It's all a distraction

Socialism only works in two places: Heaven where they don’t need it, and hell where they already have it ~ Ronald Reagan ✝️🙏🏻🇺🇸

[It's all a distraction @it_distraction]

🙏🏻💔

[FAFO The First @FAFOtheFirst]

Most of you know that my brother died in a motorcycle wreck the day after Christmas. Billy Bob hits the nail on the head right here. I wish I could shake his hand.

[It's all a distraction @it_distraction]

@PeteKaliner the voice of that beta male socialist sounds like nails on a chaulkboard

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@SenThomTillis hates Trump more than he cares about our country.

[Vince Coglianese @VinceCoglianese]

I've obtained Sen. Thom Tillis's Monday email to his GOP colleagues. In it, he complains about the DOJ's anti-weaponization fund, whines about the SAVE America Act & President Trump's constant push for it, and attacks Sen. Tommy Tuberville for calling out Republicans by name.

Here it is, in full:

Colleagues,

I hope you all have had an opportunity to get some rest after another vote-a-rama.  I’m sure most of you would prefer to move forward, but I believe we will look back at this experience as yet another reason why we will have historic headwinds against us in November.

We missed an opportunity to remove a political albatross (the 1776 Fund) from around the necks of our colleagues who are in cycle. Instead, we added weight to that albatross by having 41 members vote to protect the program.  In addition, we allowed two SAVE Act votes that had no place in vote-a-rama, which prompted a circular firing squad led by Tommy Tuberville and some of our republican colleagues.

I cannot understand why a supermajority of our conference voted against the side-by-side I offered.  I went forward with offering the amendment at the request of members in cycle. The amendment simply ended the 1776 payout pot AND appropriated $1.7 BILLION to the DoJ fraud initiative.

I knew most democrats would not vote for my amendment because of the DoJ funding, but I thought it would be a good landing place for members to voice their concerns with the 1776 fund. How did I know democrats would vote AGAINST it? I asked them. They simply would not support the DoJ/Fraud funding, which is precisely why I had the provision in the amendment.  The chance of this amendment passing and threatening the privilege of the underlying bill was ZERO.

If you voted against my amendment because you were afraid it would strip the reconciliation bill of privilege, you were misinformed or a victim of groupthink.  If you did for that reason, you should have voted against the SAVE Act for the same reason. Had either version of the SAVE Act been adopted, the underlying bill would also have been at risk of losing privilege.

We took a major risk with the SAVE Act had democrats wanted to meddle. If I had been a democratic leader, I would have convinced a sufficient number of democrats to vote for it, and, immediately after it was adopted, I would have argued it was fatal to the privilege of the underlying bill.

But the real problem I have is that the President (and a few of our members?) forced us to take two more unsuccessful votes for the SAVE Act at the expense of our most vulnerable members in cycle. Susan Collins rightfully voted against it, representing her home state of Maine, which voted against it by nearly a 65/35 margin in a 2025 referendum. Rural state senators voted for it, but now they must explain why shutting down mail-in ballots, ending early voting,  and complicating registration is a good thing for rural voters in big states. Other members will need to account for their past positions in support of the state laws that would be repealed or preempted if the SAVE Act passes.

Even worse, Tommy Tuberville and others initiated a circular firing squad calling out Susan Collins and other republicans by name.  Amazing: Members NOT in cycle attacking our most at-risk member because she supports the view of 65% of the voters in her state.

Tommy Tuberville said: “It was beyond EMBARRASSING that “Republicans” continue to block the SAVE America Act @SenThomTillis, @LisaMurkowski, @SenMcConnell, and @SenatorCollins have not only betrayed their constituents – they are ACCOMPLICES in Democrats’ “Illegals First” agenda. The people of North Carolina, Alaska, Kentucky, and Maine deserve better.”

I find this remarkable on several levels, but you would think a member of Tommy’s comms team who has a spouse working on the NRSC’s leadership team could see how this is only helpful to Susan’s opponent.  Do these people talk?  Other members have referred to those who oppose nuking the filibuster and passing the SAVE Act as “traitors” and “defectors” on social media.

Everyone knew the SAVE Act votes would fail, yet we went ahead anyway because the President requested them at the expense of our members.  This simply prompted more attacks on our own, which I assume was the President's goal.

Three of our most vulnerable members were already forced to vote on the first Schumer amendment, focused on the 1776 fund and the motion to commit.  Cassidy and I voted against it to give our members room to vote for it.

After that vote, I informed the most vulnerable in-cycle members that I would vote however a majority of them wanted me to.  If it meant voting with them or, like the Schumer amendment, against them, I offered them my proxy for the night.  I am not suggesting that you give members your proxy, but I am suggesting forcing votes that have no upside for in-cycle members AND attacking them when they vote is not helpful to saving our majority.  I get in Tuberville’s case it was likely to help boost him in the Alabama governor’s race, but was it really worth calling Susan Collins an “embarrassing accomplice who betrayed her constituents?”

Based on last week’s reconciliation experience, I hope we have learned a lesson that will not be repeated if we choose to move another reconciliation bill in this congress. In my opinion, last week’s vote was a net loss for in-cycle members. I am not diminishing the importance of funding DHS, but the “gain” from that will not offset the “pain” we’ve created in key races.

The road to holding our majority is already difficult.  We cannot afford any more unforced errors like this between now and November.

Respectfully,  Thom T.

[It's all a distraction @it_distraction]

@PeteKaliner It’s the honor system 🙄

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@CLT_Suburbia I’m glad we moved from the Charlotte area

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They will burn down McKinney TX tonight

[Nick Sortor @nicksortor]

🚨 NOW: Karmelo supporters start BERATING deputies who are making a line to protect the courthouse

“Y’ALL GONNA BURN IN HELL!”

“What the f—k you over here? You need to be ASHAMED. You and you need to be ashamed, cuz that's one of y'all that was in there.”

(I have no clue what this means)

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@TeamCooperNC @WhatleyNC https://t.co/ppdVFCRKna

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@RoyCooperNC https://t.co/kmJyW9m7M7

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@PeteKaliner Kevin McCarthy states that it used to take a day or two to get results before Newsom was governor, GM changed laws and now it takes weeks. (Now same day voter reg, No ID, mail all a ballot.

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@NCDemParty https://t.co/tbsJOKmzNf

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Roy Cooper's Felon Friday presented by Senate Leadership Fund
https://t.co/GZHhAJvgeM

[It's all a distraction @it_distraction]

It’s not Garry “Not My Fault” McFadden’s fault @sugarfreetalk https://t.co/eemejGmt43

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@RoyCooperNC https://t.co/kmJyW9m7M7

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@abreezeclayton We are tired of your woke crap

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@newsobserver

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@garyalan82 He’s on a burning bridge hell tour because he doesn’t like Trump.

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@theobserver I’m more concerned with crime and corruption, not sports teams

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@SenMcConnell And yet you can’t vote for the Save America Act

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@TeamCooperNC @WhatleyNC Roy Cooper cares more about the Hurricanes hockey team than any family destroyed by actual hurricanes.

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@TCC_Grouchy Not in a gay way 🤪

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@bonchieredstate @reddotaustintx “Not in a gay way”

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@PeteKaliner cooper cares more about the hurricanes hockey team than he does NC families devastated by actual hurricanes.