Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI) is one of the more libertarian members of the House of Representatives, and he is facing a Republican challenger in Michigan's August primary. Amash will square off against Brian Ellis, who is allegedly enjoying the financial backing of “prominent Michigan donors.”
According to The Hill, “business leaders are plotting to take down Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) as part of a broader effort to punish lawmakers over the government shutdown. In a letter obtained by The Hill that was written on Ellis’ campaign stationary, prominent Michigan donors, including businessmen Mark Bissell, J.C. Huizenga, and Mike Jandernoa, request financial backing for Amash’s primary challenger.
On radio this morning, Glenn questioned what seems to be a double standard when it comes to challenging Republican incumbents in both the House and Senate.
“We're just talking off the air about Justin Amash and how in his race, the Republicans are standing up and supporting his opponent. Justin Amash is probably the biggest libertarian in the House and just a great guy going to battle for the Constitution over and over and over again,” Glenn said. “And if I may, isn't this why the other big libertarian threw his hat into the ring with Mitch McConnell? Isn't this why Rand Paul said, ‘You know what, I'm going to be with Mitch McConnell because you're not supposed to take on a Republican that is sitting in office’? You're never supposed to violate that… Yet the party is doing this to Justin Amash.”
As several Republican incumbents face more conservative challengers in this midterm election cycle, many have criticized the practice of forcing incumbents to face-off in primaries. Amash, however, is currently facing major opposition, and Glenn believes Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) will face similar battles when they come up for reelection.
“It's interesting… everybody was saying, ‘You should never, ever run someone against an incumbent. That's wrong to do,’” Stu said. “We're now finding that that's not the case because Justin Amash goes against party leadership too often… It’s interesting to see them be so hypocritical and so outwardly and overtly pathetic when it comes to this stuff.”
“It's typical of the Republican establishment, though,” Pat concluded. “This is what they do, and they hate the Tea Party.”