Thomas Massie’s political career deserved a far more dignified ending than the one it got Tuesday night. For north of a decade, Rep. Massie (R-KY) was one of only a handful of members of Congress willing to consistently challenge both parties on spending, surveillance, executive overreach, and the growth of the administrative state. When most Republicans buried their heads in the sand, Massie warned about deficit spending, the national debt, and Congress surrendering its legislative authority to unelected bureaucrats.
The COVID pandemic audited every elected official who claimed to oppose tyranny. When the vast majority of Congress and beyond failed this test miserably, Massie passed with flying colors. The congressman was right about lockdowns, school closures, vaccine mandates, and the dangerous expansion of emergency government power. Massie was one of the only members of Congress who opposed the inflation-causing COVID bailouts.
Massie, the principled, eccentric MIT grad who built an off-the-grid home on his cattle ranch in Garrison, Kentucky, had gone toe to toe with President Donald Trump and Republican leadership several times before. GOP leaders excoriated Massie for opposing Trump’s COVID policies but primary challenges never got off the ground until now.
