The New York Times is following the plight of Senate Leader John Thune, the attack he is under from MAGA regarding the SAVE Act, and an underlying drama featuring Texas Senator John Cornyn.
It begins:
Thune has said he will put the bill on the floor for a show vote that would put on the record those in his party who would vote no, but the NYT reports that this is not enough for Trump or his army of influencers who are mounting a war of words online.
Thune calls this the work of the “paid influencer ecosystem.”
- Cleta Mitchell, MAGA election lawyer: “They are such weenies that they won’t even try.”
- Mark Meadows: “It is a lack of spine and a lack of leadership. Our guys won’t fight.”
- And of course, always Elon Musk with his wide reach on X warning of electoral Armageddon if Republicans lose the midterms.
- Trump himself mentioned Thune in the State of the Union lie-fest, telling the Senate Leader, “We have to stop it, John,” referring to “the steal” of the midterm elections.
In Texas, Trump is using the SAVE Act legislation as a bargaining chip for his endorsement between the two Senate MAGAt candidates, incumbent John Cornyn and seriously corrupt and immoral Texas AG Ken Paxton.
Paxton has said he will drop out of the race and clear the field for Cornyn only if the SAVE Act passes.
On Wednesday, Cornyn announced in an op-ed that he was changing his longtime position, and would support a rules change to upend the filibuster if necessary to pass the SAVE Act.
The op-ed was titled, “Why the SAVE Act matters more than the filibuster,” and says he’ll support “whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary.”
Cornyn seems to be somewhat contradicting himself by saying he has always supported the SAVE Act, and using the talking filibuster to pass it, throwing the heat back on to Thune.
** that’s not what you said, Senator Cornyn.