Amash Rising

It’s happening.

On Tuesday evening, Michigan Representative Justin Amash announced that he was forming an exploratory committee to seek the Libertarian Party nomination for the presidency.

So what does that mean?

It means he’s running for President of the United States in 2020.

Yes, this seems late in the game. The Democrats have pretty much wrapped up their primary season, with former Vice President Joe Biden walking away with the nomination. That part was expected.

Of course, the GOP has moved to shut down any primary challenge to Trump across the nation, continuing the party’s descent into total authoritarian rule. Heaven forbid the voters have an opportunity to look for another option within the Republican Party. Having Trump as the leader of the party has done wonders for their image.

If your eyes are about to roll all the way back in your head, I apologize for that sarcasm.

What I’m seeing from the serfs of the duopoly is that it’s too late. There’s no chance. He should have put his hat in the ring sooner.

On and on they kvetch. It’s easier, safer to stick with the chains you know, than to risk a vote on principle.

It’s true that speculation over a possible Amash candidacy has been an ongoing thing, ever since the congressman announced his split from the Trump party on July 4, 2019. That makes it close to a year of playing the guessing game.

In the meantime, Amash has been a vocal and active critic against Trump and his big government overreach. With every insane proclamation or policy move, Amash has used the gilded toad’s preferred method of communication – Twitter – to deliver the conservative rebuke.

Amash used his vote to impeach Trump, and made the case for it from that same social media platform.

He has expressed himself with an eloquence across social media, that in comparison to Trump, seems absolutely foreign. I guess that’s why so many politicos are retreating from the fight.

Back in the days before Trump was enthroned, I remember the desperation for somebody – anybody – to come in and stop him.

I remember Evan McMullin’s failed attempt.

He said all the right things and caused a momentary burst of hope among those unwilling to fall to Trumpism, but the weeks and months after led many to believe he had an agenda outside of actually winning.

He was like the dog chasing a car, however. What would he do if he caught it?

If anything, he proved that being able to coherently string sentences together to form a complete thought was not high on the requirements list for the MAGA adherents.

For myself, I remember desperately joining with other prayer warriors, hoping for a resurrection of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s campaign.

Alas, years of toeing the Republican Party line had institutionalized him.  Not only did he support Trump’s nomination, but he jammed himself into the clown car that was Trump’s Cabinet, when he took a position as Secretary of the Department of Energy.

He bailed that sinking ship when he was implicated in our corrupt POTUS’ “quid pro quo” scandal, involving the demands on Ukraine. That event resulted in Trump’s [rightful] impeachment.

You can’t get too close to Trump’s swamp and emerge without blemish or stain. Mr. Perry should have known better.

I recently addressed the “blue wavers,” which would be those extremist NeverTrumpers who so revile Donald Trump and his slobbering minions in Washington that they feel only a resounding defeat of every elected Republican – from top to bottom – can save our nation.

I understand how they feel about Trump. I am a card-carrying member of lifetime standing with the NeverTrump movement.

Where we seem to part is that I took my vows against Trump because he does not represent me as a Christian or a conservative. I did not, in doing so, somehow morph into a liberal Democrat. I was a Republican for my entire adult life, up until 2016, because I thought the Republican Party best represented my principles and values. I still hold those principles and I refuse to give them up, simply because Trump ruined the GOP.

As I have told many in the last couple of days, conservatism is a set of ideological principles and values. It is not a political party. Either you adhere to the conservative philosophy or you do not. The idea that voting for a liberal Democrat is the best way to bring back conservatism to our land just doesn’t wash.

Apparently, they feel we can survive four years of Joe Biden being pulled further left and into socialism. We can “regroup” and get a better candidate the next go-around.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen similar arguments for years. It just hasn’t come to pass.

At this point in our history, we have a president who has ruined us, economically. He has split us, perhaps, irrevocably. His big government, authoritarian bent has only opened the door for the next Democrat in office to go hog wild with extremist policies. When he does, those who backed Trump won’t have a leg to stand on, as it pertains to protest.

Are the blue wavers willing to risk that?

They are, and many of the pundit set that I admire are willing to ride the blue wave.

I just can’t, and I won’t.

So this is how the maddening, circular logic goes:

A third party can’t win.

Why?

Because no one will vote for them.

Why?

Because a third party can’t win.

Are you dizzy, yet?

There’s no logic to it. There’s no way to make them stop and consider what they’re saying. In essence, they’re saying they wouldn’t vote for a better option if it was presented to them, because whatever their professed values and principles, they’re only skin deep, the roots are shallow, at best, and they consider our political system a game. They pick a “team” and root for that team, no matter what.

In this case, the “team” is the ruinous shackles of slavery to partisan politics.

What would happen if these haughty, sideline patriots actually exerted the principles they claim to be fighting for, and proved it with their vote?

A third party could win.

Over his career in Congress, Justin Amash has stood on the principles of conservative governance. He’s enjoyed the highest of ratings from conservative think tanks, such as Conservative Review, and only recently saw his score drop from an “A” to a “B.” Given his vote to impeach Trump, we can just about guess as to why that score dropped. Every other policy vote has been solidly in the corner of conservatism and/or personal liberty.

And let’s be honest. If Trump was a [registered] Democrat, the same Republicans defending his blackmailing of the Ukraine president would have seen his head on a pike.

Amash’s vote to impeach wasn’t a betrayal of conservatism. It was the height of honesty and adherence to what this republic is supposed to stand for.

If we want to see change in how our government runs, there is no better opportunity than right now.

The duopoly must end, and a new party must rise.

This may be our last chance.

Rep. Amash on why he's exploring a Libertarian presidential run: "There are millions of Americans who aren’t represented by either Donald Trump or Joe Biden, who aren't represented by the Republicans or the Democrats …those millions of Americans deserve a choice on the ballot." pic.twitter.com/kUSNzMNuu5

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) April 29, 2020