Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky has become a source of hatred for the Republican party and President Trump, who verbally abused him and attacked him for being the only congressman in all of Congress to oppose the Coronavirus bailout bill.
Even before the 49-year-old drew Trump’s ire on Twitter, he had been a thorn in the side of both parties for so long that he’s nicknamed “Mr. No.”
“Throw Massie out of Republican Party!” Trump tweeted on Friday.
Massie unsuccessfully sought to have a member-by-member vote in the House on the coronavirus bill, but officials used House rules to deny his request, allowing it to pass with a simple voice vote.
“I came to here to make sure our republic doesn’t die by unanimous consent in an empty chamber, and I request a recorded vote,” Massie said on the House floor before his proposal was rejected.
“I am not delaying the bill like (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi did last week,” Massie wrote on Twitter earlier. “The bill that was worked on in the Senate late last week was much better before Speaker Pelosi showed up to destroy it and add days and days to the process.”
Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, a Democrat who is usually diplomatic in his manner of speaking, wrote on Twitter that “Congressman Massie has tested positive for being an asshole. He must be quarantined to prevent the spread of his massive stupidity.”
Trump volleyed back, “Never knew John Kerry had such a good sense of humor! Very impressed!” (source)
Is it Presidential behavior for a President to publicly insult a member of Congress, call him an a**hole?
It is good behavior for members of government to abuse another member for opposing a measure based on principle?
This is not the behavior of government that values the people or her fellow members. This is more in line with the actions of a dictator or a tyrannical government.
This is part of the reason why I oppose the use of “my president” for any president, be it Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, or another.
This is not to say that patriotism is bad, for one should love one’s nation and seek her objective best. This is a good and moral thing in most cases. What I am saying is that the idea of “my president” is an unnecessary personalization and glorification of a national leader that can tend to elevate the idea of a man to a state which he is not and thus prepare or actively enjoin conditions for tyrannical behavior in politics and society out of the same call for “patriotism.” One can also see this in the corporate world, where major CEOs are lauded to the status of a kind of “superman” where all of his decisions are considered “right” and anybody who expresses a minor disagreement or variance in opinion is condemned as a bad person. It is behavior that possesses more similarity to that of a religion or dangerous sect than that of a respect for those in power.
Power is a great responsibility, and many times those who actively seek power do it because they want to control people for very malicious reasons. Trump was born into power and regardless of one’s views on him, Trump was given the opportunity to make a real positive change in the direction of America when elected. It would be impossible to deny this, for while no man is perfect, he could have really “drained the swamp” if he wanted to, at least partially.
But he did not. Instead of “draining the swamp,” Trump has redirected the flow of national septic right into the White House and poured it upon the public. Trump’s insults are no longer funny or relevant, but are setting a dangerous political precedent as he actively is bankrupting the country right now, and the one man in Congress with a conscience to oppose it was violently shouted down.
Thomas Massie is an American hero. May his words and his memory never be forgotten, and may the Lord bless him for being the only one to say “this is wrong” when no one else would, and may he go down into the annals of history as that lone voice who, when the crowd was hailing the “leader” and his plans, he refused to hail in return and was abused for it because his morals mattered more.
This is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause.
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