Billy Long, Smith only Missouri House members to vote against NATO

Maybe he figured he could get Donald Trump's full endorsement in his U. S. Senate race if he proved he is as anti-NATO as the former president.

How else can you explain Seventh District Congressman Billy Long's vote on House Resolution 831 last week?

This was what he voted against.

Calling on the United States Government to uphold the founding democratic principles of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and establish a Center for Democratic Resilience within the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Long's fellow Missouri Republican house members, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Ann Wagner, Sam Graves, and his opponent in the Republican primary for Senate Vicky Hartzler voted for the resolution. So did Democrats Emanuel Cleaver and Cori Bush.

The only Missouri Congressman joining Long in the anti-NATO vote was Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith.

The final vote was 362 to 63 in favor of the resolution, with 219 Democrats and 143 Republicans voting "yes."

But to be fair, many of the best-known Republican legislators were on the same side as Billy Long and Jason Smith.

The 63 "no" votes included such stellar House members as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Andrew Clyde, Madison Cawthorn, Louie Gohmert, Paul Gosar, Jim Jordan and Chip Roy.

To be a representative from Missouri and to vote against a defense structure put in place by Missouri's president, Harry S. Truman, and even worse to do so at this point of history, with the threat of Russia and the necessity of NATO more evident than ever, is a disgrace.

Thankfully, come January, Billy Long will almost certainly not be casting votes in either the House or the Senate.