ryan says he is working on a book project with a team of "about 18" other scholars. He says these programs are here to stay so we need "radical pragmatism" to ensure they work w/o causing a debt crisis

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) April 27, 2022

DeSantis vetoes bill that would've rolled back solar power credits in Florida https://t.co/vZ0T6q4ugo

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) April 28, 2022

Because Republicans in the legislature we're supportive of the bill, it would take I think three more votes in the Senate to hit 2/3 to override DeSantis's veto. A test, as one side is utilities that have been pushing the bill and the other is DeSantis's party discipline.

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) April 28, 2022

The Republican primary in Ohio is shaping up to be a nail-biter, with just days left till voters hit the polls in a high-profile U.S. Senate contest.

The race is also seen as a key test for former President Donald Trump’s position in the GOP.https://t.co/sJJuz52v4H

— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) May 1, 2022

“Advisers to Mr. Trump predict that he will simply dismiss any losses and instead highlight the races his candidates have won…

‘Remember, you know, my record is unblemished,’Mr. Trump said in an interview with The New York Times.
https://t.co/vGaQww5Lf5

— David Freedlander (@freedlander) May 1, 2022

JD Vance is the GOP Senate nominee in Ohio. Vance began the race behind other candidates and faced opposition from the powerful business group Club for Growth. Outside support from megadonor Peter Thiel and a last-minute endorsement from Trump buoyed him: https://t.co/9ffRIMkVNx

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 4, 2022

This sets up an interesting Senate race in Ohio. Both candidates are outliers in their parties. Vance has moved in a populist direction skeptical of monopoly power. As I wrote in July 2021: https://t.co/mwenWZaXEE pic.twitter.com/yJiLSyu24N

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 4, 2022

Meanwhile, Tim Ryan has eschewed some progressive messaging and has even adopted some of the right's language. In a recent ad, he boasted of supporting "Americans First": https://t.co/Y0R0grz7Ve

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 4, 2022

Ohio is a GOP-leaning state now. In 2020, it went to Donald Trump by eight points. Ryan is hoping by distancing himself from national progressives he can win back the rust belt state. Vance, on other hand, will no longer face GOP establishment opposition, and will unite party.

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 4, 2022

Yeah, it would be a trip to tell myself in 2004 that Ohio in 2020 was a solid red state and Georgia went blue. Still, who knows what the next 4-8 years will bring? https://t.co/fZLbaVsoNu

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 4, 2022

I was checking the outside spending in this race, and we don't have final numbers, but you can tell how much the $ revolved around Vance. He faced more attack ads than any candidate: $9 million, mostly by Club for Growth. Meanwhile, Peter Thiel outspent that on behalf of him.

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 4, 2022

In the past few years, George Soros has emerged as a major Dem donor willing to support insurgents in DA races against other establishment Dem donors. Peter Thiel may end up playing the same role against other established GOP/business side $. https://t.co/CGSQ7MmLXT

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 4, 2022

For those who are interested I reported a long piece in January 2021 about what GOP populism is shaping up to be. The main thing is: it's not aligned with lefty populism and it's not aligned with the GOP orthodoxy. Its its own thing: https://t.co/3ktVoB7kXG

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 4, 2022

America is a funny ass place. JD Vance is a Yale educated lawyer who went on to be a Venture Capitalist who exported jobs overseas and now he’s a “populist”. Rich people can really do whatever the hell they want https://t.co/TGgGVpgRtl

— Ryan Campbell (@BanUnsweetTea) May 4, 2022

Although politically history usually is elites vs elites (Vance grew up dirt poor but I don't think that's as relevant). More interesting what forms the currents that lead people to switch sides.

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 4, 2022

Plenty of politicians have some sort of bildungsroman thing going for them.
But not many write books that openly espouse Charles Murray. At least I don't THINK there're many....

— Bob Hutton (@HerecomesDrBob) May 4, 2022

https://t.co/G32LSdwMx6 I can think of one

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 4, 2022

And that was a waaaaaay more conservative version of Charles Murray

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 4, 2022

Oh indeed

— Bob Hutton (@HerecomesDrBob) May 4, 2022

True. But his poor and unstable upbringing resonates with folks.

— John Wilson (@JohnWilson) May 4, 2022

“I think Trump is going to run again in 2024,” J.D. Vance tells @jhensonpogue. “If I was giving him one piece of advice: Fire every single midlevel bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people.” https://t.co/dVEVjlLzzO

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) May 4, 2022

Republicans know overturning Roe isn’t popular pic.twitter.com/KJNh9kLPgd

— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) May 6, 2022