{"id":2250497,"date":"2024-05-22T15:10:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T19:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thomas-massie-makes-enemies-everywhere-except-his-home-district\/"},"modified":"2024-05-22T15:13:57","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T19:13:57","slug":"thomas-massie-makes-enemies-everywhere-except-his-home-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thomas-massie-makes-enemies-everywhere-except-his-home-district\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas Massie is disliked everywhere except in his home district"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthomas-massie-makes-enemies-everywhere-except-his-home-district%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2250497&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Rep. Thomas Massie from Kentucky has been a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-is-the-guy-who-created-talk-radio-megyn-kelly-and-eric-bolling-discuss-rush-limbaughs-legacy\/\" title=\"\u2018This Is The Guy Who Created Talk Radio\u2019: Megyn Kelly And Eric Bolling Discuss Rush Limbaugh\u2019s Legacy\">controversial figure<\/a> in \u200dWashington,\u2062 known for challenging COVID-19 \u2062relief efforts and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nancy-mace-takes-credit-for-historic-mccarthy-ouster-i-just-booted-out-the-old-speaker-and-got-a-new-speaker\/\" title=\"Nancy Mace claims credit for ousting McCarthy: 'I replaced the old speaker with a new one.'\">opposing party leadership<\/a>. Despite this, \u200chis constituents in Kentucky&#8217;s 4th\u2063 District overwhelmingly support him, emphasizing the\u2063 disconnect between national and local politics. His persistent\u200b opposition to establishment norms reflects broader trends within the GOP, highlighting the significance of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flashback-mitch-mcconnell-received-donations-from-voting-machine-lobbyists-before-blocking-election-security-bills\/\" title=\"Flashback: Mitch McConnell Received Donations from Voting Machine Lobbyists Before Blocking Election Security Bills\">grassroots support<\/a> and ideological consistency.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has not exactly endeared himself to House colleagues since his arrival in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>During the height of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>pandemic<\/a>, he famously forced lawmakers to fly to Washington to keep him from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2020\/03\/27\/trump-congressman-thomas-massie-coronavirus-vote-151523\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>derailing<\/a> a $2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. Earlier this month, Republicans fumed as he joined a failed attempt to oust Speaker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-johnson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Mike Johnson<\/a> (R-LA).<\/p>\n<p>However, Republican voters in Kentucky\u2019s 4th District made clear on Tuesday night they do not share the same contempt for Massie. Seventy-six percent opted to give him what will be his seventh full term. He does not face a Democratic challenger in the fall.<\/p>\n<p>His victory illustrates a common theme in GOP politics. Opposing leadership may cause drama and even gridlock in Washington, but it pays dividends back home.<\/p>\n<p>Massie joins Republicans, particularly from the House Freedom Caucus, who have built anti-establishment reputations by railing against what they see as capitulation to the Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think people see him as very sincere,\u201d Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), his close home-state ally, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you look at congressional races, it\u2019s based on being there, knowing the people, representing their views,\u201d he added. \u201cThis is a very conservative part of Kentucky.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Massie\u2019s antagonism toward leadership is based, in part, on traditional GOP concerns about federal spending. He walks around the Capitol with a homemade national debt counter on his lapel.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s also due to his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-test-of-gops-primary-strategy-political-newcomer-aims-to-bring-down-jon-tester-can-he-pull-it-off\/\" title=\"Can a political newcomer bring down Jon Tester in the GOP's primary strategy test?\">libertarian bent<\/a>. Massie considered Johnson\u2019s decision to oppose warrants for U.S. data captured in the government\u2019s foreign surveillance program a betrayal, while he also raged at the speaker for giving Ukraine aid a vote on the House floor.<\/p>\n<p>The views are not so uncommon in the age of Donald Trump. The former president lumps the spy program in with efforts to surveil his 2016 campaign, while Trump brags that he could end the conflict with Russia in a single day.<\/p>\n<p>But Massie\u2019s ideological purity, especially on foreign policy, predates the populist shift in the GOP seen under Trump. He is often the lone, or among the only, GOP \u201cno\u201d votes on resolutions generally regarded as uncontroversial.<\/p>\n<p>In April, he was the sole Republican to oppose a resolution condemning Iran\u2019s missile attack on Israel.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) leaves a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Massie did not face a serious challenger in his reelection bid. The two other candidates running received around 12% of the vote apiece.<\/p>\n<p>That does not mean his independent streak is without risks, however.<\/p>\n<p>Massie has repeatedly antagonized Trump, who, as president, called him a \u201cthird-rate grandstander\u201d for his decision to force a vote on COVID-19 relief.<\/p>\n<p>He thumbed his nose at the former president\u2019s White House run last year, endorsing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) instead, and more recently ignored Trump\u2019s pleas not to oust Johnson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne thing I\u2019ll give Tom Massie \u2014 he\u2019s a consistent, convicted libertarian-leaning Republican. He\u2019s not head of the fan club,\u201d said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who was elected to the House around the same time as Massie in 2012.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has shown a willingness to meddle in Republican primaries. In March, he encouraged a primary challenge against Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL), another Republican to endorse DeSantis in the presidential race.<\/p>\n<p>However, Massie has brushed off concerns that his outspokenness will cost him and even rushed to the defense of Lee over what he said were \u201cridiculous bullying tactics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump stayed out of Massie\u2019s primary, but his support could be valuable if Massie wants to run for the seat of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) when he retires in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The bigger concern, at least judging by the primary, could be the readiness of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group, to oppose any aspirations he may have for higher office.<\/p>\n<p>Its affiliated super PAC spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in ads highlighting his opposition to a raft of pro-Israel measures, including an antisemitism bill he voted against on free speech grounds and, more importantly, aid to the Jewish state.<\/p>\n<p>The spending did not tilt the outcome of the primary. However, AIPAC has framed the spending as part of a larger effort to counter a possible Senate run by Massie.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Not every House rabble-rouser has gotten off the hook this election cycle. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is among those facing a primary challenge backed by Kevin McCarthy after eight Republicans booted him from the speakership in October. However, unseating Gaetz, too, will be difficult. <\/p>\n<p>He won 70% of the Republican vote in his 2022 primary.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) hasn&#8217;t won over House colleagues since arriving in Washington. In a bold move during the pandemic, he compelled lawmakers to convene in person, delaying a crucial $2 trillion relief bill. Recently, Republicans were furious when he participated in a failed removal attempt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2651,"featured_media":2250498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24128753941860-1024x591.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2250497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24128753941860-1024x591.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2651"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2250497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2250498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2250497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2250497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2250497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}