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politics and politicians Title: GOP Rep. Thomas Massie: "I don’t think there is a good outcome in 2016" "Now that Rand [Paul] is out of the race, the libertarian voice is gone," says Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky). "The one argument for libertarians to vote Republican that still remains is the Supreme Court. Other than that, I really can’t see very much endearing for a libertarian in these Republican candidate." Nick Gillespie sat down with the three-term congressman during the International Students for Liberty Conference to discuss the 2016 election, Apple vs. surveillance state, and why "engineers, not politicians" keep him optimistic about the future. About 7 minutes. Produced by Meredith Bragg. Cameras by Meredith and Austin Bragg. Scroll below for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube channel to receive automatic notifications when new videos go live. THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. PLEASE CHECK ALL QUOTES AGAINST VIDEO FOR ACCURACY. Reason: Hi, I’m Nick Gillespie with Reason TV and today we’re talking with Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky. Congressman Massie, thanks for talking with us. Massie: Thanks for having me, Nick. Reason: We are at the International Students for Liberty Conference. What are the most important votes coming up for a libertarian-leaning Republican between now and the 2016 election? Massie: I think we can force some votes on the privacy issue. I’ve been able to force about four votes and in fact, last year and the year before, I forced a vote on the appropriations bill to shut down the back doors, to shut down government forcing companies to install back doors in their products. That amendment was attached to an appropriations bill that got thrown away and then an omnibus was later done, but it’s important to get the votes, because then you can see where the congressmen stand. Reason: In a recent Republican-candidate debate, all of the existing candidates basically said, “Apple should unlock that iPhone and just be done with it.” How do you feel about that? Massie: Well, I’m sad. I mean, now that Rand [Paul]’s out of the race, the libertarian voice is gone. And I think it’s also untethered some of those candidates to be more neocon-ish. Reason: What are the prospects in the 2016 election for growing the number of congressmen and senators who, like yourself, are serious about shrinking the size, scope and spending of government? Massie: I think the prospects are good. There’s a guy in Indiana, Jim Banks, who’s been good on the food freedom issue in his state senate so I’ve decided to back him. And you know, there are other candidates out there. The real question for me--or my goal now or my mission in life—is when the good guys get elected, is trying to keep them from becoming zombies when they get to D.C. Because you know, we get probably 12 to 20 guys every cycle that you know, they run on what they believe and they believe what they run on and then they get there and they sell out within six months. Reason: What are the ways that you either keep them from selling out our becoming zombiefied? Is it education, is it support, what is it to keep them strong? Massie: Congressmen get led to a place they never want to go. And then they find themselves there and they find themselves trying to argue that that’s the right position. Poster Comment: Trump/Massie 2016? Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
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