Hot Damn. Sen Tillis is the man.

[Irish_Dem]

I never saw anyone kick someone's ass and chew them a new one at the same time.

Wow Tillis just kicked Noem to the curb.

[dem4decades]

1. Context?

[cbabe]

3. Watch here:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221066244

[underpants]

31. Thanks.

[Irish_Dem]

4. Senate hearing right now, Noem being grilled by senators.

GOP Senator Tillis demanding Noem's resignation.
He is raising holy hell and on a rampage about her and ICE.

Totally a thing of beauty.
Never saw anything like it.

[Maru Kitteh]

2. I did enjoy finally seeing SHAME on her schmegma face.

[Irish_Dem]

6. I was too busy listening and looking at Tillis.

My jaw was on the ground.
Never saw anything like it.

What was the look on ICE barbie's face?

[HAB911]

5. Someone in NC

must be up his ass to the should blades, lol

[Irish_Dem]

7. Yes what is the back story. Tillis was on fire.

Something pushed his buttons, what was it?

[HAB911]

8. probably someone holding the purse strings

in western NC.

[Irish_Dem]

9. I don't think he is running for office again. He doesn't give a good g damn any more.

He even brought up the B shooting her puppy.

Am I allowed to love Tillis?

[HAB911]

13. Only so long as

the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I'm sure your infatuation will be short lived, but I'm right there with you, lol.

[Irish_Dem]

17. Yes I know. But for the moment I love Tillis.

His hair was on fire and he was screaming at the top of his lungs at Noem.
All totally deserved.

Yes of course, in a moment Tillis will go back to the dark side.

[bdamomma]

60. He shamed

her about the goat too. What waste she is.

[dsc]

12. Several things

One, Western NC is still waiting for money from a storm that happened in 2024. Our reimbursement rate was lower than most other storms. Trump promised repeatedly that we would be getting money and none arrived.

Two, Operation Charlotte's web and a similar one in Raleigh and Durham has pissed him off.

Three, Trump forced him to not run for reelection after he refused to vote for the BBB.

[Irish_Dem]

15. Tnx, whatever it was, this was highly personal for Tillis.

He was on fire and yelling at the top of his damn lungs.

Jebus. What a performance.

[yardwork]

40. I'm in NC and know people who are close to Tillis.

He's a complex mix. I'm glad to hear he stood up to Noem - I'll have to watch.

Most of the time I have nothing but contempt for Tillis. He's in the Susan Collins category - often concerned but rarely up to a fight.

He's announced that he won't run again so now he supposedly can "vote his conscience" but that usually disappoints. He's not going to tick off potential lobbying contracts.

My biggest beef with Tillis is that he didn't just vote to nominate RFK, Jr., he continues to actively praise that villain.

NC is highly dependent on migrant labor, both in the coastal plain (poultry, pork, shellfish processing; tobacco, cotton, vegetable harvesting) and in the mountainous west (apples and other harvesting), so nobody wants ICE here. It's not a moral position for Tillis, it's pragmatic.

Now I'm going to watch him tear into Noem. I'll enjoy that.

[Irish_Dem]

43. No no, it looked totally personal.

There may be some backstory of a pragmatic nature.

But Tillis was on fire screaming at the top of his lungs and threatening dire
consequences.

It was personal to him.

Maybe he has lost a lot of money, or been threatened in the past.
IDK.

[yardwork]

47. I just watched it and now I agree with you.

It's personal. On one level he's clearly offended by her cosplaying "farming" but it's got to be more.

Dsc here mentioned the lack of funding for relief in western NC after Hurricane Helene. Most of the victims of that storm are Republicans and Trump won NC partly by promising to help, which he hasn't.

It might be something we don't know, too. Trump also won NC by promising the Lumbee in Robeson County federal tribal recognition, which they just got. That means they can build casinos. The Cherokee in western NC are unhappy about this. There's a lot going on behind the scenes. The GOP in NC is heavily into gambling enterprises, and I suspect that Tillis's next job will be as a lobbyist for casinos. Maybe Noem is interfering with that somehow.

[Irish_Dem]

51. Yes we do not know what it is. Something personal has infuriated him.

He has been threatened, blocked, stymied in some way.
Or lost something.

[yardwork]

67. I absolutely trust your instincts on this!

I'll nose around and see if I can learn more.

[Irish_Dem]

72. Yes see what you can find out.

I could be wrong.

But we know he doesn't care about anyone else.
And he doesn't care if Americans are being killed by ICE.
He could not care less if Noem killed her puppy.

And his rage looked personal to me. His behavior didn't match
the event.

After 40 years of being a therapist, it makes you go hmmmm....

[yardwork]

74. Local paper has some more details.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article314905187.html

Apparently Tillis sent her a detailed letter a month ago demanding answers about ICE and FEMA relief and she ignored him.

