Justin Amash Made His Decision

Justin Amash is (probably) running for president. He’s toyed with the idea for over a year: Describing himself as an ideal third-party candidate at libertarian conferences, posting cryptic tweets about Americans “deserving another option,” repeatedly refusing to rule out a campaign whenever reporters asked. But the months dragged on—the Libertarian party held primary after primary, debate after debate—and Amash remained an onlooker. Pundits began to speculate his flirtation with a national campaign was a ploy to boost fundraising for the increasingly uphill challenge he was facing at home.

But at precisely 8 p.m. on Tuesday, a new Twitter account—@amashforamerica—was born, breaking the news via Nintendo Super Smash Bros. meme that a new candidate had arrived on the scene.

https://twitter.com/amashforamerica/status/1255285680160280577

Technically, Amash launched an exploratory committee—a vehicle through which candidates can test the waters before officially taking the presidential plunge—but he’s already done plenty of exploring. “Americans are ready for practical approaches based in humility and trust of the people,” he wrote. “We’re ready for a presidency that will restore respect for our Constitution and bring people together. I’m excited and honored to be taking these first steps toward serving Americans of every background as president.”

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  • William F. Buckley said to support "the most right, viable candidate." Charles Krauthammer also supported the idea, spelling it out in a column in 2010, here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/16/AR2010091604899.html

    In the article Krauthammer actually calls out Sarah Palin and Sen. Jim DeMint as "reckless and irresponsible" for breaking the Buckley rule.

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  • Choice is not inherently bad. More choice is what we need, no matter who it may benefit. I’m all for anything that will support that goal. Was anyone happy with their choices in 2016? I certainly wasn’t. Trump and Hillary are not the best America has to offer. Gary “What is Aleppo?” Johnson was a joke. Do I think Amash will win? Of course not. But we need more choice in our politics. We are not designed to fit all of our ideas into one of two boxes. This is a step on the road to more choice in our national politics, and I hope his run is as successful as it can be.

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  • How come it is always the moocher states pushing strict adherence to the federalism?

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  • Breaking News: I'm just listening to Amash on MTP. My observations:

    - he doesn't really know how to reconcile libertarianism with the Covid-19 disaster; the theory goes out the window in an actual lab experiment
    - he sounded more like Yang

    I just couldn't see what makes him tick.

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    1. I don’t think anyone on the right side knows how to deal with the COVID experiment. I’m torn in many directions everyday! I’m tired.

      I can tell you that I’m very thankful for our federalist system that was put in place before the disaster. I can’t imagine the true disaster that would ensue if the federal govt had all the power and the states were just vassals.

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      1. I'm not quite sure if federalism can regain an upper hand with the situation we evolved into, unless we are prepared for a
        reset with a strong medicine. Let's consider the reality:
        - only the fed can buy debt
        - only the treasury can spend
        - most of the states are near bankruptcy without more borrowing

        Sure, federalism is name sake for certain operational issues, but, in reality they are all suckling from the central trough.

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  • It seems pretty clear even from the comments here that Amash will pull some percentage of Trump-skeptical conservatives who don't want to vote for Biden. But since in-built antipathy to Biden on the right is so much less intense than it was with Hillary, I wonder if the effect will be less decisive than in 2016 anyway.

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  • Did Amash ever believe himself when he said he'd only run if he thought he could win? I can understand having reasons to run, but not if that's your main criterion.

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