It’s important.

[Wednesday-morning update]

Well, I guess they voted for the wrong crooks.

And J.D. Vance’s post mortem is politically convenient to him, but nonsensical.

[Thursday-morning update]

What J.D. Vance got wrong.

[Update a few minutes later]

I decided to sleep on JD Vance’s post from yesterday before commenting on it substantively. I have done so, and given it substantial thought. My verdict? Here is what I believe that post actually was saying: “Yeah we lost the election big time. But it’s not my fault, it’s the fault of the guy who made me who I am, and to whom I owe my entire political career. If only everybody had listened to me everything would have been OK. Oh yeah, I’m specifically throwing my boss under the bus, but I am also impliedly throwing Rubio and Hegseth under the bus too because I want to be President. No, I’m not going to talk about the way my lunatic belief that the Iranian mullahs could be reasoned with is really what brought us to this point. I’m also not going to talk about how my hatred of Israel and alliance with fellow Israel-haters and groyper-adjacent loons like Tucker chases away far more voters than it attracts. In other words, I’m not taking responsibility for anything and blaming everybody else. And I’m dropping this literally hours after the election is over so I can set the narrative now before anybody else has a chance to talk that says I’m the good guy, that MAGA is dead, and that I’m the leader of what comes next. No, I did not coordinate this with Trump, I just told him I’m going to do it. And he will say it’s OK because if he does not he’ll get savaged with reports that he has lost control of the Presidency, which was kind of what I wanted. It’s DC. Loyalty does not matter. Vote for me for President.” Does loyalty matter? I believe it does, because if someone is disloyal to the man who made them, they will also be disloyal to the voters who put them into office. My 2c. (And yes, if Vance is the nominee I’ll still vote for him over communist jihadists, but now is the time to debate these kinds of issues inside our own movement.)

— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) November 5, 2026

[Late-morning update]

“Vance wants an ‘honest conversation’; fine, here’s one.“