Principle over party

We desperately need a populist movement built on principle, not idolatry

Why are the Republicans seemingly falling apart when they just won the Senate, House, and White House? Why can’t the Trump administration release the JFK, MLK Jr., and Epstein files? Why are we passing Joe Biden’s continuing resolution after DOGE exposed billions in clear fraud and abuse? Why are we $36 trillion in debt, yet no one addresses it?

Social media exploded this week when Representative Thomas Massie, a libertarian from Kentucky, declared he would vote “no” on the continuing resolution that funded the federal government through September 2025. Trump made the mistake of lashing out at Massie, promising on Truth Social to back a primary challenge against the congressman. Trump, either uninformed or misinformed, was probably surprised to see just how much support Massie has across the country. Without digging into Massie, it looks like he just votes “no” on everything, but I would argue he is the best politician in the U.S. right now.

Massie has been in the House since 2012, and no one can get under D.C.’s skin like he can. Not only has he been vindicated for his positions throughout COVID (lockdowns did more harm than good (Herby et al., 2022), masks didn’t work (Cochrane, 2023), and natural immunity was more preventative than the vaccine (Sheehan et al., 2021), but he forced Congress to convene in 2020 to defend the CARES Act. He wouldn’t let the House pass a $2.2 trillion spending bill without a full vote, saying, “I came here to make sure our republic doesn’t die by unanimous consent in an empty chamber, and I request a recorded vote” (Massie, 2020). This was the first time Massie pissed off everyone, including Trump, who called him a grandstander and demanded he be removed from the GOP (Trump, 2020). Looking back now, Massie was clearly correct. The $2.2 trillion hammered inflation, did nothing to stop COVID, and the CARES Act included mail-in ballot measures that devastated public trust in elections that fall (CBO, 2021).

Massie solidified himself as a thorn in D.C.’s side during COVID, but his principled response to the pandemic built massive credibility with his voters. He was right about COVID and said it loudly when it was unpopular. That’s how you build a loyal base. Does Trump want to defend his COVID response? Does he still brag about Operation Warp Speed? How does his base feel about vaccine mandates? Trump caved under pressure from COVID; Thomas Massie stuck to his libertarian values and was exonerated for doing so.

Donald Trump built a populist movement on an America First agenda. He campaigned on a border wall, anti-corruption, transparency, and addressing the debt. He told us 40-year politicians won’t fix the problem, they created it. In fairness, this is all true. Take the border, for example. Illegal crossings from 2016-2020 were way down; Biden takes over, and ~15 million illegals flooded us (CBP, 2024). Trump is back in, and border crossings are at the lowest they’ve ever been (CBP, 2025). Just look at the Democrats’ talking points from the last 10 years. In 2015, it was racist to want a border wall; in 2017, $5 billion was just way too much for a border wall; in 2021, there was no crisis at the border; in 2024, Kamala was running on how tough she’s going to be on immigration (Harris, 2024). She even tried to slam Trump for not building the wall, saying he didn’t keep his promise. Laughable.

These situations reassure me that the Democrats were not “right.” They’re just trying to get kicks in while we wrestle within the party. They had their shot, and we saw what Joe Biden did. Kamala said herself she wouldn’t change anything from how Joe ran the show. I still think liberal ideology was rightfully rejected, and our qualms with Trump do not, in turn, give credence to infinite unchecked migration, free housing and healthcare for illegals, censorship on social media, or DEI policies. This is what right-leaning voters need to understand. It’s our strength that we’re upset with Trump for not keeping his word, not a weakness. We don’t just keep our mouths shut when the rug is getting pulled out from under us. When Biden was in office, his voters fell in line even when he continued to support Israel’s attacks on Gaza, against the wishes of his base (Gallup, 2023). That’s weakness. Standing up for what you actually voted for should be the expectation, not sitting down and shutting up because we “won.”

What have we won so far? Are we getting what we wanted? No file releases, no arrests, no border wall, and billions of dollars to Israel and Ukraine in three short months (Congressional Record, 2025). He ran on ending foreign aid, then gets in and quietly says, “Well, except for Israel and Ukraine, obviously” (Trump, 2025). People say, “Give him time,” well then don’t promise day-one releases. Don’t put information that’s been publicly available since 2015 in binders, hand them out to influencers, and tell us that counts as releasing the Epstein files. It’s not unfair to be pissed at Trump for blatantly falling through on campaign promises. To attack Massie as a grandstander when you can’t keep a single promise yourself is the ultimate irony. Massie was elected by his constituents because he ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility, individual liberty and property rights, non-interventionist foreign policy, and Second Amendment absolutism: an actual America First agenda. When he tries to stop Republicans from adding to the debt by passing Joe Biden’s CR, he’s doing exactly what he was elected to do.

