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Why Is Everyone Mad at Massie?

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has a long history of provoking the ire of his colleagues in Congress. Since his election in 2012 as part of the Tea Party wave, he has consistently voted to uphold constitutional principles and demand accountability from both Democrats and Republicans, even when such votes are wildly unpopular. Today, he is drawing vitriol from no less a figure than the President of the United States over his refusal to unanimously consent to the new coronavirus spending bill. Here’s a breakdown of what’s going on.

Over the weekend, President Trump and leaders in the Senate worked together to draft a $2 trillion spending package designed to offset the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 virus and the associated business closures. Even in these days of fiscal excess, $2 trillion is a lot of money, and you can bet that that figure contains plenty of handouts for special interests not directly related to combating the virus. But when both Republicans and Democrats agree to spend a lot of money, it’s pretty certain that that money is going to get spent one way or another.

Before that can happen, though, the House of Representatives has to vote on the bill. Or at least that’s normally how it would work. Instead, Speaker Pelosi is trying to pass the bill via unanimous consent. What that means is that nobody actually votes for anything, and the bill automatically passes unless somebody objects. This is technically legal, as the House is allowed to set its own rules, but it’s also incredibly weaselly in that it prevents Members from going on record to vote for the bill. In years to come, there will be no recorded vote to look at to see who supported the bill and who opposed it. It’s also especially slippery right now due to the fact that many Members are at home or under quarantine, unable to object even if they wanted to. The reason that this is an attractive option to many, especially those who campaigned on promises of fiscal responsibility, is that it deprives their opposition of ammunition to run against them in future elections.

You can’t be accused of voting for big spending packages if no vote was actually held, so in a way it allows supposed-deficit hawks to have their cake and eat it too. So when Rep. Massie raised his lone voice to demand an on-the-record vote, everyone immediately freaked out, and President Trump lashed out at him personally on Twitter, accusing him of grandstanding and seeking publicity.

This is, to say the very least, an overreaction. It seems reasonable, and even constitutionally necessary, for the elected representatives closest to The People to be on the record on what will surely be one of the most consequential legislative acts in a generation. First of all, Massie has a reputation for always demanding on-the-record votes, and it has become something of a trademark for him, so this is hardly a unique situation. Second, Massie is not one of those Never Trumpers who takes every opportunity to obstruct the president’s agenda. In fact, he has been one of the more supportive members in Trump’s own party, so it’s hard not to see Trump’s tweet as petty and childish. Third, Massie’s objection is not going to have any impact on whether the bill passes or not. Critics are reacting as if Massie is single-handedly killing legislation that would help millions of Americans. He’s doing no such thing. He’s just asking that the votes be recorded for posterity, so that Members can be held accountable for their votes in future elections.

It’s hard to see why anyone would have a problem with this. After all, if Congress isn’t going to bother to actually vote on anything, what point is there in even having a legislature? We might as well just send everyone home and let Pelosi dictate new laws all by herself which, judging from her last proffered stimulus bill, would be an unmitigated disaster.

If you want to criticize Members who vote against the bill, that is of course your right, although I personally don’t expect this bloated piece of legislation to help ordinary Americans as much as well-heeled lobbyists and their clients. But it’s incredibly disingenuous to go after the one guy in the House who still thinks the process matters, and who refuses to surrender to panic at a time when we desperately need cool heads to prevail.

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Free the People publishes opinion-based articles from contributing writers. The opinions and ideas expressed do not always reflect the opinions and ideas that Free the People endorses. We believe in free speech, and in providing a platform for open dialog. Feel free to leave a comment!

Logan Albright

Logan Albright is the Head Writer and Sound Engineer at Free the People. He is the author of the books Freedom Over Fear, Libertarian Paganism, Conform or Be Cast Out: The (Literal) Demonization of Nonconformists and Our Servants, Our Masters: How Control Masquerades as Assistance.

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8 comments

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  • I commend this congressman for bringing light to the way votes are taken (not taken) in congress. I’ve learned a lot about the process through watching your interview with him. Plus look at the language the president and John Kerry are using to talk about him. Resorting to name calling and insults are?? To me that’s embarrassing as heck.

  • I follow Massie on Twitter .
    MIT engineer Massie is one of the handful of great libertarian voices in congress .

    Massie 2024 !

  • It is apparent that none of the Congressman’s detractor’s understood the motive for his request. He just wanted those who approved this massive spending pork project with some relief for virus victims to be accountable for their vote, and on the flip side he believed that as time wears on the reality of voting NO will be respected versus the results of passing the bill which will be largely negative.

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