If More Republicans Were Behaving Like Thomas Massie, Maybe We Wouldn’t Be So Mired in Sh*t Right Now

2 min readSoon-to-be-ex-Representative Thomas Massie is not going quietly into his next career. Not only has he been agitating about the Epstein Files like a dryer full of golf balls, now he's teed up Secretary of War (and Urban II fanboy) Pete Hegseth. From Politico:Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie on Tuesday introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, an extraordinary attempt by members of the president’s own party to oust a Pentagon chief. The articles are for high crimes and misdemeanors, including the war in Iran, the Trump administration’s boat strikes in the Caribbean and Hegseth’s alleged suppression of free speech in his fight with Democrats over their calls for troops to refuse illegal orders.An admirable bill of particulars.Alas for Massie, and for the rest of us, Speaker Moses decided to scarper ahead of the vote. On Wednesday, he adjourned the House until after the midterm elections. (He did the same thing to Massie months ago regarding Massie's attempt to force release of the Epstein Files.) Massie was quick to call bullpucky on this maneuver on Xwitter.However, by trying this in the first place, Massie has offered a counter-example to one of the most maddening elements of the Republican surrender to madness and crime in the executive branch. Ever since Trump I, there have been more than a few Congresscritters who have chosen to retire rather than be complicit in the administration's malfeasance. This, I believe, was partly cowardice. What made it completely cowardly was the fact that none of these people—and, later, none of the victims of MAGA primary opponents—used their newfound political freedom to counteract the crazy. Some of them made brave mouth-noises, but most of them actually did nothing, obeying a kind of omerta that, in fact, did not have any real power over them any more.Pretty clearly, Massie has chosen to go out noisily in another direction.Massie’s effort is unlikely to succeed in a GOP-controlled Congress. But the nature of the resolution means the House will be forced to vote on it this week, setting up a politically complicated vote for Republicans right before the midterm elections...It also continues a feud between Massie—one of the most vocal critics of the Trump administration’s war—and Hegseth. The Pentagon chief took the unusual step in May of campaigning for Massie’s primary opponent, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein. Massie was defeated by Gallrein soon after.The looming impeachment vote presents a political conundrum for Democrats, many of whom are open to Hegseth’s ouster if they win control of the House in November. But those lawmakers argue any impeachment must be the result of careful investigative work by the committee with oversight of the Pentagon.Oh, for the love of god, throw the guy a bone, Democrats. At least Massie's trying something. Don't leave him hanging out there alone. Voting for his bill doesn't mean you can't throw Hegseth out later, when and if you regain the majority. Unless, of coutse, it does. In which case, you have some explaining to do.