Justin Amash, Congressman from Michigan, handily beat his primary opponent Brian Ellis. So who is Amash? You can get a feel for him by watching his victory speech (posted at the Blaze). Here are a few excerpts:
- “People want us to stand up for liberty, the Constitution, and economic freedom.”
- “I want to say to lobbyist Pete Hoekstra [who supported Ellis]: You’re a disgrace, and I’m glad we could hand you one more loss before you fade into total obscurity and irrelevance.”
- “To Brian Ellis, you owe my family and this community an apology, for your disgusting, despicable smear campaign.”
- “I’m proud to stand up for the American people. And I’m going to go back to Washington, and I’m going to continue to fight for liberty, for the Constitution, and for you.”
One extraordinary thing about Amash is that, not only does he participate in every vote, but he explains his every vote on his Facebook page.
I have two open questions about the “libertarian-minded” Amesh: First, does he support strong national defense, or does he follow Ron Paul’s blame-America-first line? Second, does he want government to outlaw abortion? On this latter point, it’s interesting to note that, although Amash claims to be “100 percent pro-life,” Michigan Right to Life endorsed Ellis, partly on the grounds that Amash declined single out Planned Parenthood for defunding, as MLive reports.
Two things seem clear. Amash is serious about advocating economic liberty. And, whatever his possible shortcomings, he is a man to watch.