Greenberg: Massie’s Ouster No Mystery

Thomas Massie, libertarian maverick from Kentucky, finally went down to Trump-endorsed challenger Ed Gallrein in the Republican primary.

After more than a decade in Congress, Massie’s quirky brand of fiscal scolding and foreign policy contrarianism proved too much for the GOP that still likes its overseas allies.

The race exposed just how radioactive his views had become, turning what was once a safe seat into a battlefield over America First priorities versus never-ending foreign aid checks.

Massie’s ouster was no mystery. He built a habit of voting against pretty much anything that smelled like support for Israel –  Iron Dome funding, post-October 7 emergency aid, even routine resolutions affirming Israel’s right to defend itself. While most Republicans saw Hamas’s atrocities and Iran’s threats as reasons to back an ally, Massie clutched his non-interventionist pearls and warned about taxpayer burdens.

Pro-Israel super PACs responded by dropping tens of millions, framing him as the unreliable oddball who couldn’t be trusted on national security.

Challenger Gallrein happily played the role of reliable alternative, and Kentucky’s voters went along. Turns out endless lectures about “entangling alliances” play better in college dorms than in districts that remember 9/11.

Years were spent cataloging what could be politely called antisemitic trends in Massie’s record on Jews, Israel, and the usual suspects.

In 2022, he earned the lonely distinction of being the sole “no” vote in the entire House on a resolution condemning antisemitic violence and celebrating Jewish contributions to America. Just a coincidence, surely.

Then came the December 2023 meme masterpiece contrasting “Zionism” with “American patriotism,” which even the White House labeled virulent antisemitism.

Massie seemed genuinely surprised that implying Congress cared more about Israel than Kentucky might ruffle feathers.

He has made something of a hobby out of spotlighting AIPAC, Miriam Adelson, and the Republican Jewish Coalition, painting their campaign spending as sinister foreign meddling that “buys” elections.

Never mind that he wants AIPAC registered as a foreign agent while conveniently ignoring plenty of other lobbies.

The selective outrage – endless harping on Jewish-linked influence while U.S. policy supposedly serves Tel Aviv over taxpayers – flirts with some of the oldest conspiracy tunes in the book. Massie insists it’s all principled opposition to aid, not Jews, but the pattern of solitary no votes and lobby obsession has a certain repetitive quality that raises eyebrows.

Post-October 7, the rhetoric dialed up. Massie kept hammering civilian casualties in Gaza, questioned the volume of pro-Israel measures, and suggested America was being dragged into Middle East messes by external puppet masters. Classic dual-loyalty vibes, wrapped in folksy concern about domestic priorities like the border and inflation.

He rejects the antisemitism charge with theatrical indignation, claiming disagreement isn’t hatred and that he supports Israel’s right to exist – just not with American money or congressional resolutions. We didn’t buy it.

When your greatest hits include lone dissents on antisemitism condemnations and social media memes that make the ADL twitch, people start connecting dots.

On Massie’s libertarianism: In today’s polarized American politics, libertarianism – that shiny ideology of maximal individual liberty, minimal government, and the sacred non-aggression principle – reveals itself as anything but a reliable buddy to the Republican Party. Instead, self-styled libertarians (or the “libertarian-leaning” sort who conveniently caucus with the GOP) act as prickly antagonists, happily undermining party unity while cozying up to Democrats. They are far from strengthening the conservative coalition.

Libertarian activists and protest votes sap energy from the base, dilute unified messaging, and let Democrats portray Republicans as simultaneously authoritarian and chaotic. In narrow-margin Washington, that’s not helpful, it’s sabotage with better branding.

What’s particularly amusing is how often Massie’s greatest hits sound like they were workshopped by the far-left progressive caucus. His laser-focused takedowns of AIPAC and the “Israel lobby” could have been copy-pasted from AOC, Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib, complete with dark mutterings about dual loyalty and bought politicians.

America’s progressives scream “genocide” and “occupation”; Massie nods along on civilian deaths and unconditional aid while swapping their identity-politics wrapper for libertarian isolationism.

He has teamed up with Squad-adjacent Democrats on war powers resolutions against Iran and loves to decry endless Middle East wars that supposedly enrich defense contractors and drain American wallets.

The “no more endless wars” schtick, the warnings that Israel pulls Washington into conflicts – pure progressive catnip, minus the keffiyehs and campus chants.

Massie’s emphasis on Gaza suffering and ending military assistance mirrors left-wing narratives of disproportionate Israeli force, just delivered with a straight face and Ron Paul references. Outlets have cheekily observed that on restraint, this Kentucky Republican sometimes outflanks the Democrats.

Massie stayed reliably right-wing on guns, abortion, taxes, and spending – positions that would get him primaried from the left in a heartbeat. Still, the rhetorical overlap on Israel is hard to unsee, especially when a supposed constitutional conservative starts sounding like AOC on foreign policy.

His loss illustrated the growing impatience with this particular brand of independence. In today’s GOP, vocal skepticism of Israel isn’t the charming quirk it once was. Massie’s career, built on being the principled gadfly, ultimately crashed into shifting realities where strong alliances matter more than solitary protest votes.