17 Comments

The question is whether Tillis can continue to walk the tightrope between keeping the MAGA base and seeming "moderate"; reasonable; and "middle of the road" to NC's unaffiliated, independent voters. It depends in part on who his opponent is. Roy Cooper should be able to take the seat if he wants it at age 69 -- 2026 should be a Democratic year.

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What stands out in this PoliticsNC dispatch--the "chronology" of a NC politician--in this case, Mr. Tillis. A bonus in this post--use a similar chronology model with politicians of any stripe across any state. Who stays true to what? When do shifts occur? Because a person's leanings change. Or do they? The elected officials deserving of trust explain "clearly" when they shift positions and "why."

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What I want to know is are there any Republicans who care about democracy, our country, and the world? From what I see, all of those have either not run again or were voted out, even the most conservative of them, like Liz Cheney. It's very scary.

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Tillis had aspirations of climbing further up the political ladder.

Then Donald Trump came along, pulled the ladder up and slammed all the doors closed behind him - he's on his way, with a corrupt SCOTUS claiming he has immunity to do whatever he wants, even assassinate rivals - to crowning himself king. Or as he said, "Dictator for a day."

The Senate could have stopped this. Twice.

Now the nation and the entire planet is going to suffer.

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Another great article.

Will be curious to see who steps up to challenge him both in his party and Democrats nominate in 2026.

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If Tillis fails to support Trump’s cabinet nominees, he will face MAGA opposition in a primary in 2026. Will he have the fortitude, courage, integrity to vote against these unqualified cabinet appointees, or will he cave? As all of us know, the Senate is the last guardrail for saving the Democratic process. I have written him a letter making this point. No reply as of today. From the article, my hope that he will do the right thing is dashed.

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I hope we can replace him in two years

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Senator Ben Dover.

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To think that Thom has a backbone or even strong values beyond self-preservation is folly.

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He sold out,

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He is so disappointing. He almost seems to want to do the right thing but just can't do it. There are lots of horrible cabinet selection but Hegseth shouldn't be the confirmed and Tillis knows better. Hoping he surprises us. LOL

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He's gone. No surprises here. Gone, gone, gone--never coming back--he's gone.

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Democrats need a strong candidate to compete against Tillis. I don’t believe Wiley Nickel is well known

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That's certainly a downside to Wiley, but he'd be good and he's already been meeting people around the state. And what will Roy Cooper decide?

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I got an email back from his office which made it clear he feels his job is to rubber stamp Trump’s employees. Pathetic.

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Schumer made an agreement with him to withdraw Biden’s nominee to the 4th circuit in exchange for promises regarding other judicial appointments. Schumer should have held out for other concessions. I keep hoping Tillis will redeem himself. He really never does.

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Once an individual becomes behaviorally grooved, most may not seek change from their behaviors unless a person experiences intervention or hits a crisis moment. Tillis—he’s sold his soul. Clearly.

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