In light of Michigan Congressman Justin Amash's statement earlier this week about a possible White House bid on the Libertarian ticket, I am 99.4% sure that Amash is going to run for President.
The most obvious sign is that Amash has effectively abandoned his bid to be re-elected to Congress having not done any campaigning since the middle of February. This tells me that Amash knows he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of earning a sixth term in Congress. Amash, who turns 40 tomorrow, won't be elected President of the United States. But running for President will raise his profile.
Of course, Amash raised his profile considerably 11 months ago when he became the first Republican Congressman to call for President Trump's impeachment after reading the Mueller Report. At the time, I described Amash as "a profile in courage" as this would prove to make his position in the House Republican Conference untenable. Not long thereafter there was talk of Amash running for President as a Libertarian which prompted me to declare that I would consider casting a ballot for him come November 2020.
Should he run I will still give Amash consideration, but as of now I am giving him far less consideration than I did 11 months ago. The reason for this diminution of enthusiasm for Amash is simple - his response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Amash stated he wanted Americans to get cash relief he opposed the CARES Act. He objected to the package because he viewed as a corporate bailout. To be fair, Amash did propose that every American receive $1250 a month with $500 a month per child for the next three months rather than the onetime payment of $1200. This is a defensible argument.
However, I find Amash's opposition to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home measures far less defensible. Amash claims Whitmer's measure will make Michigan's residents more restless and more likely to defy her orders. In reality, Amash is encouraging irresponsible and unlawful behavior and is certainly doing nothing to discourage demonstrations which put public health at risk. As of this writing, more than 2,000 Michigan residents have died of COVID-19. Only New York and New Jersey have a higher death toll. Amash is only making matters worse.
Now perhaps one could make the argument that by taking this position that Amash could sway some Trump voters his way in his home state. But I think this is awfully cynical and makes Amash vulnerable to be lumped in with Trump's cry to "Liberate Michigan". In any case, I don't think Trump voters won't soon forget Amash's support for impeachment. Under the circumstances, there are many who believe that Amash's presence in the race could cost Joe Biden the Wolverine State and possibly the White House.
Well, I maintain that no one is entitled to my vote and that it must be earned. However, Amash encouraging his constituents and residents throughout Michigan to engage in irresponsible and lawful behavior in the midst of a global pandemic has significantly diminished the chance he will earn my vote to nearly nil.
Despite my diminished enthusiasm for Amash this doesn't give Biden my vote. I want to know who his running mate will be. And there's his mixed record on public health crises and the jury is very much out on his COVID-19 response.
I respect Justin Amash for standing up to President Trump's lawlessness and willingness to sacrifice his affiliation with the GOP along the way. Few would have done such a thing. While Trump certainly doesn't have the temperament to be President, I don't think Amash does either. Amash might be less uncouth than Trump, but he is no less irresponsible when it comes to COVID-19. Amash also adheres to a libertarian philosophy which is antithetical to a strong federal government.
It must be said that if Amash decides to make a presidential bid there is no guarantee that the Libertarian Party will necessarily nominate him. Based on my limited experience with Libertarians last summer on the Lower East Side they seem to have captured by Trump just like every other right-wing entity in this country. I wonder how many of them support Jacob Hornberger who is the only Libertarian candidate on the ballot in New York. Yet it still could be the case that this wasn't a representative group and there might be a sufficient number of Libertarians pragmatic enough to nominate a sitting Congressman as their presidential candidate. Libertarians are set to vote next month though I suspect they will have to do so in a virtual manner.
Let's assume Amash throws his hat in the ring and the Libertarians nominate him. Had there been no COVID-19 global pandemic I would have given Amash a great deal more consideration. But we are now at a time when we need a strong federal government and I am not confident if elected a President Amash would properly maximize its resources to combat COVID-19. As such it is highly unlikely that Justin Amash is going to earn my vote.
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