The Best 'Chilling Effect' Yet

Before his resounding primary loss on Tuesday night, outgoing Representative Thomas Massie lent credence to the notion that foreign interests and American fifth columnists beholden to them contributed to what his allies called a "billionaire plot" to oust him from Congress.

Indeed, the opposition to Massie pumped millions of dollars into his race, among them "pro-Israel groups like the United Democracy Project and Trump allies like MAGA KY," according to NOTUS. But these are Americans engaging in protected political speech. When I last checked, a self-described "libertarian Republican" would typically not object to, say, the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. Rather, what Massie and his fans were attempting to launder into the discourse was the implied claim that his deep-pocketed adversaries were beholden more to Israel's interests than America's.