I can feel the frustration building too. Democrat voters think Trump and Musk are emptying the treasury into their pockets, and Republican voters are begging for a file release daily online. DOGE produced a list of government waste, fraud, and abuse, yet Trump is pushing Congress to fund all these programs again? Massie is simply asking to cut the programs DOGE highlighted: transgender surgeries in Burma and Sesame Street in Iraq, etc.. The response is a commitment from AIPAC and Donald Trump to primary Massie out of the House (AIPAC, 2025). The cult allegations are getting sticky.

Massie has always had a target on his back. When he was elected in 2012, he was the first congressman to publicly reject an AIPAC agent (Massie, 2024). The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is the most powerful lobby in the U.S., and they assign an “AIPAC person” to every Republican member of the House and a number of Democrat members (Massie, 2024). Massie said when he was first running for Congress, AIPAC came to him and asked him to write his thoughts about Israel before they would support him. He responded that he’s not running for Congress in Israel and refused. Once he won his race, he banned AIPAC from his office (Massie, 2024). No other foreign country is allowed access to our politicians to lobby them under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). AIPAC is exempt because its members are a majority U.S. citizens, but Massie argues they lobby on behalf of a foreign government (Massie, 2024). Jewish people also have dual citizenship to Israel as a birthright, even if born in the U.S., so it’s not cut and dry either way. This conversation took over after Massie went on Tucker Carlson’s podcast and put a large spotlight on AIPAC (Carlson, 2024).

I’m laying a lot out here, but my point is that we’re much closer to unity than we think. It starts with principle on both sides. Stop bending your politics based on your favorite politicians. Form your principles, then support politicians who represent your ideas. I know we’re close because Democrats tried to run on the border in 2024. They know mass illegal immigration is hugely unpopular and indefensible at this point. We need to build a movement around the biggest issues that have reached broad consensus. Yes, the border is under control now, but when Kamala wins in 2028, she’ll reopen it right away. Her voters, who claim to care about the border, will celebrate it. We need to discard the idea that “the person I voted for can do no wrong” across the board.

We’re $36 trillion in the hole and add $2 trillion every year (Treasury.gov, 2025). Put that at the center of the populist movement. Make lifelong politicians defend the policies they’ve voted for over the last 40 years. Make them defend the wars and immigration while our own cities fall apart by the day. Make them defend the education level of our society. Baltimore spends ~$22,000 per student per year on public education, and ~16% of them read at grade level (NAEP, 2024). Is it a funding problem? How have metrics regarding education improved since the founding of the Department of Education? Government spending increases like clockwork while our own communities crumble.

If you ask any American if our society is doing well, they’ll laugh in your face and say no. We can all recognize decline, yet no one can get over their ego and call out their own side. Trump’s base is right on a lot of issues (border, trans kids, overspending, transparency), but it doesn’t look like Trump is going to honor those who gave him his power. The Democrats need to admit that their approach to these problems has failed our country horribly. Democrats will never align themselves with Trump voters, and Trump voters will never accept a return to a welfare state with unchecked immigration. Both sides need to let go and find new ground.

Do we need to burn all bridges and try to force people into this movement? Should we shame people who still support their establishment? No, because their original principles have been so twisted they don’t even know what they’re holding onto anymore. Trump voters just want a border wall and the Epstein files, but they think saying that out loud is some betrayal. It’s not! You’ve been betrayed, and to speak up about it is justifiable! Democrat voters let their empathy get hijacked for the last 40 years, but I’m not willing to shame people for having empathy. They see poor and hungry people around the world and are compelled to help them. That’s not a bad thing, but it is when we put ourselves into debt trying to help everyone. Imagine your household is $200,000 in debt, and your wife wants to buy dinner for the neighbors because they have even less. Is it fair for the husband to say we can’t afford to do this? Is it fair for the wife to claim he has no heart? When the right refers to suicidal empathy on the left, this is what they mean.

Just let go. You’ll feel better when you do. Twisting yourself into a pretzel to say it’s actually good that we don’t have the Epstein files yet is exhausting. Trying to convince the public that we should fund trans surgeries in Burma is never going to work. Are we just going to keep beating the shit out of each other while the middle class disappears? Wake up! If you’re angry with Thomas Massie for doing what all other politicians should be doing, you’re on the wrong side of this one. If you’re celebrating the turmoil within the conservative party as a win against Trump, you’re also on the wrong side. If you aren’t fully reliant on your base principles when criticizing or withholding criticism, you are a part of the problem.

If I were to engineer a populist movement in response myself, the principles at the center would be as follows: personal liberty and private property ownership, free and open markets, non-interventionist foreign policy, open trade in pursuit of deals beneficial to the U.S., border control, strengthening the middle class, and an undying loyalty to the freedom of speech. What are your principles?