Free Republic

The cromnibus had an unlikely savior Thursday afternoon in the form of a lame-duck lawmaker who used to raise reindeer. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.), who lost his primary earlier this year, was originally among the conservative Republicans who voted against the rule. Without the help of Democrats, Republicans could only lose 17 of their own to pass the rule, which sets up floor debate for the underlying "cromnibus" spending bill. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) intervened once there were 18 Republican defectors — and not a single Democrat voting "yes." Many Democrats will vote against the government spending measure because they...

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The action taken by a New York City police officer against Eric Garner is "clear," writes U.S. Rep. Justin Amash on Wednesday. Clearly excessive force against #EricGarner. I pray that peace and justice will prevail. The incident was captured on video, showing Garner talking with police as they suspected him of selling tax-free cigarettes. The 43-year-old man then is overcome by officers who take him down to the sidewalk. Garner cried out, "I can't breathe," several times before becoming motionless.

On Friday, an overwhelming majority of House members passed legislation sponsored by Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) which approved construction of the long-delayed Keystone XL Pipeline. By 252 to 161, the House opted to send the measure to the U.S. Senate, where it will face a vote from the upper chamber next week which could, for the first time, force the president to determine whether to approve or veto the oil transit route. 31 Democratic representatives voted with every Republican member of Congress save Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), who voted present, to approve construction of the pipeline. It is an...

A libertarian, tea-party congressman just rolled to reelection in a congressional district that is home to some of the wealthiest people in the business wing of the Republican party. Representative Justin Amash (R., Mich.) was outspent by his opponent, Brian Ellis, who had the support of the Chamber of Commerce and other House Republicans, but it was never even a tight race. “It’s been a pretty significant lead for the congressman throughout,” a Republican consultant and pollster in Michigan unaffiliated with either campaign told National Review Online Monday. As of this writing, Amash enjoys a comfortable double-digit lead, garnering 57...

Over the weekend, both the Senate and the House approved $225M in funding for the Iron Dome. The bill passed by unanimous consent in the Senate and by a 395 to 8 vote. Opposition to the funding of the Iron Dome demonstarted an unfortunate bi-partisan measure – four Democrats and four Republicans voted against it. The four Democrats were Keith Ellison (MN-05), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Jim Moran (VA-08), and Beto O’Rourke (TX-16); The four Republicans were Justin Amash (MI-03), Walter Jones (NC-03), Tom Massie (KY-04), and Mark Sanford (SC-01). Rep. Ellison explains vote on “Meet the Press”: “Because a ceasefire...

You may recall that on Friday, in what would have been a Christmas Miracle were it not several months early, Congress actually got something done. It was the passage of a bill approving $225M in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome defensive missile system. It was quite the bipartisan effort in retrospect, garnering an overwhelming 395 votes in the House with only eight in opposition. One of those eight was Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, and as The Corner reports, he went out on the weekend gab circuit to explain why he didn’t support the measure. “Because a cease-fire is what we...

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra has said he'll back U.S. Rep. Justin Amash's opponent in the upcoming August primary. Hoekstra is endorsing local businessman Brian Ellis in the Third District race. Hoekstra, who served in the House from 1993-2011 and was chair of the House Intelligence Committee, in a statement said Ellis will be a "strong partner" with other Michigan Republicans to promote conservative ideas. "Bottom line, I strongly endorse Brian Ellis because he will be an effective conservative voice and a consistent conservative vote for solutions that will help hardworking Michigan taxpayers," Hokestra said. "Brian...

Tea party-backed Rep. Justin Amash has made enough enemies in the Republican Party so that he shouldn't be surprised when he faces a tough primary challenge. But even by Amash's standards, businessman Brian Ellis's campaign against him in Michigan's 3rd District has been aggressive.

Ever since the emergence of the tea party in 2009, the media narrative has been pre-written and ready to deploy at opportune times. Embodying the intense frustrations of ordinary Americans with so-called limited-government Republicans who were forever raising taxes, increasing spending, and incurring more debt, the tea party demanded that their representatives keep their promises, and adhere to principle over politics. Otherwise, when the next election cycle rolled around, they would be fully prepared to throw the bums out. Not only did this seismic shift ruffle the feathers of Democrats and those who wanted to expand government in perpetuity, it...

Think of every area where the GOP has strayed from its conservative roots. The bailouts. TARP. Out-of-control government spying. Job-killing corporate cronyism. There is one man in Congress consistently saying “no” to making government bigger and less accountable. His name is Justin Amash, and the establishment has taken notice. Big business wants to ensure voters elect Republicans who will keep the perks flowing -- from taxpayers’ bank accounts and right to their pockets. They’ve even created a feel-good way to describe such a Republican: Pro-business. And that’s exactly the kind of guy they’ve found in Amash’s primary challenger. Amash goes...

