One of Boehner's fiercest critics was in local delegation
One man who won't miss House Speaker John Boehner is one of his fiercest critics: Rep. Thomas Massie.
Boehner’s announcement that he would resign Oct. 30 from Congress is good for the nation, House Republicans and Massie himself, the Northern Kentucky Republican said.
“I think it’s good news for the country,” Massie said. “Now it is up to members of Congress to decide what to do with the gift that has been handed to them. I hope we don’t squander it.”
Massie is one of the most visible tea party Republicans in Congress and one of Boehner’s loudest GOP detractors — even though they both were part of the Cincinnati-area delegation.
Two months after being elected in 2012, Massie voted against re-electing Boehner as speaker. He voted against him again this year.
Massie objected to what he saw as Boehner's bullying tactics: not allowing debate on topics and punishing members for votes he doesn’t like. He also felt Boehner didn’t stay true to conservative principles.
“The way John Boehner ran the House of Representatives, he acted as if he was speaker of the United States,” Massie said.
Earlier, Massie told The Associated Press that Boehner's tenure "subverted our republic."
A resolution introduced in the House in August to boot Boehner from the speaker’s chair listed eight reasons why Boehner wasn’t fit to lead the House. Massie was one of four members of the House to sign on.
Massie believes that this resolution was the tipping point that led to Boehner’s resignation.
“When we returned to Congress from the August recess, the lack of support for the speaker was palpable,” Massie said. “Members started running for his position and lower positions.”
Who does Massie support? Massie said he hasn’t committed, but he thinks Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., is a strong candidate.
He believes that Webster would govern “from the bottom up.” That means people like Massie would get long-stalled bills heard more in committee and on the floor.
He hopes this means his bill to audit the Federal Reserve and his “food freedom” bills that would lift restrictions on certain items, such as raw milk, will move forward.
Massie believes it also would mean less brinksmanship on the budget.
This could mean a long-term highway bill and better infrastructure, Massie said. At least he hopes it means people won’t just vote the way the speaker wants them to.
“Having a new speaker is good news for every congressional district because heretofore many members of Congress have been giving their voting cards to the speaker, figuratively at least,” Massie said. “Now there’s hope that every member of Congress can vote their conscience.”