It’s been said that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter, and that truth is often in the eye of the beholder. Such is the case with one Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman from Kentucky. As a consistent thorn in the side of his own party, particularly President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), Massie is alternately labeled as deeply principled and deliberately obstructive. Which is it, and who is this guy?
Massie was first elected to Congress in 2012 as a fiscal hawk above all else. So, you might ask, what’s the problem with seeking to reduce federal spending and the size of government? These are broad strokes heavily supported by rank-and-file Republicans.
And when your party is either out of power or holds a comfortable majority, few will take note of the position held by one out of 435 members of the House. But just how far will you go to buck your party when literally every vote is crucial to electing a leader or passing legislation supported by the overwhelming majority of your party? Put another way, how do you balance an unwavering commitment to your principles with the need to be a team player instead of a lone wolf?
Indeed, if the GOP held just a few more seats in the lower chamber and enjoyed a more comfortable majority as it does in the upper chamber, few outside of his district would know or care much about Rep. Massie. But Republican control of the House is so tenuous that it cannot afford to lose more than one vote in its caucus in order to pass the president’s budget resolution or elect a Speaker of the House.
And in both cases, Massie was that one vote. A small handful of other hardcore conservatives originally joined the Kentucky representative in opposing the re-election of Speaker Johnson and the president’s budget resolution. All of them were ultimately talked out of their opposition by President Trump – except Thomas Massie.
Was Massie merely interested in the power that comes with a pivotal vote rarely held by a single member of the House?