Last Updated on October 27, 2023
Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky (R) provided the one Republican vote against Speaker Mike Johnson’s pro-Israel resolution, and Massie’s statement raises big questions about Mike Johnson’s ability to keep us out of World War 3. Massie was one of only ten “No’s” against the Israel resolution, and the only “No” in his Grand Old Party. Thomas Massie explains why. And he’s not holding back.
Congressman Thomas Massie stated: “I condemn the barbaric attack on Israel and I affirm Israel’s right to defend itself. However, I will not be voting for House Resolution 771 today because: 1) It calls for sanctions on a sovereign country. Sanctions are a prelude to war and hurt the citizens of the country more than the government of the country that’s being sanctioned. And ultimately, sanctions create laws that will be used to prosecute American citizens (who engage in trade), not citizens of the sanctioned country.
“In short, sanctions do not achieve their stated purposes but do breed resentment of our country abroad. 2) It asserts the necessity of foreign aid commitments which I have voted against. Our country is going bankrupt and we can’t afford to borrow money to send overseas, yet this resolution states that we should. 3) It contains an open-ended promise of military support that is so broad that it could be interpreted to commit US soldiers to the conflict. US troops should not be engaged in this conflict. 4) It tends to broaden the conflict to other countries when it would be better to keep the war contained geographically. Here’s a link to the text of the resolution, which contains some statements I do support and some statements I cannot support.”
The critical conclusion of the resolution “reaffirms the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security, including through security assistance in accordance with the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding.”
According to the resolution, the “2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding, the United States pledged to provide Israel $3.3 billion per year in Foreign Military Financing Program assistance and $500 million per year in missile defense for 10 years, which Congress has appropriated annually.”
Thomas Massie is an American historical figure who should be lauded for many reasons as a lone voice of common sense during this corrupt confusing time in American politics.
Even if Republicans block Joe Biden’s $105 billion war spending bill, Johnson might be laying out a program of smaller spending bills to fund the government — and there’s no question the defense lobbyists and foreign powers want their cut of America’s money.
Mike Johnson narrowly won the speakership as a compromise candidate with Kevin McCarthy’s eventual support after Matt Gaetz orchestrated three weeks of joyful chaos and populists ousted Kevin McCarthy and defeated Steve Scalise, Austin Scott, Patrick McHenry, Tom Emmer, and various others. But now the fun is over. And the hard questions need to be asked. Campaign finance records show some of Mike Johnson’s war-machine donors, including from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Raytheon, the Institute of Makers and Explosives, and L3Harris.
Mike Johnson’s first act as speaker was to pass a resolution calling for massive support for Israel. And the war machine moves faster. Thomas Massie, alone in the Grand Old Party, took a stand for American sovereignty and for the people who actually live in the United States of America, not some foreign country.
