Justin Amash: My Palestinian Refugee Father’s Background ‘Influenced Me’ to Oppose Trump
Shane Trejo
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Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) has engendered a tremendous amount of animus from Republicans over his dogged opposition to Trump, particularly his immigration policy. For opposing Trump’s agenda, he received a hero’s welcome on the ‘Lions for Liberty’ podcast where Amash appeared for an interview with host Marc Clair released earlier today.
While appearing on the libertarian podcast, Amash talked about familiar topics like his Hayekian economic beliefs, discovering authors Frederic Bastiat and Ayn Rand, and his dedication to holding government to its own rules.
From there, they moved onto Amash’s background and the impetus behind his frequent opposition to President Trump.
“One of the things I would say that influenced me to really get involved was my dad’s background especially,” Amash said. “Both of my parents are immigrants. My father is a refugee.”
“He was sponsored to come here as a Palestinian refugee,” Amash said of his father. He said his dad’s hard-working example was an inspiration for him as he pursued a career in law and politics.
“[My father] started from scratch and really worked hard and always told us as we were growing up how wonderful it was to live in this country where anyone could succeed and it didn’t matter what your last name was or your ethnic background or your religion,” Amash explained. “You could come here and work hard and provide for your family.”
Amash claims that it was his father’s story that caused him to adopt his free market ideals as well as his deep sympathy toward the plight of immigrants and migrants. He was the only Republican co-sponsor to a Democratic resolution opposing Trump’s use of emergency measures for border security.
“I don’t think we can delegate legislative powers to the President, and it seems to me that this was a clear attempt by statute to delegate something that is a legislative responsibility,” Amash said, elaborating on his opposition to emergency measures.
Amash bemoans the GOP for “not being as libertarian as I thought they were” due to their support for border security. He complained about feeling “out of place” with his fellow House Freedom Caucus members who have stood consistently with President Trump on immigration. Clair mentioned that Amash has only voted with the President’s agenda roughly 60 percent of the time.
“If I wouldn’t want a Democratic president to do it, I wouldn’t want a Republican president to do it either. I don’t think it’s right under our constitution, and it doesn’t matter who the president is,” Amash said, although he never uttered a peep during the many times Obama declared emergency measures while in office.
Amash also noted that he receives very little push-back in Congress for his constant ‘Never Trump’ agitation, but individuals on social media and at constituent town halls are the ones up in arms about his frequent combativeness toward President Trump.
“Here on Capitol Hill, my friends are all nice people and they don’t mind that sometimes I’m going to side with Democrats,” Amash said.
He claimed that a third-party run in the Libertarian Party is “more on [his] radar everyday” as he inches closer and closer to bailing on the Republicans completely in an attempt to cost Trump his chances at re-election.
“Obviously I am thinking about it a little more, but ya know, I just think it is important that we offer some alternative,” Amash said. “I think we need someone out there who can be a bridge for people who can present a libertarian message but also bring people together.”
Amash’s recommendations for 2020 sound an awful lot like Gary Johnson’s buffoonish Libertarian Presidential run in 2016.
The Michigan Congressman bragged about his biggest accomplishments in Washington D.C. that weren’t really accomplishments at all. He talked about his bipartisan failure to reign in NSA spying and his failed balanced budget amendment proposal that has never received any traction.
To conclude the interview, Amash relayed his worst political fears, and, of course, they have to do with Trump.
“It’s easy to fall into sort of despair and think that things can’t be turned around, and that is something I fight everyday, and I want to go out there and make a difference, and I think I can,” Amash said.
Amash is certainly making a difference…for the Democrats. His self-serving obstruction to President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda has helped the Left immeasurably. George Soros and the fake news media are certainly pleased with Amash as a result of his turn.
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