Also, our other R senator, Budd, has been on Noem about the hurricane relief, and she's been ignoring him, too.

Two old-fashioned conservative southern men being ignored by a woman...that helps explain the rage.

Also, Tillis says he's mad at Noem for making ICE look bad, because he's in favor of Trump's immigration policies and she's messing up public opinion with her incompetence. (I can imagine him behind the scenes. "Stupid woman. She's screwing this up with her incompetence." )

Sounds like this is at least partly due to old-fashioned sexist rage.

I also detect panic, fear and rage that Trump has started yet another war that will involve a lot of North Carolinians. NC has a lot of military bases.

[MyOwnPeace]

69. And wouldn't it be nice to know.......

that it was all about 'DOING THE RIGHT THING!'

Not about what your 'party' wants - not about who your $$$-gods are - and even not about what a 'majority' in your home state/district 'wants' - but what YOU KNOW to be right according to the CONSTITUTION - you know, RULES & LAWS that were made to (choking here......) MAKE AMERICA GREAT!

[Irish_Dem]

73. Low probability it was about doing the right thing.

But possible I suppose.

It was still entertaining.

[Katinfl]

64. He's not running for re-election. Think he would have spouted out that way if he was running?

He’s got nothing to lose.

[Irish_Dem]

65. This is a given. But there was something personal about it.

We know he is not running again and has nothing to lose.
But was furious, screaming and ranting.
Something happened behind the scenes.

[Katinfl]

66. You could be right. It may have to do with the destruction in western NC.

We just moved back to NC and I have not been to see what has been rebuilt. But i have heard that the small towns are still waiting for funds. That is inexcusable, especially when they typically vote R.

[Irish_Dem]

70. Usually GOPers don't care about anyone but themselves.

So I think something happened to Tillis.

[ms liberty]

11. I've left him some strongly worded messages, but I don't think that's what got him in a twist

[Irish_Dem]

18. ya did good whatever the h you told him.

Damn.

[yardwork]

42. I do that regularly and it's never worked before!

[PCIntern]

10. That was something.

[awesomerwb1]

14. The man who found his spine because he's on his way out?

Good job with this. But what a complicit coward he's been for years and years.

[Irish_Dem]

19. I know, a sniveling coward has a moment of moral clarity.

I love it.

He will crawl back to his cave soon.
But it was a thing of beauty.

[bdamomma]

61. Speaking up

loud and clear, yes it is because he is leaving.

I wish more of them would do that SPEAK OUT!!! DJT is nothing but a WEAK BULLY.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

16. Tillis is calling for Noem to resign

Link to tweet

Thom Tillis: I want to submit this letter from the office of Inspector General that cites 10 different instances where they've been misled and not allowed to pursue investigations. That's a failure of leadership. And that is why I've called for your resignation.

*Applause*

I don't want applause. If I don't get an answer to these questions, I'll be informing leadership that I'm putting a hold on any en bloc nominations.

[Irish_Dem]

20. His threats at the end were totally awesome.

My eyes were popping out of my head.

[Irish_Dem]

22. He tarred and feathered her and kicked her out of town.

Never saw anything like it.

[young_at_heart]

21. I've emailed him several times over the years

but........only got back standard GOP stuff! THIS is remarkable!

[Irish_Dem]

23. Pure joy watching it.

I am still smiling, wow.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

24. Tillis calls out Noem for killing her dog

Link to tweet

[yardwork]

44. Tillis grew up poor.

I imagine he was taught how to train hunting dogs. The wannabe "farmer" and ice Barbie probably revolts him on a personal level.

Edited: I just watched the clip. He's offended by ICE Barbie cosplaying being a "farmer." It is personal.

Editing again: Tillis's upbringing is different than I thought. From wiki:

Tillis was born in Jacksonville, Florida, the son of Margie and Thomas Raymond Tillis, a boat draftsman.[8] He was the oldest boy among six children, with three older sisters. By the time he was 17, his family had moved 20 times, living in New Orleans and Nashville, among other places; Tillis never attended the same school in consecutive years.[9] Tillis, his father, and his two brothers are all named Thomas Tillis.[10] One of his brothers, Thomas "Rick" Tillis, served in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Following his 1978 graduation from high school, Tillis left home to get a job.[11] He then attended Chattanooga State Community College before receiving a Bachelor of Science in technology management from the University of Maryland University College in 1986.[9][11][12]

[ms liberty]

58. I know I've seen him say he grew up living in a mobile home

He has always seemed much more of a centrist, or what at one point would have been called a country club republican. Not really much of an ideologue.

[markpkessinger]

55. And he had full knowledge of that when he voted to confirm her!

https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00017.htm

[MustLoveBeagles]

25. The clips in this thread are a thing of beauty

Go Sen. Tillis! Democrats need to do this to.

