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09-15-2013, 08:27 PM
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
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