Patterico's Pontifications

2/23/2016

Justin Amash Endorses Ted Cruz

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 9:19 pm



Regular Patterico readers know my admiration for Congressman Justin Amash, a principled libertarian conservative who explains his votes on Facebook and adheres to the Constitution in every decision he makes. It is pleasing to me, then, that Amash — a former Rand Paul supporter — published a post today titled Why I Trust Ted Cruz:

[W]e owe it to our beliefs to find constitutional conservative political allies who not only respect our philosophy but also fight for our views to be heard.

We have found such an ally in Senator Ted Cruz.

Ted is not a libertarian and doesn’t claim to be. But he is a principled defender of the Constitution, a brilliant strategist and debater who can defeat the Democratic nominee in the general election, and the only remaining candidate I trust to take on what he correctly calls the Washington Cartel.

The recent passing of Justice Antonin Scalia reminds us of the importance of electing a president committed to nominating justices to the Supreme Court who will uphold the Constitution and the Rule of Law. Because the Court has not lost a conservative in many years, this selection may become the most influential act of the next president. Replacing Justice Scalia with a poorly chosen justice could alter our country’s identity on critical issues such as education, health care, criminal justice, privacy, and even the very meaning of the Constitution.

In this regard, history has given us a uniquely qualified candidate—Ted Cruz served as a Supreme Court clerk (an extraordinarily selective job held each year by fewer than 40 lawyers who work directly with the justices to shape the Court’s opinions) and has the rare distinction of having argued many cases before the Supreme Court. The importance of these credentials cannot be overstated in the current context.

But the Supreme Court is not the only thing at stake. Our entire constitutional system is under threat.

An effective president for the people is going to face massive fights with the lobbyist class and Washington elites. It is not enough for a president to have smart advisers and well-rehearsed lines. Whether or not we agree on every issue, libertarian and conservative Republicans must choose a president who has the courage to stand up for the American people in the face of relentless attacks. Ted has shown that he is a true leader who can defend the principles of our constitutional republic, takes libertarian ideas seriously (even when he disagrees), and will not back down from the battles that must be fought.

Since Ted arrived in the Senate, he has stood shoulder to shoulder with the House Freedom Caucus, of which I am a member. Ted has consistently led the fight in the Senate against the Washington Cartel’s trillion-dollar omnibus spending bills. And while his Senate colleague Marco Rubio pays lip service to inclusivity while actually advocating unwelcoming and unpopular GOP positions from past decades, Ted Cruz recognizes that we grow the Republican Party by embracing new approaches that genuinely reflect our support for limited, constitutional government.

Take, for instance, Ted’s opposition to cronyism and corporate welfare. Unlike his competitors, Ted understands that when we allow the government to pick winners and losers, the American people lose. He isn’t afraid to challenge the rampant corruption in Washington, and he isn’t afraid to champion economic freedom. Ted won the Iowa caucuses with a principled stand against subsidies, even though pundits warned that no one could win the state without pandering to the ethanol lobby.

My faith in Justin Amash continues. Kudos to him for this great piece.

9 Responses to “Justin Amash Endorses Ted Cruz”

  1. Ding.

    Patterico (86c8ed)

  2. Does it even matter? I don’t see how Cruz can even get the nomination at this point.

    Trump’s appeal is too basic and wide ranging.

    Dejectedhead (ba8561)

  3. Amash is from Michigan, yes?
    Cruz gets an endorsement from an elected official in a primary state. Good.

    MD not exactly in Philly (deca84)

  4. Let’s see what happens in a week. I think the rending of garments and yanking out of tufts of hair may be a tad premature.

    Patterico (86c8ed)

  5. Looking at the Poll data, Super Tuesday will likely leave Trump at about 500 delegates. He’s practically a lock to win all the Northeast and Midwest states, plus the California. He’ll go over 1237 delegates.

    Dejectedhead (ba8561)

  6. Once Cruz wins Tx, and Rubio doesn’t win Florida, things may not go Trump’s way,
    If that was indeed how things develop.

    MD not exactly in Philly (deca84)

  7. Excellent piece by Amash.

    This: An effective president for the people is going to face massive fights with the lobbyist class and Washington elites.

    Trump boasts that he “gets along with everyone”, wants to work across the aisle because “the next president needs to be willing to make deals to get things done”. Further, on a dime he switches allegiances (both on people and issues), he is willing to say whatever the people have signaled they want him to say. He says anything, but stands for nothing.

    Bob Dole unwittingly demonstrates the correctness of Amash’s observation and why Trump will not be an “effective president”:

    “I question his allegiance to the party,” the 1996 GOP presidential nominee said about Cruz in an interview with The New York Times published Wednesday. “I don’t know how often you’ve heard him say the word ‘Republican’ — not very often.

    “If he’s the nominee, we’re going to have wholesale losses in Congress and state offices and governors and legislatures,” Dole continued.

    He went on to praise Trump as someone who could work with Congress, noting his skills as a “deal-maker.”

    “I think Trump can probably work with Congress, because he’s, you know, he’s got the right personality and he’s kind of a deal-maker,” Dole said.

    Dana (86e864)

  8. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) endorsed Cruz today.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  9. Here’s the video. A transcription:

    This is Texas Governor Greg Abbott. It is our duty as Texas conservatives to support a leader that we can trust to restore our values. That’s why I am supporting Ted Cruz for President.

    Unlike far too many in Washington, the Ted Cruz we’ve seen in the Senate is the same Ted Cruz we elected. And he’s the same Ted Cruz I served with when I was the Attorney General, and Ted was our Solicitor General.

    Conservative values are at his core. He’s principled. He’s fearless. And he has true conviction.

    Ted is a constitutionalist whose judgment I trust to appoint the right judges to the United States Supreme Court.

    To my fellow Texas conservatives, I say this: We need to deliver. This is our time. Ted Cruz is our candidate. Now let’s do our part to take this country back!

    Yup! Exactly.

    Beldar (fa637a)


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