Thread by @DissidentClint

🧵The inside story of the Senate Leadership Election that MAY change the course of the nation.

Most following this know by now that Thune won 29-24 on the second ballot. But, how did that happen? Many of my followers wanted Scott. But, we got historic wins here.

1. First, what's at stake. We are in an era where "Regime Politics" is what matters. I couldn't care less about minor technical policy differences. We have threats to our American Regime -- our very existence as a nation, the essentials that make us America.

2. This includes things many understand. Whether we have a border, secure elections, a destitute sick population, a financial crisis, SECRET POLICE, LAWFARE against political opponents. Whether we have a nation run by unelected bureaucrats or by the people.

3. You smart readers know all of that. But there's one threat to our existence as a nation that you may not know about. And it determines whether we can resolve all of the other threats to our existence.

4. That Regime Level Threat is whether we have a functional Senate. No, really. It makes all the difference. A few facts: the Senate is where Trump's personnel will be confirmed. All eyes are on that now. It's also where the toughest legislative battles will occur.

5. To fulfill the Trump Mandate in the 1.5 years we have (2026 is midterm elections!) we MUST have a highly functional Senate. Republican infighting is the greatest threat to having a functional Senate. Senators are less susceptible to political pressure than the House.

6. BUT, it's deeper than that. The Senate is the ONE PLACE where you're guaranteed equal representation at the federal level. It's the only part of the Constitution that can't be changed. It's THAT important. Think about that. It's so important to our regime it can't be changed.

7. This equality of Senators has been broken for the last 1.5 decades. Harry Reid used a taboo little known procedure to block all Senators from offering amendments. This means you have no say in the legislation before the Senate. Your Senator votes yes or no.

8. Under this way, to get the 60 votes needed to pass, bills are negotiated in a backroom and put up before a critical deadline. McConnell and Schumer doubled-down on Reid's Treachery. Here's a chart showing Senate amendments before & after.

9. Here's the short of it: Sen. Scott ran on changing this for months. Sen. Cornyn proposed reforms the day before the election. And in the end, Sen. Thune agreed to reforms in order to get the votes. Here's what happened.

10. For months, Senators debated changes to this. @BasedMikeLee ran an internal campaign to reform the way the Senate operates. Here's a thread he posted on it.

https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1843662958137881005

11. Some Senators opposed returning the Senate to it's former glory. Sen. Tillis was the most vocal. He argued that the reforms proposed by conservatives would "weaken the leader" and throw the Senate into chaos. Here's an article on that:
thehill.com/homenews/senat…

12. Slowly but surely, Senators started to come around to these reforms. The DRAMA got high after the election as the MAGA base pushed for Sen. Scott. THEY WANTED CHANGE AND TRUMP HAD THE MANDATE.
Punchbowl noted that basically the entire conference wanted change.

13. On Nov 12th, the night before the leadership election, Sen. Mike Lee hosted a forum for the entire GOP conference to hear from the candidates. This was the pinnacle of the leadership election.

14. This may cause me trouble, but you deserve to know. One Consigliere for a Leader Candidate told me that a VERY powerful establishment republican senator pressured at least 2 of the candidates to not participate in the forum. 👀👀

15. One Cap Hill reporter noted that Sen. Cornyn's letter to GOP Sens was a lot like Sen. Scott's earlier letter in terms of reforms.
Now, 2/3 of the candidates were proposing the Lee/Scott reforms.

https://x.com/andrewdesiderio/status/1856374031017967938?s=46

16. At the forum, all three candidates (Scott, Cornyn, Thune) proposed similar reforms. Though, Cornyn and Scott were the only ones to put those reforms in writing before the forum.

17. Going into the leadership election it was clear to everyone that the efforts of @SenRickScott and @BasedMikeLee had changed the Senate conference. Here's how Punchbowl put it:

18. On the first ballot in the leadership election (Nov. 13) Thune 23, Cornyn 15, Scott 13. 2 voting present.
28 Sen (Cornyn/Scott) voted for definitive changes in writing. On the second ballot, Thune 29 to Cornyn 24.
The numbers show, Thune couldn't win without reforms.

19. So what did Thune agree to? What was said in the room? A lot. But, most notable he agreed to an open amendment process and no more throwing bills on the floor at the last minute. Here's what Punchbowl said:

20. If the GOP holds to the reforms, the Senate will return to a place where Senators amend legislation. No more backroom deals. No more uniparty control. Do you understand what a huge win this is? We have returned to a regime with a real Senate. A republic, if you can keep it.

21. Your senators will have the ability to amend, cut, and change legislation. They'll vote on specific provisions of bills until they reach agreement about the laws that rule our nation. You can hold them accountable. You can propose ideas to them. They can push for you.

22. Here's what to watch for: make sure in 2025 legislative battles that Senators are offering amendments. Watch out for bills hidden until the last minute. If that happens, you need to make your voice heard at level 10000. Keep your Republic.

23. One last point, I thought this post from Breitbart Capitol Hill reporter @bradleyajaye summed it up really well.

https://x.com/bradleyajaye/status/1856722032156680560

24. So what happened in the Leadership election? The Senate was potentially changed forever. IF they hold to this, the nation will never look the same. The GOP Senate just gave us the best shot at accomplishing the Trump agenda.

P.S. I want to add that I'm very hopeful about the way Thune wants to run the Senate. He has the support of his conference for change. This is a great opportunity for Thune to be a total legend. I'm rooting for him to do it.