The House Freedom Caucus Lost Their Token Conservative

This was the right move, and I applaud Michigan Representative Justin Amash.

Amash has continued to show himself a beacon of rational thought and stoic conservatism, at a time when the personality cult and a dangerous lean to authoritarianism has begun to rot away the rafters and beams of the Republican Party.

The [now] laughably named House Freedom Caucus can no longer claim to be the congressional bulwark against destructive, liberal attacks on the foundations of our nation and our constitution. Whatever their beginnings, their present is a disgrace.

Alert to the boneheads that make up that cabal of Trumpian toadies:

Economy-busting tariffs, that serve as a tax on American citizens is not conservative.

Gun grabbing of any sort is not conservative, and Trump’s ban of bump stocks, as well as his suggestion that you can take a citizen’s guns first, then worry about due process doesn’t just strain the confines of the Second Amendment, but pushes them dangerously close to the breaking point.

Attacking the free press is not conservative.

Alienating our NATO allies is not a mark of a conservative leader. Or of an intelligent one. Our representatives are supposed to protect us from such dangerous isolationism.

Embracing despots and our nation’s geopolitical foes is not conservative.

All of these things would be all anyone heard of from the right, were it a Democrat president doing them.

Because of Trump, however, they’re either ignored or cheered on by the very ones who claim to be the arbiters of conservative thought in Congress.

And as of Monday night, there is no longer an active voice of sanity within the House Freedom Caucus.

Elvis Justin Amash has left the building.

In May, Amash made waves by suggesting on social media that after a thorough reading of the findings within special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report, that President Trump had met the threshold for impeachment.

Now, contrary to how many outlets have framed it, Amash did not call for the impeachment of the president.

What he did was state his position, explain that he’d actually taken time to read the full report (at least, what wasn’t redacted), and he applied the law.

In doing that, he then came to the conclusion that Trump’s conduct during the course of the Russia probe met the qualifications.

That being said, it is up to the Democrat-majority Congress, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to determine if impeachment proceedings should begin, and she’s not having it.

Amash, a TEA Party candidate who came into office in 2010, came under fire from his own party for boldly speaking his thoughts on President Trump.

Conservatism, after all, is more about protecting Trump than protecting the Constitution, and what Amash did by failing to toe that line was a blasphemy.

Unbowed, Amash has continued to post his legal opinions, and in particular, has been rough on Trump’s new Roy Cohn/Michael Cohen figure, Attorney General William Barr.

Apparently, because he likewise failed to ask their permission before presenting his thoughts, publicly, the push was on to oust him from their merry band of spineless Trump enablers.

“They called a special board meeting last Tuesday to continue discussing next steps, including removal. Amash was in attendance (at one point he was asked to step out of the room),” a source with knowledge of the conversations told The Hill.

“This was the maneuver the group landed on — telling him to bow out gracefully while stopping the political hemorrhaging, especially since he wasn’t overly involved in the operation this Congress,” the source added. “At the end of the day, HFC isn’t in the business of booting out members. There’s too much mutual respect, and for many, the differences of opinion is what makes the group unique compared to others.”

Bovine excrement.

Of course, Amash’s bravery in the midst of utter cowardice has earned him their ire – along with a primary challenger in Michigan.

I really don’t think the honey badger of the GOP cares, and I wonder how long he’ll hang in with that faithless party.

What we know now, however, is that Amash has made the decision to unhitch his reputation from the House Freedom Caucus, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The question now is: What next?