Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky defended his vote to table a resolution condemning Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan Thursday.
Massie was one of 22 Republicans who voted Wednesday to table a resolution by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia that would have censured Tlaib for antisemitic comments and a raucous Oct. 18 protest. Tlaib and other left-wing members of the House of Representatives known as “The Squad” released statements calling for a ceasefire almost immediately after Israel began its response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas.
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“Free speech isn’t just about protecting the speech that you like, it’s especially about protecting the speech you don’t like,” Massie told “Jesse Watters Primetime guest host Rachel Campos-Duffy. “I think the protest was an expression of speech. Now, the other reason that I voted against this resolution, the language was modelled after a resolution that I voted against two years ago that calls the January 6th protesters insurrectionists. It’s wrong to call the January 6th protesters insurrectionists and I think it’s wrong to call the people that were with Rashida Tlaib insurrectionists. So, those were my two reasons for voting against it.”
Campos-Duffy pressed Massie over his concerns about the resolution, citing the FBI’s seizure of Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania’s cell phone and a perceived double standard in the treatment the pro-Palestine protesters received compared to some of those charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol building.
“I wish it had been worded differently. They came after her, to your point, Rachel, they came after Marjorie with resolutions and kicked her off her committees,” Massie said. “It’s definitely within her prerogative to do this. Somebody’s got to stop it though. We’ve got to get back to normal.”
“I know there are people who would like us to do kung fu fighting on the floor of the House of Representatives,” Massie added. “We may not be far from it. I would like to take the tone down just a little bit so we can solve some of America’s problems.”
Harold Hutchison on November 2, 2023
