Current Events > John Thune (R-SD) to become new Republican Senate Majority Leader.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-republicans-choose-new-leader-mitch-mcconnell-steps-rcna179670

Rick Scott was preferred by Elon Musk and whatnot but only got 13 votes during voting and withdrew. Thune won over Cornyn.

Zero_Destroyer posted...

Rick Scott

This would have been an unmitigated disaster

Says a lot that the only people smart enough to not vote MAGA are old school Republicans.

Thune is very much cut from the same cloth as McConnell. There's actually a chance he doesn't move to strike the filibuster.

No surprise. The Senate still has its own agenda.

Within the normal parameters of terrible.

The Senate will always be the Senate.

Flaming_Fire619 posted...

Thune is very much cut from the same cloth as McConnell. There's actually a chance he doesn't move to strike the filibuster.

That is long term the smart move for Republicans.

The filibuster gives Republicans a free pass for voting yes on garbage and unpopular legislation because Democrats will filibuster it. With no filibuster, these Republican will have consequences since they will have to live with the aftermath of unpopular legislation OR vote no and piss off their base.

The filibuster is the biggest obstacle to actual progressive legislation. With no filibuster we would all have universal healthcare for example.

This should be a nice hint that the Senate doesn't bend over for everything Trump demands.

Let's see if this holds for confirmation processes.

Given the circumstances, a Mitch McConnell-style Republican is probably the best we could have hoped for.

weird random fact; this is the second time this seat has belonged to a senate majority leader in the last few decades. Tom Daschle (a Democrat) held it and was senate majority leader until 2004 when Thune unseated him. McConnell was instrumental in this so it's not really a surprise Thune turned out to be Mitch's successor, but it is kind of surprising they were unswayed by the MAGA crowd

That's...mildly encouraging, or at least less-bad, considering who his top two opponents were.

Rick Scotts total failure with the National Republican Senatorial Committee took him out of that race.

The ancient reptiles in government know full well they'd be first in the line of fire if they hand over the reins. That's one reason why I've been more "it's going to suck but it won't suck -that- bad" instead of "DEMOCRACY IS DOOMED!"

Zero_Destroyer posted...

weird random fact; this is the second time this seat has belonged to a senate majority leader in the last few decades. Tom Daschle (a Democrat) held it and was senate majority leader until 2004 when Thune unseated him. McConnell was instrumental in this so it's not really a surprise Thune turned out to be Mitch's successor, but it is kind of surprising they were unswayed by the MAGA crowd

This, along with Tucker Carlson's statement that Senate Republicans are "plotting" against Trump leads me to believe we're going to see some serious GOP infighting between the Trump loyalists and the old guard Republicans, now that Democrats are too weak to bother uniting against.

That might be our best hope at surviving the next 4 years.

From what I'm reading, a possible thorn in Trumps side?

From what I've read so far he's not against Trump, but he's not 100% MAGA either.

So some good news I guess. Better than a MAGA sycophant I guess.

Now mike johnson is a maga nut

YellowSUV posted...

That is long term the smart move for Republicans.

The filibuster gives Republicans a free pass for voting yes on garbage and unpopular legislation because Democrats will filibuster it. With no filibuster, these Republican will have consequences since they will have to live with the aftermath of unpopular legislation OR vote no and piss off their base.

The filibuster is the biggest obstacle to actual progressive legislation. With no filibuster we would all have universal healthcare for example.

Yeah, the republicans don't really care if they can't get any of their super evil stuff done, as long as everything generally gets worse for the average American over time. The Filibuster means they can effectively stop anything actually progressive from happening.

however, I doubt much of their base would be upset if Republicans get rid of the filibuster, then re-instate it after 2026 midterms or 2028 when they lose total power.

RchHomieQuanChi posted...

Given the circumstances, a Mitch McConnell-style Republican is probably the best we could have hoped for.

Shit's gone really bad when having a Mitch McConnel-type senate leader is good news.
Well, he did support Ukraine, and I suppose I can begrudginly respect him for that. A bit.

NatsuSama posted...

From what I'm reading, a possible thorn in Trumps side?

From what I've read so far he's not against Trump, but he's not 100% MAGA either.

So some good news I guess. Better than a MAGA sycophant I guess.

Cornyn and Scott were definitely more pro maga. Scott specifically. I don't see Thune bending over for Trump. He was one of the Republicans who rejected the fake voter fraud narrative

Thompson posted...

Shit's gone really bad when having a Mitch McConnel-type senate leader is good news.
Well, he did support Ukraine, and I suppose I can begrudginly respect him for that. A bit.

The old guard Republicans are evil, but they're not stupid. They're pragmatists who are largely aware of the fact that they can't just go around breaking shit and expect to maintain their power.

It's the difference between having Lex Luthor and having the fucking Joker.

Could be worse. Thune was first elected at the height of the NeoCon era so he'll be bad but not necessarily a rubber stamp for Trump.

Muskrat's choice getting snubbed is good.

Other than that, just watch the shitshow and laugh. These Republicans are going to trip over themselves trying to govern.

Flaming_Fire619 posted...

Thune is very much cut from the same cloth as McConnell. There's actually a chance he doesn't move to strike the filibuster.

Hopefully that means he supports Ukraine as well. One of McConnell's only non shit beliefs.

How likely is he to allow the Senate to reject Trumps nomination for SECDEF?

Sariana21 posted...

How likely is he to allow the Senate to reject Trumps nomination for SECDEF?

More likely than scott