Justin Amash and His Opponents

Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) is the most libertarian member of Congress. His view of his role in Congress is deeply rooted in his commitment to the Constitution. Amash told the New York Times in 2011, “I follow a set of principles, I follow the Constitution. And that’s what I base my votes on. Limited government, economic freedom and individual liberty.”


Amash has a remarkable knack for drawing opponents who are ignorant or dismissive of the Constitution. His 2014 primary opponent, Brian Ellis, strikingly dismissed Amash’s principled, constitutional stand: “He’s got his explanations for why he’s voted, but I don’t really care. I’m a businessman, I look at the bottom line. If something is unconstitutional, we have a court system that looks at that.” 


Most members of Congress vote for unconstitutional bills. Few of them make it an explicit campaign promise.


And now, just today, one of his pro‐​Trump challengers in next year’s primary, Tom Norton, “passed out press releases calling on the House to expel Amash for allegedly failing to represent constituents in a district that backed Trump.”


Needless to say, Congress does not and would not expel a member for such a reason. Not that it matters, in 2016 Amash carried his district by 22 points while Trump had a 9‐​point margin.


Meanwhile, here’s an article on Amash’s differences with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on what libertarians should think about the behavior described in the Mueller Report.