Well that was quick. Dreier’s out Blunt’s in. Blunt is a run-of-the-mill, DeLay-style, power amasser and corporate conservative. Speculation was that DeLay wanted Blunt, who was the whip, passed over because Blunt could too easily become permanent. Looks like he lost that one. Ah well, welcome to the new Republican party, same as the old Republican party.

Ezra Klein is a former Prospect writer and current editor-in-chief at Vox. His work has appeared in the LA Times, The Guardian, The Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Slate, and The Columbia Journalism Review. He’s been a commentator on MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and more.