So, come November, what if you don't want
to vote for Trump because he's a dishonest, immature, belligerent, inept, vulgar,
narcissist brat? And you don't want to vote
for Biden because he's a senile, demented old codger, also accused of sexual misconduct,
and a big-government liberal to boot?
Today
your favorite blogger has some good news.
There is - potentially, at least - another candidate out there.
Let me first list some of his personal
qualities:
- He's only 40 years old.
- He's married to his first and ONLY wife, and they have three children.
- He has NEVER been accused of any kind of sexual misconduct.
- He's a former corporate lawyer, and has been elected to the US House or Representatives four times.
- He's respectful, intelligent, friendly, articulate, and likable. And very active on social media.
Ok,
enough with the preliminaries: He is
Justin Amash of Michigan. He was elected
to Congress as a Republican, then became an independent about a year ago. As of a month ago, he officially changed his
party to Libertarian, making him the only member of Congress with that party
affiliation.
Amash has consistently stood up for the principles
of smaller government that he campaigned on.
He has voted "No" on every bill that makes government bigger
or more powerful. He is a persistent critic
of President Trump, and was the ONLY Republican in the House to vote in favor
of his impeachment. (He joins Mitt
Romney, the only Republican in the Senate to vote for Trump's removal from
office.) His actions and voting record
have made him a hated enemy of Republican leadership - yet Amash stands firm.
On other issues, Amash supports reducing the
military budget and getting the troops out of the Middle East. He has consistently stated that only Congress,
not the President, has Constitutional authority to declare war. He opposes Trump's border wall, and supports legislation
to legalize marijuana at the federal level.
Now, it's not yet official. The party's nominating convention is scheduled for August. Amash has put together an exploratory committee
to consider running for President as a Libertarian. But nearly always, having an
"exploratory" team usually means: "Yes I am in!"
Love or hate the Libertarian Party, you
have to give them credit for longevity. They've
been running candidates at all levels of government for over four decades
now. Although you don't hear about it much,
the party does occasionally get candidates elected to local offices. Over the years, some incredibly intelligent,
eloquent men have run for President. But
unfortunately, most voters never got a chance to hear their message.
In 2016, the party had a unique opportunity to
earn some credibility at the national level, when neither of the major-party
candidates were, shall we say, loved by the masses. Yet the best the Libertarians could come up
with was Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico. Although Johnson was a man of solid small-government
principles, he was, sad to say, not a very good candidate. But now, with Amash, the party has a potential
opportunity to regain some lost ground.
Here are a couple of recent news articles
about Amash. Read them, and I am sure
you will agree, that when it comes to consistently working hard to reduce the
size and power of government, he is the Real Deal: Politico Mlive
Granted, it's a long shot. Historically, voters and the news media tend
to ignore minor party candidates. If he
does run, whom would he steal more votes from, Trump or Biden? Opinions vary, and there is no consensus. My off-the-cuff guess is that it would probably
be about equal.
Either way, spread the word. Tell all your friends about him!
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