Justin Amash on Quitting the Republican Party and Life as an Independent

The Michigan congressman is carving a path as an independent unburdened by the two-party system

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Justin Amash on Quitting the Republican Party and Life as an Independent

When Michigan Rep. Justin Amash declared his independence from the Republican Party on July 4, he instantly became one of the most controversial politicians in America. Donald Trump immediately took to Twitter to denounce Amash as a "total loser" and "one of the dumbest & most disloyal" members of the GOP.

Whether or not you agree with the five-term congressman's choice to leave the Republican Party, he's anything but dumb and unprincipled. Amash has been the most consistently libertarian member of Congress since taking office in 2011, repeatedly voting to reduce the size and spending of the federal government, to stop mass surveillance of American citizens, and to end wars that he believes lack constitutional authorization.

Reason's Nick Gillespie sat down with Amash, the 39-year-old son of Middle Eastern immigrants, to talk about what it feels like to be independent, why he won't be joining Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's social-justice "squad" anytime soon, whether he thinks Donald Trump is racist, if he's going to run for president as a Libertarian, and why he believes we need to talk more about love in national politics.

Interview by Nick Gillespie. Edited by Ian Keyser.

Comments

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Good for Amash. The only freedom lover in Congress who isn't afraid to stand up for his principles.

[Fancylad]

You're so full of shit Chipper. You'd endorse Ed Gein if he said "Orange man bad"...
Come to think of it, so would neo-Reason.

[The ghOst of mcgOo]

You're full of yourself Fancypants, you'd put Ed Gein's dead skin mask on you own cock and suck it if you could.......

[CE]

Ron Paul stood up for his principles, and got reelected 10 times.

[AlbertP]

Good luck to him!

[damikesc]

"Finally! I am free to be...utterly irrelevant and unable to even attempt to move my goals forward. FREEDOM~!"

[CE]

It's much easier as an Independent, no rules to follow.
And next year it gets even easier, when his District shows him the door.

Hard to blow that 95% reelection rate. Hope it was worth it to prove a point that didn't change anything anyway.

[phandaal]

Justin's going to learn the Ron Paul way - principles are a lot easier to implement if one can actually get in to an office.

Kind of silly that Justin thinks he can do it better, but hey what's life if not failing to learn from someone else's public mistakes?

[RoninX]

There are pros and cons to both an idealistic approach (like that taken by Ron Paul and Justin Amash) and one that makes more compromises (like that taken by Rand Paul and the Koch brothers).

Stay too idealistic and you never gain power. Compromise too much and you just perpetuate the status quo.

It's a difficult balance, and I don't blame any of the people I mention for taking the approach they choose. It's worth having different people fighting for liberty using different tactics.

[MasterThief]

I used to like most of what little I heard of/from the freedom caucus. The more I'm exposed to Amash, the less I like him. Like Gillespie, he seems to be aligned with progressives and post modernists on social sensibilities. Those opinions clash with libertarianism and he loses me

[RoninX]

Justin Amash is always a breath of fresh air in contrast to the current political environment that seems like a nonstop garbage fire.

It's rare to find a truly principled politician, and much rarer to find one committed to the principles of liberty.