Knives Out for Thomas Massie

It’s knives out for Thomas Massie, but did you fall for MAGA clickbait?

Pundits, like Laura Ingraham, are accusing Massie of voting against the SAVE Act. This was an overt lie.

And it reveals a pernicious procedural trick.

NOTE: You can agree or disagree with the bill. I wouldn’t vote for it. But you should agree with the actual No votes Massie cast here.

In a post on X, Massie explains how the Swamp works. In essence…

Every week – EVERY WEEK! – the House Rules Committee rewrites or bends the rules for whatever the Speaker’s agenda du jour is. This allows the majority to keep changing the rules so that the minority can’t use the so-called permanent rules against them.

These new rules are voted on by every member of Congress, and votes on the rules are normally cast along partisan lines.

The first “rules package” that would have brought the SAVE Act to the floor included provisions to avoid a Congressional vote on tariffs and a rule to remove the ban on bringing an unread spending bill to the floor the very same day it’s introduced. Some Republicans, including Massie, voted No.

Subsequently, the Rules Committee removed the tariff language. That rules package went to the floor. Massie was the lone Republican to vote “no.”

Thanks to this rules package, the Swamp has the authority to bring a bill to the floor before anyone can read it. They hid this authority in the rules for the SAVE Act because they knew Republicans would be afraid to vote no. And if a spending bill is rushed, it’s easier to pass.

Massie called this new rule the “Pelosi Doctrine,” as in… Congress has to pass rules to figure out what’s in them.

If Congress had already passed the Read The Bills Act (RTBA), they wouldn’t be able to play these games.

Under the RTBA… Bills must be read word-for-word in front of Congress, and the bills must be posted online, in full, for seven days before a vote so that everyone, including you, can read them.

Even more relevant to this situation…

RTBA is NOT a rule that can be changed for the Swamp’s convenience. It’s a law with teeth.

If RTBA were the law, these clickbait attacks against principled representatives like Massie wouldn’t be possible. More importantly, Congress wouldn’t be able to bring spending bills to the floor the same day they were introduced.

If you stand with Massie against the Swamp, join The 300 today.

Fight the Clickbait Swamp with RTBA

Set your own agenda,

Jim Babka, President
Agenda Setters by Downsize DC

Today’s Action: Fight the Clickbait Swamp by joining The 300 for Read the Bills