Republicans are Kill Switching Our Rights

The slope becomes slippery when people trade freedom for promises of greater safety and security -- promises that fall short while shrinking our rights. 

J. Robert Smith | May 5, 2026

Nowadays, U.S. representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) isn’t much liked outside his district. He’s butted heads with President Trump, incurring the president’s wrath. Trump is trying to unseat him in the midterms. MAGA grassroots are with Trump, unsurprisingly. Fair enough, but setting aside personalities and squabbles, Massie deserves praise.

Last January, the representative tried to amendment the U.S. House’s version of the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bill. He wanted to defund a Biden-era mandate requiring installation of AI-guided “advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology” in new cars and trucks, likely starting with 2027 models. Meaning, installing kill switches in vehicles so when the technology detects driver impairment -- or is so convinced -- it shuts off the vehicle’s engine.

The mandate has been in the news recently because the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) was supposed to finalize rules by the end of 2024. The technology’s glitches forced an extension, but the mandate is a go with manufacturers gearing up.

The good news is that 160 Republicans and -- believe it or not -- four Democrats voted in favor of Massie’s amendment. The bad news: 57 Republicans joined 211 Democrats to keep the funding. Evidently, Speaker Mike Johnson let Republicans “vote their consciences.” So, four dozen plus Republicans gave thumbs up to a new approach to tyranny.

Continued funding is bad news because aside from the “What’s not to like” claims that the technology will reduce drinking-related -- and other driver impaired -- accidents and fatalities, it’s another Big Mother intrusion into our lives. Why “Big Mother?” Because in our feminized society there’s a near-obsession with mitigating risks by trying to child-proof life, much to the detriment of our rights.

GOP mommies joined a lot of Orwellian Democrats to fund another episode of “Government Knows Best.” Blue Colorado........

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