Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is not afraid to go against the grain. He opposed Trump, the House GOP leadership, and even his common allies in the House Freedom Caucus by voting against the American Health Care Act (AHCA). He would not buckle under the pressure, and despite its passage by a narrow margin, Massie is not backing down.
“We voted on a health-care bill for which the text was available only a few hours before the vote,” Massie said in a Highland County Press op/ed. “In fact, the Congressional Budget Office had no time to even provide Congress with a preliminary estimate of the full cost of this bill.”
Massie was joined by 20 Republican legislators who voted against the revised version of the AHCA. Most of the legislators who voted against the AHCA were moderates who felt the measure went too far in repealing Obamacare. Alongside Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Massie was one of the few who voted against the bill because they felt it was undue government overreach.
“If this bill becomes law, it could result in worse outcomes, fewer options, and higher prices for Kentuckians who seek health care. In summary, I voted against this bill not because it’s imperfect, but because it’s not good,” Massie said.
It remains to be seen if Massie receives any serious repercussions for his vote against the AHCA. President Trump infamously threatened Freedom Caucus members if they refused to comply with his health care demands. Although Massie is not a member of the Freedom Caucus and has gone out of his way to praise the President, that may not be enough to get him out of the President’s crosshairs after voting against the legislation Trump has pushed so fervently.
Regardless of the potential consequences, Massie is expected to continue to follow his staunch libertarian principles, and continue offering what he feels to be lasting solutions that can actually solve problems relating to health care and other issues where Americans need relief.
“This bill should have included measures that allow Americans to take charge of their own health care and get the government out of the way,” Massie said. “These measures include allowing the deduction of health insurance costs from income taxes, giving everyone the ability to purchase insurance across state lines, and allowing individuals to band together through any organization to purchase insurance.”
The Senate is expected to re-tool the AHCA completely in the upcoming weeks.
He has it easy to say no in a red red zone.
Yes, but Republicans will not even vote on the repeal bills they sent to Obama. Sadly even if Republicans fail to live up to our expectation voting Democrat is still off the table.