For those who don't know, Justin Amash is a congressman from MI-3 who famously left the Republican Party in 2019 because he believed the party had abandoned its principles to make room for President Trump. He is now "seriously considering" a run for POTUS, saying that "Trump vs Biden is not the contest America deserves or needs right now".

If he runs, I would gladly cast my first vote ever for him. Trump is a buffoon and Biden is not right in the head, and Amash lines up quite well with my principles.

Thoughts? Will he run? Any MI-3 out there hoping to keep this guy in Congress or get rid of him or what?

Voting for a candidate who isn't Biden or Trump gives power to the one you like less. If you genuinely feel like both are shitty, it's your responsibility to vote for the one that's less shitty. Otherwise, your vote (which could have otherwise gone to the less-worse candidate) is wasted, which could really matter in a swing state like PA.

But eh for every disillusioned Republican that votes for this guy there's probably 10 Bernie-or-Busters ready to torpedo Biden's campaign, give Trump another 4 years, watch RBG and Breyer die, and let the SCOTUS go 7-2 for the foreseeable future.

Voting for a candidate who isn't Biden or Trump gives power to the one you like less.

Why would anyone vote for Biden, he has no chance of winning? That's just taking votes away from Amash and giving half a vote for Trump.

See how your logic works? It doesn't matter that most people accept two party rule. Biden will lose in a landslide, hence why Amash is the best candidate to take down Trump for many reasons:

1. Liberals/Progressives need to face the reality that America will never have a Scandinavian-like Welfare state (free healthcare/college).
1a. Amash is almost everything that Liberals/Progressives want besides that: Anti-War, Anti-Drug War, Anti-Corporatist, etc. Consider him the Ron Paul of 2020. Biden is none of these things.

2. Amash is a principled Constitutionalist: he invokes people like Washington/Madison who are almost universally respected in America.

3. Biden has severe mental health issues, any "debate" against Trump would just be a campaign rally for Trump.

4. [For] every disillusioned Republican that votes for this guy there's probably 10 Bernie-or-Busters ready to torpedo Biden's campaign, give Trump another 4 years, watch RBG and Breyer die, and let the SCOTUS go 7-2 for the foreseeable future.

5. By the end of their term if they win, Trump will be 78, Biden will be 82, Amash will be 44. Nobody knows how reliable the health of a man who eats fast food everyday and has a history of drug abuse is, or a man who has had a brain aneurysm is. I'm not talking about 2024. I'm talking about October/November 2020. Remember Trump's last opponent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4qwry5Ypj4

It's not Biden vs Trump. It's Trump vs whoever decides to run against him. Hopefully that will be Amash.

Edited 4/22/2020 13:26:21

i dont know american politics (i am from turkey) but at this point america must lose it "i can do whatever i want to because i can because i am the usa" mentality in politics or they will let russia and china get ahead of them


america needs more workers rights or maybe 20 to 40 years another civil war will happen from rioting workers

>the party abandoned its principles to make room for Donald Trump

what like inclusivity, open borders, and diversity? lmao

>Amash is almost everything that Liberals/Progressives want besides that

then he should run as a Democrat

Btw before the epithets come out against me, let me just say that I'm disillusioned Yang Gang

America does not seem to be a democracy in the central european sense. Strange, they always tell me "we have guns to rise aggainst tyranny" but nothing happens even thou the majority cannot get their political ideas put into action.

No idea about abash, but isn't it wrong to say 'voting for biden is wrong cause it takes away votes from amash'? The big parties elected trump and biden, if you vote for amash you definitely take a vote from one of them, not the other way around

Edited 4/22/2020 14:36:13

i dont know american politics (i am from turkey) but at this point america must lose it "i can do whatever i want to because i can because i am the usa" mentality in politics or they will let russia and china get ahead of them

Russia? No. China? Well, I'm a huge fan of Chinese culture, geography, and China as a whole, but even I see that they're tearing apart at the seams. China's rapid economic growth is foreshadowed by much larger political instability and authoritarian policies. See:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-gdp-hubei/chinas-hubei-epicentre-of-coronavirus-outbreak-posts-first-quarter-gdp-slump-idUSKCN2231QJ

what like inclusivity, open borders, and diversity? lmao

No. Fiscal responsibility, Free Trade, Constitutionalism, etc.

then he should run as a Democrat

Tulsi Gabbard/Andrew Yang would've done far better in a Bernie vs Biden race from the start. Amash obviously can't run as a Democrat anymore since they practically decided their nominee.

