Sunday, March 6, 2011

Justin Amash and Accountability

Accountability in the New Congress | Cato @ Liberty - John Samples, Mar. 2, 2011:

"Just over a week ago, Politico ran a story noting that Justin Amash, a newly-elected House member from Michigan, had already voted 'present' more often than his predecessor had in eight years.... In general, the story suggested that his 'present' votes were a failure in some way to meet his responsibilities as a representative....

"Politico also reported some of Amash's reasons for voting 'present': when he does not have 'reasonable' time to review the legislation, when called upon to choose 'between programs he hasn’t been given time to study,' when he has 'procedural or constitutional concerns about a piece of legislation that has desirable ends,'...

"Amash sounds like a representative trying to take his obligations seriously. Apparently he feels he owes his constituents his best judgment about bills before the House and, absent enough time, he refuses to delegate his judgment to party elders or to mere caprice....

"What I have seen so far, including these criticisms of him, confirm what I have thought for some time: Justin Amash is one of the most interesting and potentially important representatives to come to DC in a long time."

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/accountability-in-the-new-congress/

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