Todd McMurtry is running in Kentucky's Fourth Congressional District Republican primary against Thomas Massie, the essence of the swamp.  Todd has been a practicing attorney for twenty-eight years.  Last year he was voted one of the top fifty attorneys out of a pool of 20,000 by licensed members of the bar.

People might know him from one of his most recent cases: defending Nick Sandmann, the Covington Catholic High School student, against CNN.  The initial video released made it appear that the students had triggered the incident, which led to a deluge of media criticism unleashed on the students.  A longer video of the incident put the event into perspective and showed that the students had done nothing wrong.

McMurtry stated around the time of the lawsuit, "For the mob to just go tear apart a 16-year-old boy is inexcusable.  They rushed to condemn and vilify this young man by burying him in an avalanche of false accusations, false portrayals, and cyberbullying that have threatened his reputation and his physical safety."  He went on to say the media cannot state as fact things that aren't true and that those responsible should be held accountable.

Because truth is an important component of his character, McMurtry told American Thinker, "It is important to me that any representative keeps their word and are held accountable for their actions.  If elected, constituents understand I was sent to Washington, D.C. to do their bidding.  I will treat them as my client and customer.  This is a stark contrast to Congressman Massie, who collects a big salary without doing anything for Kentucky and America.  Instead, he uses his position to push an agenda."

Recently, Rep. Massie delayed the passage of the economic stimulus bill intended to offer relief to Americans suffering economically from the government's reaction to the coronavirus.  President Trump tweeted, "Looks like a third-rate Grandstander named @RepThomasMassie, a Congressman from, unfortunately, a truly GREAT State, Kentucky, wants to vote against the new Save Our Workers Bill in Congress. He just wants the publicity. He can't stop it, only delay, which is both dangerous...... ...& costly. Workers & small businesses need money now in order to survive. Virus wasn't their fault. It is 'HELL' dealing with the Dems, had to give up some stupid things in order to get the 'big picture' done. 90% GREAT! WIN BACK HOUSE, but throw Massie out of Republican Party!"  That is what Todd McMurtry wants to do. 

McMurtry noted, "The delay to get financial support to Americans is immoral and unethical.  He also endangered lives.  He is constantly pulling these types of procedural stunts."

Does McMurtry think President Trump is doing a good job regarding the virus?  "My view is that President Trump is now a wartime president.  In that role, he has definitely calmed the waters and given comfort to millions of Americans.  He has surrounded himself with a number of excellent advisers, who are helping a great deal.  V.P. Pence and Secretary Mnuchin have been fantastic.  What the president has done on the economy is equally vital to his response to the virus.  Under the president's leadership, the government has been fast to get aid to Americans in need.  Americans, in turn, have cooperated with the president's request to stay home.  The fact that so many are cooperating is proof positive that he is leading us really well."

Furthermore, he stated, "President Trump has really stood up to China.  I have been following China for over twenty years and have questioned why our leaders allow companies to sell out jobs to China and why we do not recognize that nation as a problem."

According to the FiveThirtyEight "Tracking Congress in the Age of Trump" database, as of January 29, 2020, Massie's voting percentage is the third lowest among current Republican members of Congress in line with President Trump.  In 2019, Massie was the only Republican among 17 members of Congress who voted against a House resolution opposing efforts to boycott Israel regarding the BDS movement.  He voted against Holocaust education; cast the only "no" vote against a measure to make Israel a strategic partner of the U.S.; voted "present" on the terrible Obama Iran nuclear deal, the only Republican in either chamber of Congress not to oppose the deal; and cast the only "no" vote on renewing sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

The district is divided into three population areas: rural Kentucky, Northern Kentucky, and Ashland Kentucky.  It has a large Evangelical Christian population who are very supportive of Israel.  "I have always been pro-Israel.  I think a Representative should vote in accordance with the constituents.  Unfortunately, many are not aware of the position Massie took.  He is an isolationist on voting for Israel, but does not have that same attitude when voting for Iran.  He definitely favors Iran over Israel."

McMurtry also wants Americans to understand, "Massie questioned President Trump about bombing Syria in response to Assad's chemical attack, saying it made no sense to him.  He denied the president's statement of facts and refused to accept what the president said was true."  But that is not all.  Congressman Massie was the sole House member to vote against sanctions against North Korea in 2017, and he questioned the killing of Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian terrorist.

As for domestic issues, President Trump feels that "with interest rates for the United States being at ZERO, this is the time to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill."  McMurtry agrees: "a bridge between Ohio and Kentucky is overloaded and beyond capacity.  It is a disaster waiting to happen.  Congressman Massie promised when he was first elected to do something to address that problem but has done nothing."  It is questionable if Massie would support an Infrastructure bill, but it appears that McMurtry realizes there is a great need to shore up bridges, roads, and tunnels. 

Shortly after President Trump was elected, there were some nasty Facebook posts by McMurtry.  When asked about them, he responded, "Like many Kentuckians, I was worried Trump wouldn't govern as a conservative.  I did publicly endorse him before the 2016 election, however.  And boy, I now realize how wrong I was to question candidate Trump.  As president, his policies have been tremendous for the country.  Judges, tax cuts, border wall, modernizing military, etc.  The economy was booming before coronavirus.  I thank God every day that President Trump is there instead of Hillary Clinton."  Massie also said some nasty statements, such as that "[w]ith Trump as their likely nominee, many Republicans will need counseling.  These folks should start enrolling today."

Hopefully, on June 23, in the Republican primary, Kentuckians will choose Todd McMurtry over Thomas Massie.  Since being elected, the current Kentucky congressman has not done anything to help his constituents or his fellow citizens.  In fact, one can argue that he has hindered President Trump in making America great again.

The author writes for American Thinker.  She has done book reviews and author interviews and has written a number of national security, political, and foreign policy articles.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.