Re: In Class of Colorful Freshmen, Meet the Most Contrarian

I'm contemplating Einstein's definition of insanity.  ; - )

Mike F.  



________________________________
From: Johne Cook <[email protected]>
To: DADL (off topic) <[email protected]>
Sent: Fri, April 15, 2011 11:15:23 AM
Subject: Re: [DADL-OT] In Class of Colorful Freshmen, Meet the Most Contrarian

Without justifying what Congress has accomplished to-date, I'd still like to 
think there's some middle ground where one can, yes, embrace the Constitution 
(or make a good faith effort of same) without being Dr. No on everything. 


Johne Cook
| http://raygunrevival.com | http://authorculture.blogspot.com |




On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 11:08 AM, Mike Findlay <[email protected]> wrote:

I dunno, drawing attention to the constitution and the idea of limited 
government is something worth accomplishing.  Especially when juxtaposed with 
what congress has accomplished to date.
>
>
>Mike F.
>
>
>
________________________________
 From: Johne Cook <[email protected]>
>
>To: DADL (off topic) <[email protected]>
>Sent: Fri, April 15, 2011 10:51:21 AM
>Subject: Re: [DADL-OT] In Class of Colorful Freshmen,  Meet the Most Contrarian
>
>
>I like his style but wonder how effective he'll actually be. It is nice to warm 
>yourself with your convictions, but one has to think that the primary success of 
>a political gadfly is to draw attention to himself rather than actually 
>accomplish anything. (This is where my inner pragmatist wars with my inner 
>idealist.)
>
>Johne Cook
>| http://raygunrevival.com | http://authorculture.blogspot.com |
>
>
>
>
>On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 9:17 AM, Mike Findlay <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>He'd get my vote.
>>
>>
>>Mike F.  
>>
>>
>>
________________________________
From: Bruce Geerdes <[email protected]>
>>To: DADL (off topic) <[email protected]>
>>Sent: Fri, April 15, 2011 9:11:51 AM
>>Subject: [DADL-OT] In Class of Colorful Freshmen, Meet the Most  Contrarian
>>
>>
>>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/us/politics/15freshman.html?_r=1&hp
>>
>>In Class of Colorful Freshmen, Meet the Most Contrarian
>>By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
>>
>>WASHINGTON —Representative Justin Amash does not believe the
>>government should subsidize public broadcasting, vehemently opposes
>>abortion rights and thinks Democrats are wrong about spending. Yet he
>>has voted against every Republican measure that conforms to those
>>views.
>>
>>Through April 12 Mr. Amash, a Republican who represents a swath of
>>southwestern Michigan, has not voted with the majority 25 percent of
>>the time, the most of any House Republican.
>>
>>Mr. Amash, 30, the youngest member of the freshman class, stands out
>>like a patchwork quilt among 86 other colorful Republican  freshmen. He
>>has voted against his party on important symbolic measures, like one
>>that would strip financing from Planned Parenthood, and those  most
>>minor, like a measure to amend the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission
>>Act to extend its termination date.
>>
>>He has even voted against the routine matter of approving the journal
>>of the previous day’s proceedings, because, he says, there is not
>>enough time to read it. (This is a bit like not clicking “I Agree” on
>>a hotel Wi-Fi agreement because you don’t want to read the fine
>>print.)
>>
>>On Thursday, he said, he will vote against an agreement the leaders of
>>his party hatched with Democrats to keep the government open for the
>>rest of the year.
>>
>>Often, when Mr. Amash agrees with the spirit of a measure, but not its
>>constitutional basis, he votes “present,” as he did on a bill to take
>>money from public broadcasting. If baffled colleagues seek  an
>>explanation, they can find it on his Facebook page, where he
>>assiduously explains every vote.
>>
>>“I follow a set of principles, I follow the  constitution,” said Mr.
>>Amash, who keeps a picture of the seating chart for his Constitutional
>>law class from the University of Michigan on his office wall. “And
>>that’s what I base my votes on. Limited government, economic freedom
>>and individual liberty.”
>>
>>He said he did not feel his defections had angered Republicans leaders
>>in the House.
>>
>>“I don’t think they’ve been annoyed by the votes,” he said during a
>>brief interview as he walked through Capitol Hill on Wednesday. “I
>>think they respect my approach, and I respect theirs as well.”
>>
>>If Mr. Amash has any dreams of rising in his chamber, he will have to
>>find a way to mimic the style of lawmakers who run contrariwise to
>>their leaders but maintain their respect, like as Representative  Jeff
>>Flake of Arizona, and not that of those who are stars on Fox News but
>>not especially influential in the upper ranks of their own caucus,
>>like  Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.
>>
>>In some ways, Mr. Amash’s voting record reflects his time as a
>>Michigan state representative, when he was known as “Mr. No,” for his
>>proclivity for voting against the majority of legislation before him.
>>In that case, however, Mr. Amash was largely against the policies
>>underlying most of the bills, which reflected Democratic control.
>>
>>His contrarian ways sometimes made for odd alliances in Michigan,
>>where he lined up against his Republican colleagues to oppose tax
>>breaks for the film industry, and teamed up with a far-left-leaning
>>lawmaker from the Detroit area to make sure legal-defense budgets for
>>indigent criminal defendants were more uniform.
>>
>>But here in the 112th Congress, Mr. Amash says most of  his no or
>>“present” votes generally reflect his lack of constitutional
>>convictions about a bill, or the fact there was not time to read it.
>>Some of  the constitutional violations in the bills favored by his
>>party mates “are pretty apparent,” he said. “We review each piece of
>>legislation very carefully,” he said. (In the case of the spending
>>bill, he does not believe it cuts spending enough, in keeping with
>>other conservatives who plan to vote against the measure.)
>>
>>Here is what he had to say on Facebook about an amendment to a
>>spending bill that would take away federal dollars from Planned
>>Parenthood, on which he voted present: “While I oppose abortion
>>funding, the language, as drafted, violates my conservative approach
>>to legislating.”
>>
>>He added: “Legislation that names a specific private organization to
>>defund (rather than all organizations that engage in a particular
>>activity)  is improper and arguably unconstitutional. Moreover, the
>>legislation is easily thwarted because the organization may simply
>>change its name.”
>>
>>Facebook  is his preferred method of vote explanation over news
>>releases, interviews or other forms of traditional political
>>expression. “It is something I started doing in the Michigan
>>statehouse,” he said. “I use it to explain each and every vote.”
>>
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