What's in a name? Trio of Johns vies to succeed McConnell...Thune, Cornyn, and Barrasso

[basquebromance]

the GOP have a deep bench of Johns, my friends

The shadow race to succeed McConnell is on — and all-John

Thune and Cornyn are best-positioned to become the next Senate GOP leader — but Barrasso is in the mix too.

www.politico.com

 

[wamose]

I'm not a Turtle fan but I don't like these options either.

 

[kyzr]

They are all good. Hope they are majority leaders and not minority leaders.

 

[basquebromance]

excerpts:

“They’re all named John, aren’t they?” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). “Wow.”

McConnell confirmed Tuesday he’ll seek to remain party leader after this fall's midterms, no surprise given his goal of surpassing the late Sen. Mike Mansfield’s record for leadership longevity a year from now. Thune’s pursuit of a fourth term, however, has left the Senate GOP newly abuzz over who might take the reins post-McConnell, since political trajectories can change in an instant in the Senate.

Thune agonized for nearly a year over running again, a choice complicated by Trump’s attacks on him for dismissing Trump's efforts to challenge Joe Biden's win. Yet Trump’s attacks ceased, and as he measured his future, Thune said the possibility of one day becoming Republican leader “put additional weight on the side of staying around, for sure.”

“Hopefully we get the majority back and at some point — nobody knows when exactly that might be in the future — there probably will be some opportunities. And I never rule anything out,” Thune said in a Tuesday interview.

But Cornyn, 69, brings his own formidable resume: He ran the National Republican Senatorial Committee for two cycles, served as whip for six years and is still a McConnell confidante at the leader's table of advisers. Where Thune can be low-key, Cornyn brings a more pugnacious style that leads some other Republicans to see him as a natural successor to McConnell.

Thune declined to describe himself as the favorite despite his comfy spot in leadership: “I’d hate to say that. And I’m Scandinavian, so the glass is always half empty.” He downplayed any conflict with Cornyn, whom he said is his friend.

“That is something I’d like to pursue,” Cornyn said Tuesday of the Senate GOP's top spot. “It’s a unique sort of a race because you know who the voters are, and it’s not really influenced by outside influences. It’s really more of a matter of relationships and trust.”

Thune “has poised himself to [move up] with the responsibilities that he has taken on as whip, and he has poised himself to do so with relationships with just about all of us in the conference,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). “Sen. Cornyn has as well. The great thing for us is, you have a couple of really exceptional individuals that can step up if McConnell decides to step out.”

Susan Collins (R-Maine) said the GOP is “fortunate to have the three Johns” to choose from. And though she said Cornyn and Barrasso would do a “very good job,” she’s one of the few GOP senators willing to weigh in on the shadow leadership race.

“John Thune presents a great image for our party. He has been involved in a lot of different issues. He’s served on diverse committees. He understands the variety of personalities that he needs to deal with,” Collins said. “As the second-highest-ranking person in leadership, to me he’s the logical successor.”

f Trump mounts another run for president, the shine of being Senate GOP leader might dull a bit. But in the immediate term, Trump has laid off Thune even after the senator announced his reelection run. Instead, the former president this week went after Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) for saying the 2020 elections were fairly won, which some Republicans said Tuesday was helpful to Thune.

“John’s a cautious man. Hes a deliberate person. He’s not impulsive from anyway that I can tell, except on a basketball court,” Cramer said of his fellow Dakotan. “John probably has a pretty good sense of his likelihood of success.”

 

[Oddball]

They are all good. Hope they are majority leaders and not minority leaders.

Lurch Thune and Cornyn are establishment douchebags....McTurtle with a little more tread on them.

 

[two_iron]

Not Cornyn. Generally we like pubs here, but we hate that rino mother fucker.

However, the war turtle has to go. I'm fine using an empty Amazon box as a place holder until we find a suitable replacement.