Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI): GOP leadership is out of step with America; not committed to re-election of Speaker Boehner

Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), who was booted From the House Budget Committee, says that a solution to the fiscal cliff must be bipartisan and he is not sure if he supports the re-election of Speaker John Boehner to his leadership position. Rep. Amash heard of his release from the committee from news reports.

Rep. Amash says, “I would again push back on this idea that it is some kind of Tea Party versus moderate versus mainstream theme. People like me are out there are calling for reductions in Pentagon spending, calling for working with the Democrats. And actually if you look at the four people who were removed from the Committee, we’ve been the ones who’ve been willing to work with Democrats on a lot of these tough spending issues.”

When O’Brien asks if he thinks Speaker Boehner should be fired, Rep. Amash responds, “We’re going to see how the next few weeks go. And whether he’s willing to make amends. And put out that scorecard. Let the American people see what he based the decision on.”

Congressman Justin Amash (R) Blast's GOP Leadership

Even though Congressman Justin Amash has yet to recieve official notification of his removal from his leadership poition on the House Committee on the budget, Justin admits that he has been removed.  This is what he wrote on his Facebook account on Tuesday December 4, 2012:

Justin Amash visits his home town of Ionia Michigan to
speak with his constituents.  In this picture Darlene Thompson
and Justin Amash.  Photo Credit: Kenneth Ration              

"Rumor has it that I’ve been removed from the House Committee on the Budget. Remarkably, I still have not received a single call, e-mail, or text from Republican leadership confirming this story. In fact, I wouldn’t even have learned about it if not for the news reports. I look forward to hearing from my party’s leadership about why my principled, conservative voting record offends them. That’s sure to be a lively and entertaining conversation.

In the meantime, I can only speculate as to what specifically would make Republican leadership punish several of its party’s most principled members. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, who was kicked off of both Budget and the Committee on Agriculture, voted with me against the 2013 House budget resolution because it does not sufficiently address the federal government’s debt crisis. That was one of only three times during this Congress that I voted against the Chairman’s recommendations in committee. In fact, I voted with the Republican Chairman more than 95% of the time, and I have voted with my party’s leadership more than three-quarters of the time on the House floor.

What message does leadership’s heavy-handedness send? It says that independent thinking won’t be tolerated, not even 5% of the time. It says that voting your conscience won’t be respected. It says that fulfilling your commitment to your constituents to work with both Republicans and Democrats to reduce our debt takes a back seat to the desires of corporate special interests. And, most troubling for our party, it says to the growing number of young believers in liberty that their views are not welcome here.

I’ll miss working with my colleagues on Budget. I don’t relish this situation, but if one thing is clear based on the response from the grassroots, it’s that leadership’s actions will backfire. If they think kicking me off of a committee will lead me to abandon my principles or stifle my bipartisan work toward a balanced budget, I have a message for them: You’re dead wrong."