The big parties elected trump and biden, if you vote for amash you definitely take a vote from one of them, not the other way around

Trump and Clinton got a combined 129 million votes. There are 250 million voting age people in America. Trump and Clinton weren't appealing enough to 121 million voters like me (I wasn't voting age in 2016 but I would've voted for Gary), whether they didn't vote, or voted for someone else. If someone can get out a good message and is appealing to many Americans, they will increase voter turnout. Let me remind you as to what a popular third party candidate can do:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_United_States_presidential_election

Who did all those Ross Perot voters help? Would George HW Bush won reelection or would Clinton's margin have increased?

Edited 4/22/2020 14:54:28

>free trade

NAFTA isn't free trade lol. Also, a lot of people want to see China get fucked. This might not be a Republican value, but it is certainly an American value that goes back to the Federalist era. You don't want foreign industry making all your essential products because stuff like the coronavirus happens.

>Constitutionalism

I mean, Trump has failed to stand in the way of some aspects of gun control, but I'm sure that's not what you're talking about.

>Fiscal responsibility

Always a campaign promise, never actually put into practice. I doubt (Republican X) would be any different than Trump. Also Trump has been fiscally responsible in some regards. Cutting funding for the W.H.O. is a recent example.

Edited 4/22/2020 15:16:15

NAFTA isn't free trade lol

It was negotiated and put into practice by a Democrat (Clinton), so how is that relevant at all?

Also, a lot of people want to see China get fucked. This might not be a Republican value, but it is certainly an American value that goes back to the Federalist era. You don't want foreign industry making all your essential products because stuff like the coronavirus happens.

Difference between producing medical masks and ventilators in your own country because of epidemiology and sitting down with large steel/aluminum companies to tell them they will be protected by tariffs on Chinese goods. I take it back, Republicans have been doing this since the Federalist era.

Always a campaign promise, never actually put into practice. I doubt (Republican X) would be any different than Trump. Also Trump has been fiscally responsible in some regards. Cutting funding for the W.H.O. is a recent example.

We give WHO $400 Million dollars a year. Not fiscal responsibility, just politics. Trump tweeted this morning that the Navy will sink Iranian gunboats if they "harass our ships at sea". Starting a trillion dollar war (which I get he hasn't done yet, but he also hasn't stopped any) is not fiscally responsible.

"Always a campaign promise, never actually put into practice. I doubt (Republican X) would be any different than Trump. Also Trump has been fiscally responsible in some regards. Cutting funding for the W.H.O. is a recent example."

a politician has to keep you happy during election time not the 4 years after

never trust a candidates campaign when it matters

you should look at who worked hard when it didnt matter to them

i say if sanders is availible vote to him

or give a third party a tactical vote

Told y’all. Let’s do this!

Shame Bloomberg dropped out that guy seemed like a cool fellow !!!

The Federalist party was the proto-Republican party, so yes, protective tariffs are a traditional value of the Republican party.

Trump's policy in the Middle East is only popular among his boomer supporters. I see the intervention in Iran as an inevitable consequence of the Israeli lobby, which elects all presidents whether it be an Obama, a Trump, or your Amash.

You have an electoral college, stop pretending like your votes matter. With Sanders and Yang gone, you will get an establishment candidate who will come in, and come out, having changed nothing.

I'm gonna go ahead and say based

Based on what?

Go for it. In Canada, we unfortunately didn't elect Maxime Bernier (basically our Ron Paul) when he left the Conservatives... he ended up getting 1.6% of the vote and 0 seats.