A lone Republican in Congress has defied his party to repeatedly stand with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and other pro-Palestinian leftist “Squad” members.
Libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has voted three times against Israel and against antisemitism since a surprise Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 left 1,200 Israeli civilians dead.
“He probably voted with the squad more than any other Republican in the House,” said one frustrated Capitol Hill GOP source. “He voted no on everything and because Republicans control the House, the squad will also vote no on everything.”
On Oct. 25 The House voted to condemn Hamas by an overwhelming margin of 412-10.
Nine of the 10 opponents are Democrats, including Ocasio-Cortez (Bronx), Tlaib (Mich.), Rep. Cori Bush (Mo.), Rep. Ilham Omar (Minn.) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-Westchester).
Massie, 52, was the only Republican dissenter, and said on X he opposed the measure because of its call for sanctions, which he called “starting a war.”
Representative Thomas Massie has repeatedly voted with the AOC and other House progressives on Israel.ZUMAPRESS.com
On Nov. 2, the House passed a resolution condemning support for Hamas and Hezbollah on college campuses.
The vote was decided by another margin of 396-23. Opponents included AOC, Tlaib, Omar, and other House progressives, while the lone Republican opposition came from Massie.
His opposition this time, Massie said to Xis based on free speech grounds.
The same day, the House approved a $14.3 billion aid package to Israel to aid the country’s war against Hamas. Massie again went against his colleagues and sided with the squad members to oppose the move.
Pro-Palestinian supporters are seen protesting at Columbia University.REUTERS
Massie, who has served the Bluegrass State in Congress since 2012, said he pushed back because of his longstanding opposition to foreign aid.
“We can’t afford it,” he sent to X.
Massie also closed ranks with the squad and House Democrats by voting against Tlaib’s condemnation, after the congresswoman publicly defended calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.
The measure passed — with 22 Democrats joining 212 Republicans to cross the finish line.
Massie said his vote is based on free speech grounds.
In 2019, he joined the squad in opposing a bill condemning the antisemitic Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
He was again the only Republican to do so.
In May 2022, he said no to a House resolution that broadly condemned antisemitism. The vote was 420-to-1 — he stood alone in opposition.
Massie, the son of a West Virginia beer distributor, earned two engineering degrees from MIT, held two dozen patents, and was a small business owner before entering Congress.
He lives in an off-grid home in rural Kentucky that he built himself.
“I just want to be left alone, and do whatever I want,” he explained the evolution of his beliefs to the Austrian Economic Center in a 2018 interview. “Libertarian is not part of the vocabulary where I live, but people understand freedom, actually, in eastern Kentucky , the impression is ‘You mind your own business, and your neighbors mind theirs,’ so even they won’t say. they are libertarian ideologues, they will say they will mind their own business. So I found a lot of sympathetic people there, they encouraged me to run for office.”
From left, Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., were pictured together during a news conference. CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
Being a perennial “no” vote has made Massie one of the least effective members of Congress according to the Center for Effective Lawmaking.
In his decade in the chamber, he has never been the primary sponsor of a bill that has become law, records show.
“The biggest challenge to US-Israel relations comes not only from the far left but also from the far right. Thomas Massie is Exhibit A for the growing Anti-Israel alienation among the right wing,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx) — one of the most pro-Israel members in Congress today.
Massie has also angered many of the same Israeli activists — now launching a major challenge against members of the squad.
Massie, who has served the Bluegrass State in Congress since 2012, said he declined because of his longstanding opposition to foreign aid.Getty Images
Last week the United Democracy Project, a pro-Israel super PAC affiliated with AIPAC announced a six-figure ad buy targeting Massie — and two other far-left members.
“Their constituents deserve to know that these members of Congress refused to vote on the House floor to condemn the horrific Hamas terrorist attack on October 7,” Patrick Dorton, a PAC spokesman, told Jewish Insider.
Massie’s office declined to comment otherwise, pointing to his statement about X.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
