Worth a look even back in April when Chait wrote it, this article is now required reading.  The Legendary Paul Ryan nymag.com  

The Republicans are “a welcoming, big-tent party.”

If you're a social moderate the tent has just enough room for your votes, but not your beliefs.

The theory is that, "just as young people don’t have to buy a whole album on iTunes and can pick and choose just the songs they like, they can customize their political views — and they do,”

The problem is the presidency is more like a vinyl LP--and this one has 15 seconds of Back in the USSR and three decades of Revolution #Ryan.

Which means when you're 64 you'll be left screaming "Help" and life'll be "A Hard Day's Night." Young Republicans Erase Lines on Social Issues www.nytimes.com 

JDate advice: earn like an Episcopalian; vote like a Puerto Rican; knock five years off your age, and give her jewelry. Politics, Religion, And Mitt Romney's VP www.nydailynews.com 

They found this guy sitting on Naomi Rivera's Facebook. Doesn't she know that it's a no-no to use a public payroll to hire someone to do your polling? Bronx pol’s secret F'book page with staffer boytoy www.nypost.com

Stray thoughts From Naomi Rivera's Facebook page: Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. https://www.facebook.com/naomi.rivera.378Naomi Rivera  

The press is asking whether there will be a Republican candidate in the 17th SD.

The real question is whether there will be a Democrat in the race. Simcha Felder Digs Paul Ryan Pick politicker.com   

Meng channels Gatemouth. Meng Outlines Her Position on Israel, Takes Shots at Halloran politicker.com   

The contents of this Newsday tribute to Liberal Party Boss Ray Harding is locked up behind a wall--something Harding himself barely avoided while alive. Ray Harding's important role in NY politics www.newsday.com   

A few days ago, I came across a database I hadn’t used before, and found enough to fill out this old story about the relationship between politics and organized crime in New York (disguised as a Guy Velella obit) with a few more juicy details. I’ve not highlighted the new changes, but they concern the 1982 Velella/Dearie Assembly race and the 1946 murder of Republican captain Joseph Scottoriggio. http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/velella_goodfella.html