Justin Amash--Obstructionist or Principled Leader?

I have heard the term obstructionist more in the last 18 months than I have in the previous 18 years.  Over those 18 months, the term has largely been applied to Republicans who stood up against President Obama's liberal agenda.

One definition of obstructionist I found online reads, "a person who delays or obstructs the business before a legislative body by parliamentary contrivances or legalistic maneuvers."  I read this and I wonder why the term is used like it's a bad thing?  When a liberal majority is cramming through unpopular, unfunded and possibly unconstitutional legislation in the middle of the night, I want my elected official to stop it. I want an obstructionist to do whatever it takes to keep the legislation from passing.


Justin Amash is running for Congress in Michigan's 3rd District. After just two years in the Michigan House of Representatives, Justin has acquired a well-deserved reputation as someone who says NO!  And I say Hallelujuah!


If Justin doesn't like just one part of a bill, he votes no for the whole thing.  He won't "give" on the part he doesn't like to get the part he does.  If the part he doesn't like doesn't belong in the bill, he just says NO!

If Justin isn't given enough time to read a bill, he votes NO--even if it is a substantive issue he would otherwise support.  He has even co-sponsored a bill in the Michigan House with more than a dozen other lawmakers that would force legislators to take three days after a final version of a bill is available before voting.  He wants to slow the process down.  I guess that makes him obstructionist--and I respect him for it!

As one looks back over history, many of our greatest heroes were obstructionists.  They stood up for what they believe in by standing against what they did not. I won't name any names, because I will be ridiculed for comparing a freshman congressman to a revered hero.  But think about 5 heroes.  I will bet at least 4 of them stood up for what was right by standing against what was wrong.

Justin Amash believes it is wrong to spend money we don't have.  He will not support deficit spending and he is standing up against putting our children and grandchildren in a lifetime of debt.

I am tired of representatives who vote for bills when they don't know what is in it.  I am tired of representatives who vote based on party line.  And I am tired of representatives who vote for something as a trade for something else.  Some might say that this is politics as usual.  I say it's time to change politics.

It's time to elect a man like Justin Amash who says what he believes and votes how he believes.

Cross-posted on Right Michigan

Unions Launch Misleading Attacks on Tim Walberg

Two national unions are sponsoring attack ads on Tim Walberg, the Republican candidate for Michigan's 7th Congressional district.  The ads, which address Tim's voting record during his 2006-2008 Congressional stint, are misleading at best. Some might even call them outright lies.

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees' (AFSCME) ads are so outrageous that they even drew the attention of Factcheck.org, an arguably left-leaning "public policy" organization.  Their analysis, found here, starts off with this:

Let’s start with the middle-class tax cuts. The ad, which cost $750,000, says: "Rather than cut taxes for the middle class, Walberg sided with big oil and hedge funds — gave them tax loopholes." That’s not exactly true. He did vote for the middle-class tax cut in question in 2007, and when the tax cut bill came up again in 2008, it went unresolved before he left Congress.

The article goes on to say,

The ad also charges that Walberg "skipped out on a vote" to save auto industry jobs. He was in the hospital, recovering from surgery, when the House voted on, and easily passed, the automakers bailout bill."

Even though Factcheck.org issued their release on Sept. 1, 2010, SEIU launched an almost identical ad on Sept. 18, 2010.  They are so proud of their effort, they issue a press release here.  According to their release, the ad, which cost $250,000,

highlights Tim Walberg's history of siding with Big Oil and Wall Street hedge fund managers instead of Michigan's middle class families the last time he was in Congress.

I find the whole issue to be just wrong on so many levels.

First of course is the degree of deception and blatant hypocrisy at the core of the ads themselves.  The ads' sponsors are obviously willing to twist the truth to manipulate public opinion and malign the reputation of a good man.  The entire approach smells of desperation and fear.

Second, I am bothered by the fact that theses unions are together spending $1 million on advertising in support of Mark Schauer. Yet, because it is spent on behalf of Schauer, and no money is donated directly to Schauer's campaign, there is no problem with the campaign finance laws.  Why is that acceptable?  It is just one more example of special interests exerting undue influence over the elective process.

Third and most importantly, I have to ask -- why are these unions running these ads at all?  Michigan's 7th district doesn't have a major city or a significant government seat.  Why are they spending so much money to support the campaign of a freshman Congressman from Michigan?  And why do the union members allow their money to be spent in this way?  What do they think they get out of this?

This situation is the epitome of what people who sympathize with the Tea Party are angry about.  We are tired of pay-for-play politics where special interests have more influence than the voters.  We are tired of the deception, tired of the negative campaigning and tired of partisan politics.

It's time for a positive message.  Time for solutions.  Time for candidates who listen to We the People.  I hope the people of Michigan's 7th District see through this con game and vote for Tim Walberg.

Birth of a Tea Partier

I consider myself an average American. Married. Employed. Homeowner. Parent. I've spent most of my life raising a family and building a career. Politics wasn't even in the top 10 of topics that interest me.

And then the national debt topped $10 trillion. And then a very left leaning Washington began to ram legislation through Congress in the dead of night. And then Michigan's state government nearly shut down because they couldn't pass a budget that Governor Granholm would sign. And then the housing market collapsed and I found my mortgage underwater while the Wall Street banks got bailed out.

And then I woke up. I became a tea partier.

Despite how the media continue to portray people who sympathize with the tea party, I am not a racist, a right-wing extremist or some kind of religious nut. I am simply fed up with the deficit spending, the expansion of government and its ever-growing intrusion on my personal liberties.

One thing that most pundits want to claim is that people in the tea party movement are "disgruntled Republicans". I'm sure some of them are--but the majority of the folks I know are almost as upset with the Republicans as they are with Democrats. We are fed up with political class, not matter what side of the aisle they occupy. We are tired of the elitist, faux intellectuals in elected offices who think they can "fundamentally transform America" right under our noses. And we will not stand for them spending our children and grandchildren into perpetual debt.

It is time to wake up. To get up. And to do something to stop the craziness before it is too late. Look what is happening in Europe. Governments cannot spend what they do not have. Period. We have tried to get that message to our representatives via the phone, email, faxes, townhalls and rallies. Still they don't listen to us. It is time for the ultimate weapon--the ballot box. We need to vote them out. Remember in November.