HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle

Justin Amash Left the GOP—Opening a New Set of Possibilities in American Politics

Views:1100
@ReasonVids

After Michigan representative Justin Amash said he would leave the Republican Party to become an independent, he may have opened up a new path for politicians tired of a partisan two-party system.

------------------
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/reasontv
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason
Subscribe to our podcast at Apple Podcasts: https://goo.gl/az3a7a

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.

----------------

When Michigan Congressman Justin Amash announced he was leaving the Republican Party to become an independent, he didn't just say goodbye to the GOP—he opened up a whole new set of possibilities in American politics. 

In choosing principle over party, the 39-year-old son of a Palestinian refugee has become the spokesman for all Americans who believe in limited government. Since taking office in 2011, Amash has been an outspoken critic of out-of-control government spending, state surveillance, and unauthorized wars. He believes that President Donald Trump engaged in impeachable behavior, but he's primarily motivated by the belief that Congress is no longer doing its job of writing laws that the Executive branch implements.

"The founders envisioned Congress as a deliberative body in which outcomes are discovered," Amash wrote in The Washington Post. "We are fast approaching the point, however, where Congress exists as little more than a formality to legitimize outcomes dictated by the president, the speaker of the House, and the Senate majority leader." 

Amash doesn't believe the system can be reformed from within, telling CNN's Jake Tapper:

"I don't think there's anyone in there who can change the system…. It's pretty rigid. It's top-down. It comes down from leadership to the bottom. And over the years it's gotten more rigid.  It's more difficult now to change the process than it was a few years ago."

This is something Amash has been consistent on for his entire time in Congress. He's called out Nancy Pelosi for strait-jacketing the way legislation is introduced, debated, and voted on—a criticism he leveled against her Republican predecessors. In a 2018 interview with Reason, he lodged this complaint against then-Speaker Paul Ryan (R–Wis.):

The speaker has not been protecting the institution. You need a speaker in there who is an institutionalist, who cares about the institution first, who is not a partisan…. Let Republicans and Democrats and others offer their amendments, and let's have votes on all sorts of things, substantive things, not just post offices like they do now.

Modern politics is "trapped in a partisan death spiral," says Amash. But there is a way out if Congress will actually do its job and if the House and Senate become less fixated on partisan advantage. "What you have right now are two parties that are relatively small and weak, and, actually the reason they are so partisan right now is because they are small and weak," he told Reason. "The future I see is one where there are no strong parties and more independent candidates. We don't really need the parties anymore."

Amash says he will run for Congress as an independent and is confident that he can retain his seat. But he also hasn't ruled out running for president, possibly as a Libertarian.

Whether that happens, Justin Amash has already stirred things up by doing what he believes in rather than what is convenient for partisan purposes. For that alone, he deserves our attention—and commands our respect.

Written by Nick Gillespie. Edited by Paul Detrick.

Assembling by Asher Fulero is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrarydownload?vid=dad7861562106c5d
Artist: Asher Fulero

justin amash
,
trump
,
donald trump
,
nancy pelosi
,
gop
,
republicans
,
democrats
,
nick gillespie
,
reason magazine
,
libertarian
    Thumbnail for Stossel: No Filming on Farms5:34
    Stossel: No Filming on Farms
    ReasonVids
    919 views
    Thumbnail for Speaking with normie scum at work is exhausting 0:05
    Speaking with normie scum at work is exhausting
    bestofupgoat
    386 views
    Thumbnail for Wacky dog antics compilation3:20
    Wacky dog antics compilation
    bestofvoatxyz
    536 views
    Thumbnail for Jon Haidt on The Coddling of the American Mind and How We Should Address It25:48
    Jon Haidt on The Coddling of the American Mind and How We Should Address It
    ReasonVids
    899 views
    Thumbnail for Comedian Dave Smith on the Alt-Right, Christopher Cantwell, and How the Left 'Went Off the Rails'42:07
    Comedian Dave Smith on the Alt-Right, Christopher Cantwell, and How the Left 'Went Off the Rails'
    ReasonVids
    856 views
    Thumbnail for Parasitic jew admits the truth about sports0:36
    Parasitic jew admits the truth about sports
    bestofvoatxyz
    561 views
    Thumbnail for Greg Gutfeld on Trump's Genius, Fox News After Sex Scandals, and the Power of Punk36:18
    Greg Gutfeld on Trump's Genius, Fox News After Sex Scandals, and the Power of Punk
    ReasonVids
    959 views
    Thumbnail for Wende Museum: An Archive of the Cold War4:27
    Wende Museum: An Archive of the Cold War
    ReasonVids
    858 views
    Thumbnail for This is the only language they understand and respect0:22
    This is the only language they understand and respect
    bestofupgoat
    496 views
    Thumbnail for Arial hog control0:30
    Arial hog control
    bestofupgoat
    78 views
    Thumbnail for Brutal crab0:09
    Brutal crab
    bestofvoatxyz
    334 views
    Thumbnail for IRS Agents Rob Convenience Store3:44
    IRS Agents Rob Convenience Store
    IJvids
    873 views
    Thumbnail for Quote-Faking Imagine Author Jonah Lehrer: Why I Became a Journalist0:34
    Quote-Faking Imagine Author Jonah Lehrer: Why I Became a Journalist
    ReasonVids
    877 views
    Thumbnail for Eva Moskowitz on Fighting Unions, Politicians, and The New York Times13:36
    Eva Moskowitz on Fighting Unions, Politicians, and The New York Times
    ReasonVids
    896 views
    Thumbnail for I did a racism 🐒🤓 original content1:07
    I did a racism 🐒🤓 original content
    bestofupgoat
    263 views
    Thumbnail for  Innovative People  Affected  By  Sudden Death Syndrome2:08
    Innovative People Affected By Sudden Death Syndrome
    bestofupgoat
    402 views
    Thumbnail for If only the country actually resembled this video2:00
    If only the country actually resembled this video
    bestofupgoat
    503 views
    Thumbnail for Tinashe - Nasty1:00
    Tinashe - Nasty
    Djlisa
    169 views
    Thumbnail for Gary Oldman's New Commercial [Post-Scandal Remix]0:31
    Gary Oldman's New Commercial [Post-Scandal Remix]
    ReasonVids
    915 views

points

Permalink
Reply
justin amash
,
trump
,
donald trump
,
nancy pelosi
,
gop
,
republicans
,
democrats
,
nick gillespie
,
reason magazine
,
libertarian
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle