Kentucky-4: Pick Your Headache

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Many people have asked my opinion about the Kentucky-4 primary: Thomas Massie vs. Ed Gallrein. And I have heard both sides of the argument. There are legitimate points on both sides. There are also legitimate concerns on both sides.

On the Massie side:

Pros:
• Established “Republican” who claims conservative and libertarian philosophies.
• Consistently positions himself against expanding federal power.
• Has built a reputation as a political dissenter willing to oppose leadership.

Cons:
• Only seems to vote obstructionist against whomever currently has power.
• Like so many Libertarians, he does not really seem to stand FOR anything as much as he stands AGAINST the majority.
• He is exceptionally good at framing contrarianism as principle, and sugar-coating it into "Conservatism" or "Libertarianism."



On the Gallrein side:

Pros:
• Never held political office.
• Trump-backed.
• Exemplary military record. Legitimate SEAL and Army Ranger, not some résumé-padding cosplayer wrapped in tacticool Instagram dust.

Cons:
• Democrat-funded.
• Foreign-funded.
• Israel-funded.
• Kentucky also has a long history of sending “Republicans” to Washington who magically vote like Democrats once the important bills hit the floor.

And before the outrage machine fires up to DEFCON-1:
This author does not hate Israel. This author is also not blind to the legitimate issues Israel has. Adults should be capable of discussing allies honestly without collapsing into tribal screeching.



So, what is my take?

A vote for Massie is not really a vote FOR anything. It is a vote AGAINST whomever currently has power. Like many Libertarians, he seems more emotionally invested in being contrarian than in building or advancing a coherent governing agenda. He has simply become very skilled at packaging contrarianism into a philosophical language.

A vote for Gallrein might genuinely be a vote for MAGA. It might also be a vote for foreign interests. We simply do not know yet. But Democrats are funding him for some reason. Foreign interests are funding him for some reason. And Kentucky’s political history gives voters plenty of reason to be skeptical about candidates who campaign one way and govern another.


Summary:
I am glad I am not in Kentucky-4.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 19, 2026 at 12:21 PM

    For Massie, those "cons" are actually "Pros". We do not need to be "governed" we need to be left alone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Recce RiflemanMay 19, 2026 at 3:57 PM

      So... voting like an authoritarian Democrat half the time is a "pro" in your book. Got it.

      Delete
    2. Pigpen51May 19, 2026 at 5:10 PM

      I am glad that I am not in KY also, even though my youngest son lives in Ashland. Sadly I live in Michigan, which is much like some of the other states like Colorado et.al., where they have a conservative state with one place in it like Denver, or here in Michigan, the entire Detroit-Dearborn area, to continually vote for the most outrageous liberal policies possible.
      The rest of the states are left in the dust. Sadly it seems that the Democrats still think that they need to cheat in elections. At least here in Michigan we have term limits, even though after a couple of years the Dems in office got the people to vote to change what we had amended our constitution some years before. It made it so that entrenched politicians could stick to one branch of the legislature for a longer time.
      It makes it almost impossible for us to really change things. Sadly at the age of 65, I am not likely to move out of state now.

      Delete

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