Same Fiscal Irresponsibility, Different Day
“The Libertarian dream of systemic change in Washington appears to be, well, just that. A dream.”
Earlier this year Donald Trump rocked the Libertarian voting bloc by vowing to be a friend to Libertarians and even that he would insert a Libertarian into his cabinet, and this paid out hefty dividends that following November. According to the Washington Examiner, “Trump won the so-called blue wall states, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, by an average of 1.1%, meaning the libertarian vote may very well have been the difference between a clean sweep of the swing states and an Electoral College victory by Vice President Kamala Harris.” But were those Libertarians who broke their third-party loyalty for Trump swindled?
Earlier today H.R. 10545, also known as The American Relief Act, passed the house with a final vote of 366-34-1. The spending bill, which aimed to prevent a midnight government shutdown, received support from all of the Democrats in the house, but on the Republican side of the aisle things were not quite as homogenous.
As was the case with the first two proposed spending bills, one of which was a 1,500-page pork-filled monstrosity, at least to those concerned with reducing government spending that is, when it came to The American Relief Act 34 Republicans chose to break the party line and instead voted to oppose the bill, despite facing fierce backlash from both parties. After a thorough analysis of the conversations occurring on X following the passage of this bill, it appears that Libertarians across the country have begun to worry that the promises made to them by Republicans during the 2024 election cycle may have simply been an empty ploy designed to garner their votes.
It is no mystery that government spending is out of control, and regardless of what MAGA influencers and pundits would have you believe this is not an exclusively left-wing problem. Put plainly, during his first term President Trump blew out government spending and increased the national debt by 7.8 trillion dollars making him the most expensive president, per year, in all of American history. Of course, one could argue that Covid-19 played a large role in this, and that certainly was a factor, but if Covid spending was solely to blame for his record-breaking spending then we should see a much more frugal spending plan during his second term, right?
The truth is that even though the third spending bill was leagues ahead of the first and second drafts, the former of which included a 40% pay raise for congress which is double their approval rating by the way, it still includes 110 billion in unpaid-for spending and also expands the debt ceiling with only minimal spending cuts. Debt ceiling expansions, mind you, that could increase the national debt by 5 trillion dollars, which is actually worse than the predicted increase of 4 trillion dollars in the second bill.
At any rate, seeing as how those in the Republican party typically run, in part, on the platforms of cutting spending and increasing fiscal responsibility, one would assume that those 34 lawmakers who opposed these three spending bills would be lauded on the right as heroes. Well, that was not the case and instead it appears as if the entire MAGA crowd, at least those operating on social media, are ready to tar and feather them for daring to oppose the “King.” And this demand for loyalty to a politician instead of an overarching right-wing political ideology seems to be the cause of the widespread Libertarian doubts.
Examples of the MAGA outrage come from both the inbound president himself, and his most influential supporters alike. In his own words, Donald Trump said on Truth Social that “The very unpopular “Congressman” from Texas, Chip Roy, is getting in the way, as usual, of having yet another Great Republican Victory - All for the sake of some cheap publicity for himself. Republican obstructionists have to be done away with. The Democrats are using them, and we can’t let that happen. Our Country is far better off closing up for a period of time than it is agreeing to the things that the Democrats want to force upon us. Biden is President, and it’s his obligation to properly lead. We’re there to do the right thing, and we can’t agree with what Biden and the Democrats are demanding. Weak and ineffective people like Chip have to be dismissed as being utterly unknowledgeable as to the ways of politics, and as to Making America Great Again. Put “America First,” and go for the Victory, even if it means shutting the Government down for a period of time. We had an overwhelming Victory just four weeks ago, and we’re not going to let the Democrats forget it so quickly!”
He also said, “If Republicans try to pass a clean Continuing Resolution without all of the Democrat “bells and whistles” that will be so destructive to our Country, all it will do, after January 20th, is bring the mess of the Debt Limit into the Trump Administration, rather than allowing it to take place in the Biden Administration. Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried. Everything should be done, and fully negotiated, prior to my taking Office on January 20th, 2025.”
Some other prominent figures who echoed the incoming president’s disdain for those 34 individuals who opposed The American Relief Act were Laura Loomer, Juan Cadavid (known online as Johnny Maga, Philip Buchanan (known online as Catturd), and Rogan O’Handley (known online as DC Draino). These individuals, who have nearly 10 million followers between their highly influential right-wing accounts, were even more aggressive than Trump himself.
Instead of speaking for these individuals, here is a little bit of what they had to say in their own words regarding the 34 dissenters.
Laura Loomer: “You’re either with Trump. Or you’re not. Loyalty is black and white.”
Juan Cadavid: “It doesn’t matter the “reason” these Representatives are giving for voting no on the CR. President Trump gave them a directive and they defied him. Not acceptable.”
Philip Buchanan: “Take notes. Every Republican going against Trump is a POS loser scumbag. Every. Last. One.”
Rogan O’Handley: “Getting ‘Bud Lighted’ isn’t just for woke companies. We’re about to see it start happening to Uniparty Congressmen. We just gave Trump the popular vote and full control of DC. Anyone standing in his way will feel the wrath.”
As the evidence shows, the leaders of the MAGA movement, including Donald Trump himself, are not interested in the right-wing/libertarian principle of fiscal responsibility. Nor are they interested in Libertarian sweethearts, such as Thomas Massie, standing their ground and fighting for what is “right” regardless of who is in power. No, after spending hours going through X comments and watching hostile interviews on the hill it appears that what MAGA wants is unyielding loyalty to Donald Trump and unquestioned obedience to his orders, not principled servants of the people. Given this harsh realization, it makes sense why Libertarians are concerned.
No one knows what the future holds, but unfortunately, it looks like Libertarian voters may soon learn the hard way that despite how good the messaging is, non-Libertarians will never represent their values when it comes to enforcing policy. This is not a lesson that should be easily forgotten and should reinforce the fact that, as Libertarians, we must always be wary of promises made by establishment actors.