[Irish_Dem]

29. In all the current darkness there was a sparkling moment of light and fire.

Totally a thing of beauty.

[truddy777]

26. It was definitely...

It was definitely a harsh exchange to watch. I’ve been following the committee hearings all morning and Tillis really didn't hold back on the questioning. He seems to have a specific issue with how the state level stuff was handled.

[Irish_Dem]

30. Harsh? Tillis was screaming at the top of his lungs.

Threatening her, asking for her resignation.
Telling her to stop talking.
Reading her the riot act.

[DFW]

27. A Republican finding Contempt of Congress to be contemptible

Whoda thunk it?

[ABC123Easy]

28. As one of his constituents....Fuck Tillis

I don't care what he does now, fuck him. His past is not forgotten. I don't support a damn thing he does except his decision not to run again. This man is a piece of shit and that should not be forgotten.

[Irish_Dem]

32. Hey the entire GOP is a piece of crap. But when they do the right thing for a moment

I am going to enjoy the hell out of it.

[Mister Ed]

36. Yep. Even a bad dog should get a biscuit for doing a good trick. n/t

[ABC123Easy]

48. I understand and agree but

Did you listen to the lies and bullshit he said about Biden and Dems in general prior to being nasty to Noem?

Tillis is a POS.

[Irish_Dem]

52. Of course he is a POS. But he turned his ugliness to the correct target for once.

[mtngirl47]

35. I agree 1000 per cent.

Tillis sucks

[Irish_Dem]

38. Did you see his performance today?

[VTderry]

76. Thank you.

While his takedown of Noem is no less than she deserves, it doesn't erase all the horrible things he has done over the years.

I am kind of shocked at all the cheering for him. It seems to me that this is the literal LEAST he could do to, and will have ZERO impact as far as changing anything.

And I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have spoken that way to a man.

[City Lights]

33. Damn! I missed it! nt

[Irish_Dem]

39. Look for the video.

[City Lights]

71. I will, thanks! nt

[bearsfootball516]

34. I'm glad he did it, but he's ONLY doing it because he's not running for re-election.

So he's not afraid of the Trump base anymore. He didn't suddenly find his spine.

[Irish_Dem]

41. Underneath the GOP fear of Trump there appears to be a great deal of anger.

[Boomerproud]

45. If that's true, start showing it as a group damnit.

nt

[Irish_Dem]

50. I agree, time for all of them to get off their fannies and do a Tillis.

[Mysterian]

37. Tillis is right about Noem but he's a filthy lying republican

just as bad as Noem.

[markpkessinger]

56. Exactly . . .

. . . and it takes some brass for him to bring up the dog killing incident, since he had full knowledge of that incident when he voted to confirm her!

https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00017.htm

[Wiz Imp]

46. Tillis has voted with Democrats a whopping 2.26% of the time during this Congressional session.

[Irish_Dem]

54. This is what was so fun. He is an GOP SOB who went ballistic on his own people.

[VanceFan]

49. No change

All I hear is another Republican asshole.

[Irish_Dem]

53. Yes but was being an asshole to Kristi Noem.

Loved it.

[Ferrets are Cool]

57. A broke clock...

[Irish_Dem]

62. I guess even the devil does the right thing by accident once in a lifetime.

[bdamomma]

59. Senator Tillis

really took NO CRAP from Noem. Talked about the "puppy incident" too.

[Irish_Dem]

63. When he went after her for the puppy incident he was going for the jugular.

My eyes popped out of my head.

He was slicing and dicing poor little Kristi.

[bdamomma]

68. .......

They all need to be spoken to like that. Just a question, can they pull Stephen Miller up for a "Committee Hearing"? or is it he is not part of the Cabinet? He flies under the radar.

I would love to hear some of these Senators, bring him to his knees.

[VTderry]

75. He is FAR from the man.

The first minute of the clip shows that he is still a xenophobic ASS who has a very casual relationship with the truth.

In my opinion, this is him trying to polish his version of Republicanism (100% racist, %100 misogynist, 100% classist, but 30% less flat-out insane than MAGA) ahead of the primary to fill his seat.

Looking tough on Noem is an easy and basically risk-free way to play "maverick" while actually doing ZERO to deal with the problem.

Calling for her resignation is weak sauce. He should be calling on his party members in the House to impeach her.

[Irish_Dem]

77. Of course he is a psychopath a-hole. But he made me smile for a couple of hours.

It was the most entertainment I have had in a long time.

[VTderry]

78. I do get that.

She's a monster and seeing her called out in public is gratifying.

Too bad he didn't do more of this when it counted. (And he's still a racist piece of trash.)

[Jbraybarten]

79. It's unfortunate that a republican has to have a leg out the door before speaking out.