So the next generation of House Republican leadership has a new book (their actual preview video was too big to embed, but the video above is a close approximation). Republican Whip Eric Cantor, Chief Deputy Whip Kevin McCarthy, and Ranking Budget Committee Member Paul Ryan are the key Republicans who set the tone for the party's efforts to take back the House, shoring up weak spots in leadership and at the House Republicans' political arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The book is part of their midterm rollout, and while it doesn't appear to spend much time setting a specific agenda for House Republicans, the promise of a vigorous alternative to John Boehner, Mike Pence, and other older Republican leaders will probably aid the GOP's electoral quest. In fact, this book makes me think we won't see Speaker Boehner next year regardless of the election's outcome. Recall that Newt Gingrich made the jump from opposition whip to speaker in 1994; few would be surprised to see Cantor make the same move -- with McCarthy ending up as whip or majority leader and Ryan setting the tone for a year of negotiation with the Obama administration as chair of the Budget Committee.
The real question, though, is which one is the Emilio?
-- Tim Fernholz
