Quick hot takes on Justin Amash

As trending on Twitter, a month after leaving the House Freedom Caucus, Michigan Congresscritter Justin Amash is leaving the GOP.

I didn't understand a month ago why he left the Freedom Fries world, since he helped found the caucus. If you're principled, fight for the principles and force them to vote you out.

I feel somewhat the same about this, as many people are connecting the move to him getting a primary opponent. The Trump butt-kissers are playing up Peter Meijer as an Iraq veteran; he was only there for a year or so, and he later went to A-stan for two years with an NGO. But Republicans generally hate NGOs, so can't talk about it. And, he may be, because of this, less wingnut than many Republicans like. He is connected to "Never Trumper" types like George Schultz

And, in case the name is very familiar, if you're a Michigander, or kind of familiar otherwise in other Great Lakes states? Yep, he's NOT a regular Joe; he's an heir of the Meijer store family, worth nearly $10 billion.

Anyway, back to Amash.

Will he still run for Congress? 50-50 odds right now, I say, if that. He stood no chance winning a GOP primary against Meijer, with his money, his veteran status and his family name recognition. For the unfamiliar, Amash's district is centered on Grand Rapids, which is where the Meijers are from.

If so, as an independent or a Libertarian? 50-50 on each way. I think Amash's powers of incumbency won't help him a lot in a Libertarian or indy general election run, though.

If he doesn't run for Congress? 75-25 against him running for the LP presidential nomination. He's a Ron Paul-tard type fake Libertarian (how Paul ever got the nomination, I don't know) who's anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage and anti gay-rights in general in many ways. Indeed, his Wiki bio notes his connection to Ron Paul's brother. I know that LPers, from what I've read on places like Independent Political Report, has a wing that's tired of ex-Republican candidates. I don't know if it has a wing that is tired of candidates who really should run as the Constitution Party's nominee, since the Constitution Party really is the Religious Right party for religious wingnuts who think the GOP doesn't cut the mustard. That said, the Constitution Party is in the middle of a big implosion right now.

Per people like the old Village Voice pro-lifer columnist Nat Hentoff, a halfway logically coherent libertarian pro-life argument can be made on liberty interests, but no such argument can be made, period, for being against the gay.

If he DOES run for prez as a Libertarian, seeking its nomination, per all of the above, I suspect arms will be less open for him than for Paul, Bob Barr, and Gary Johnson.

Speaking of all of the above, I don't know about Peter Meijer individually, but according to Wiki, the Meijer chain scores pretty well on LGBT rights with advocacy groups. More conservative GOPers, whether Trump Train riders or never Trumpers, may have some hard swallowing to do.

Finally? Amash and Trump are almost two peas in a pod on preening and bombastic. Take this announcement. Amash didn't have to announce this on the Fourth. If it's related to Meijer's announcement, he could have made his statement either earlier, on the 3rd, or else related.

But, no, I've no doubt he deliberately chose the Fourth cuz Merika and "freedom."

That said, he's more interesting than you think, per this New Republic longform.

If he moved his 20-week divider on abortion to 24 weeks, and allowed for a few exceptions after that, that's where I'm at. But, given that Amash considers himself "100 percent pro life," I'm sure that's not where he's at. Rather, it may be an attempt to say this is the best that government regulation can do, within a libertarian stance, on this issue. And, I'm not sure why the author didn't just call Amash 100 percent pro-life, just like one-time-Libertarian Republican Ron Paul and Fauxbertarian son Rand. It's almost as if ... per Carl Beier ... Steigerwald is a left-coopting libertarian.

Also contra Steigerwald, as Ron Paul illustrates, racism in the Libertarian Party ain't anything new. And, son Rand is illustrating it right now vis-a-vis Ilhan Omar. It's also interesting that Steigerwald talks about L/libertarian purity tests when she's written for Antiwar, founded by a purity tester; Reason, not a purity test place; American Conservative, not totally libertarian and definitely having problems with racists; and The Federalist, not libertarian at all, at bottom line.

She also writes for "Center for a Stateless Society," which bills itself as left-market anarchist. I've long rejected anarchism, and accept the label of "libertarian socialist" only when "libertarian" is used with its European-style meaning.

The more I think about it, the more I think that this piece, while interesting, is also a PR pitch, even if Amash right now is running for Congress only.