Liberal commenters are praising North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis this week, a fact made even more notable by the apparent need they feel to supply a caveat.
“Far be it for me to defend my Senator, but…” begins a typical commendation for Tillis, whose stalwart no-nonsense stance against Tucker Carlson‘s attempt to reframe the January 6 insurrection reflects a simpler time — a time when Republicans and Democrats could at least cross the aisle to agree that angry mobs breaching the Capitol is bad for the country.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis reacts to Tucker Carlson releasing never before seen J6 footage:
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 7, 2023
“I think it’s bullsh*t.”
Welcome to the DC Uniparty. pic.twitter.com/jenVBLeYxH
Here is the full comment referenced above: “Far be it for me to defend my Senator (Tillis), but I would be surprised if he backs down on this. He may stop talking about it, but he’s been pretty consistent in his outrage about Jan 6.”
Another NC citizen, replete with a similar caveat, writes: “I dislike my Senator (Thom Tillis) enormously. I hope he doesn’t back down from this. He seems to have been genuinely outraged by the events of 6 January, though, so maybe he’ll hold onto his spine.”
And yet another progressive North Carolina resident says: “Tom Tillis is one of my Senators. I occasionally email him to voice my displeasure on his decisions/policies. Today I emailed him saying this is one of the very few times I agree with him, but I don’t really expect it to happen again.”
Notably, Tillis is not big on across-the-aisle appeal and his support from liberals is anomalous and unhelpful to him. He certainly does not court Democrats, who he often accuses of malign intent, as below.
Democrats want to pack the Supreme Court with radical, activist judges who will legislate from the bench and turn SCOTUS into a rubber-stamp for Biden’s left-wing policies. That’s why I co-sponsored a constitutional amendment to protect SCOTUS from efforts to pack the Court.
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) March 2, 2023
But Democrats are finding common ground with GOP voices like Tillis, Mitt Romney, and Mitch McConnell, who said he thinks Fox made a “mistake” with the video.
That’s not to say, by any means, that Carlson’s actions don’t have admirers, especially among those who repeat suspicions that whoever doesn’t think Jan 6 was peaceful must have “something to hide.” A sampling of this sort of tweet is below.
Thom Tillis going to rolling stone to call tucker’s release of J6 video all BS says way more about Tillis than it does about Tucker. These republicans have something to hide that they don’t want exposed.
— ❤️GAGirl1967🖤 Hello Spring 🌸🌺🌷🍀☘️ (@Tamzilla_52) March 8, 2023
And another with “something to hide” in the text/subtext.
DEMOCRATS JOINED BY MITT ROMNEY, THOM TILLIS IN THE OUTRAGE OF SHOWING VIDEO TAPES. WE LEARNED THEY’RE ON THE SAME SIDE WITH CENSORSHIP. JUST WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO HIDE? MAYBE A LOT. TUCKER, START THE INVESTIGATION. WE GOTTA KNOW. SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON MITTENS. RINO FRAUD.
— Michael Camastro (@41132625M) March 8, 2023
While offering liberals little to like, Tillis may have already triggered the MAGA faithful commenting above before the Jan 6 opinion, despite his strong conservative voting record. He’s perhaps not far enough right for some on criminal justice reform or immigration.
Background: According to the website GovTrack.us, which tracks the voting records of members of Congress, Tillis has a lifetime score of 86.1% for voting with the Republican Party, indicating that he has generally voted in line with conservative positions. The website also notes that Tillis has a high score for voting against Democratic-sponsored bills and for voting in favor of Republican-sponsored bills.
Some specific examples of Tillis’s conservative positions include his support for limited government, tax cuts, deregulation, Second Amendment rights, and a strong national defense. However, it’s worth noting that Tillis has taken some positions that may not be considered conservative by all, such as his support for criminal justice reform and his stance on immigration.
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