Updated 6:37 p.m. | Sen. Ted Cruz gathered a group of House conservatives in his office Tuesday night, talking about immigration and House GOP leadership elections slated for after the midterm elections. As CQ Roll Call first reported last October, Cruz held a secret meeting with members at Tortilla Coast during the height of the government shutdown drama. Many of these same Republicans are the agitators who aren’t happy with Speaker John A. Boehner. The Texas Republican gathered roughly 10 members of the GOP Conference at 8 p.m. Tuesday for a 90-minute session that included candy bars, crackers and soda....

In February, Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) was asked during a panel what he thought about Washington Post conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin saying negative things about him. Amash dismissed it and suggested people should go look at how often Rubin criticizes Rand Paul instead. So I did. Jennifer Rubin mentioned Senator Rand Paul’s name 143 times in the first three weeks of March (March 1-21) on her Right Turn blog. The only other political figure mentioned more often than Paul was President Obama at 206 times (not including “Obamacare,” but just President Obama specifically). The most frequently mentioned named after Sen....

LANSING, MI -- Michigan women will not have the choice to buy an individual abortion "rider" when the state's controversial insurance law takes effect Thursday, but some employers may choose to provide the coverage for less than a dollar a month. The law, initiated by a Right to Life Petition drive and approved by the Republican-led Legislature in early December, will prohibit insurance companies from selling policies that include abortion coverage as a standard feature. Instead, they can offer the coverage through an optional policy add-on, known as a rider. Seven insurers plan to offer riders for small and large-group...

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Businessman Brian Ellis unleashed his first television advertisement against U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, calling a single 2012 abortion vote "very wrong." The 30-second spot attacks Amash, R-Cascade Township, as being the only Michigan Republican voting against the 2012 Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, which reportedly would have imprisoned doctors for performing abortions based solely on gender. The bill failed in the House with a vote of 246-168 in favor. It needed 276 yeas to pass. "Amash voted to allow gender selection abortions to continue," the ad states. "Right to Life called Amash's vote 'shameful' and 'pro-abortion.' They're right....

Popular Congressman Justin Amash, R-Mich., is fighting back against his primary challenger Brian Ellis with a Star Wars-themed campaign event titled “The Establishment Strikes Back: Join the Rebel Alliance.” Amash, the two-term libertarian congressman who introduced the Amash Amendment to rein in the National Security Agency spy programs, will hold a “money bomb” event Dec. 16 to raise money for the congressman’s re-election campaign. Amash’s campaign had $164,000 cash on hand at the end of July, while his opponent has the ability to self-fund and is backed by Big Business. “The good news is that [Ellis] doesn't have grassroots support,...

Senior figures behind efforts to curtail the powers of American spy agencies have seized on the decision by the world’s largest tech companies to call for radical surveillance reform, saying the unexpected intervention is a potential “game-changer”. In an open letter published jointly on Monday, eight tech giants, including Apple, Google and Facebook, said disclosures by the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that basic rights and freedoms were being undermined. The companies – which also include Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, LinkedIn and Twitter, and have a combined value of $1.4tn – called for widespread changes that, if enacted, would...

An even split of Democratic and Republican legislators back a bill supported by Rep. Justin Amash, aiming to end the country's domestic surveillance programs. The legislation, titled The USA Freedom Act, would, if signed into law, curb the National Security Agency's ability to conduct communications sweeps and close a "back door" to information by requiring a court order when performing searches of Americans in data already collected without warrants. The Hill reported during the weekend that the bill has at least 102 cosponsors, including 51 Democrats and 51 Republicans... According to The Hill, members of Congress are placing increased pressure...

In a secret meeting on Tuesday morning, Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) hosted a bipartisan group of senators and House members in the Capitol’s basement. According to several participants, the lawmakers plotted ways to stop the use of U.S. military force in Syria. Since the diplomatic situation is fluid, there was no final consensus on how best to combat the administration, but potential legislative maneuvers, press appearances, and letters were discussed. Several undecided members asked questions. Aides say Paul planned the gathering over a week ago, and the list of attendees grew by the day. He is pleased, especially, by...

House Republican leaders said Tuesday they will try to force the Democratic-led Senate to vote on defunding President Barack Obama's health-care law before the House will agree to enact a stopgap government-funding measure. "Our goal here is not to shut down the government," House Speaker John Boehner told reporters in Washington. "Our goal is to cut spending and to stop Obamacare." -SNIP- everal Republicans expressed opposition because they said they see the strategy as non-binding. "Every member of the conference said they're going to do everything they can to defund Obamacare, and our leadership said in there they know this...

Here's a quartet of interesting tweets from House of Representative member Justin Amash Republican from Michigan. Tweet #1: If Americans could read classified docs, they'd be even more against Syria action. Obama admn's public statements are misleading at best. Tweet #2: Attended another classified briefing on Syria & reviewed add'l materials. Now more skeptical than ever. Can't believe Pres is pushing war. Tweet #3: Asked Obama admn officials to correct admn's public statements that are inconsistent w/ info presented at briefings. Public must have facts. Tweet #4: If you're voting yes on military action in Syria, might as well start...