This piece originally appeared at Prototyping Politics.
There’s a familiar trope in Republican politics: a battle between an ascendant populist wing—now led by Vice President J.D. Vance—and an older libertarian orthodoxy, symbolized by Paul Ryan or even Ronald Reagan. The implication is that we’re witnessing a fundamental realignment, that the center of gravity has shifted.
But realignment is more than rhetoric. It’s also about governance. And when I look at who is actually getting policy made, the shift seems more about the vibes and aesthetics than policy.
But vibes and aesthetics are also really, really important.
The recent fight over Medicaid in the House reconciliation bill captures this dynamic clearly. As debate unfolded, the question of whether Republicans would cut Medicaid became a litmus test for how seriously the party takes its working-class turn.
