New York Times article profiles Justin Amash

[jct74]

Newcomers Challenge Leadership in the House

By ASHLEY PARKER
Published: September 15, 2013

WASHINGTON — Representative Justin Amash, a sophomore Republican from Michigan, is not one to mince words.

For President Obama to strike Syria without seeking Congressional authorization, Mr. Amash warned on Twitter, would be “unquestionably unconstitutional and illegal.”

And when he mounted a challenge to the National Security Agency, over the objections of the leadership, that nearly passed the House this summer, Mr. Amash rallied his followers on Facebook, declaring ominously: “Have you talked to someone who has talked to someone who has talked to someone who has talked to someone who might be a terrorist? Well, the government might be spying on you.”

Mr. Amash, elected in the Tea Party wave in 2010, is part of a cadre of young, libertarian-leaning House members who have repeatedly hijacked their party’s agenda, frustrating Republicans and Democrats alike. Their approach has prompted backlash, like when House Republicans stripped Mr. Amash, 33, and others of plum committee assignments after they repeatedly challenged the leadership.

But now, armed with social media and a rigid set of beliefs, the self-styled revolutionaries in an already unmanageable Republican majority are making their presence felt — weighing in on issues like health care, government surveillance and Syria.

“There’s always a Justin Amash of every Congress,” said Ari Fleischer, a press secretary to former President George W. Bush. “It’s an uncomfortable, difficult, healthy part of the Congressional process.”

...

read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/16/us/politics/newcomers-challenge-leadership-in-the-house.html

 

[ClydeCoulter]

“There’s always a Justin Amash of every Congress,” said Ari Fleischer

A? How about we elect a whole bunch of them, at once.

 

[ClydeCoulter]

“They never ever vote yes,” a Republican familiar with the dynamics of the House said on the condition of anonymity for fear of offending a fellow Republican. “There’s always some more perfect thing that’s completely impractical that they insist upon. They wind up pulling policy in the opposite direction from their stated goal, because if you are trying to pass something and you know they’re going to vote no, you have to go to the left to pick up votes.”

They? No, you want your stuff voted in and compromise with the left, right? Because the left will want something.

 

[PatrickHenry1]

No kidding. What does that even mean? There's always a constitutionalist of every Congress?

 

[enhanced_deficit]

Surprised that they found him surprising enough.