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Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) is promising he won't let his state party nominate an "anti-civil liberties, pro-corporate welfare" candidate in the race for the Senate.
The libertarian-leaning congressman's comments may be aimed at Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the favorite of establishment Republicans in Washington and Michigan, and could be a sign Amash is considering a bid to succeed retiring Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.).

"There will be huge long-term harm to the Michigan Republican Party if we put up an anti-civil liberties, pro-corporate welfare Senate candidate," Amash wrote on his Facebook page in a Tuesday evening post. "I won't let that happen without a fight."
"This is 2013, not 2003 or 1993. Such a candidate not only doesn't appeal to conservative Republicans, who care deeply about liberty and the Constitution, but also would continue to tarnish our party's image with moderate, independent, young and ethnically diverse voters," he wrote.

GOP strategists worry Amash could create problems in the primary for another candidate who might have more statewide appeal in the general election. They also fear he could scare off a strong candidate like Rogers.
"We must begin to win statewide general elections for Senate and president," Amash continued. "We need to stop catering to the political class elites and start caring about the rights and freedoms of regular people. More of the same means our party becomes irrelevant."

Rogers said on Monday that he was still mulling a Senate run but that it would be hard to balance that with his position chairing the House Intelligence Committee, comments that make it sound less than likely that he'll run. He also said he had no timeline for a decision.
Rogers is likely the GOP's best hope to force a competitive race against Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who Michigan Democrats have rallied around. Former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land (R) is also considering a bid.

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Gary Peters made it official: He is running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Carl Levin next year.

Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, made his intentions known in an e-mail sent Wednesday to supporters. Levin, a six-term Democrat and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced in March he would not seek re-election in 2014.

“This is a critical time for Michigan, and our main streets and middle class need an independent voice fighting for them,” Peters said in the e-mail. “Washington is a mess, but Michigan is on the verge of re-inventing itself with a new economy and a middle class that’s stronger than ever — and I want to be on the front lines of that fight.”

As a Democrat, Peters may enjoy an advantage heading into the race — it has been nearly 20 years since the state elected a Republican U.S. senator. But the e-mail never mentions his party affiliation and seeks to establish Peters’ bona fides as an independent politician.

Peters told the Free Press shortly after Levin’s decision was announced that he was seriously considering the race. Wednesday, he said that he discussed the prospect of running a statewide race with his family before jumping in.

As it stands now, he looks to be the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination. In recent weeks, one of the only other Democrats mentioned as a possible candidate, Democratic National Committee member Debbie Dingell, announced she would not run for the seat.

Most political handicappers in Washington consider the seat likely to be filled by a Democrat; no Republican has won a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan since Spencer Abraham in 1994, and he was defeated after a single term by Democrat Debbie Stabenow.

But Peters could face formidable opponents on the Republican side. Former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is looking at getting in the race, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Howell, has also said he is considering it. U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, who has made himself a nationally known figure in libertarian circles, also is looking at the race.

Bobby Schostak, chairman of the state Republican Party, said he appreciated Peters’ recognition that “under the leadership of Gov. (Rick) Snyder and the Republican-led Legislature Michigan is the comeback state.”

“If we apply the same common-sense solutions in Washington that Republicans have applied in Lansing, we can clean up the mess created by Peters and his Democrat colleagues,” Schostak said. “In order to do that, we need to send a common sense conservative leader to the Senate, not” Peters.

Peters ran unsuccessfully statewide for attorney general in 2002 but has since been on a winning streak — taking a majority Republican district based in Oakland County in 2008 from incumbent Rep. Joe Knollenberg, and last year taking a redrawn Detroit-centric district with the help of union supporters and black ministers.

In his e-mail to supporters Wednesday, Peters sounded a bipartisan note that could be important if he is to win statewide, saying it’s not only important to create jobs and help small businesses grow, but also to “get spending under control.” He also promised to fight to protect Medicare and Social Security for Michigan’s seniors, programs that he said “are under attack.”

“Set politics and party aside; if it’s not right for Michigan’s small businesses and middle class, it’s never been right with me,” the e-mail read. “I think that kind of independent approach is exactly what Michigan needs in the Senate right now.”

Speaking to the Free Press on Wednesday, Peters said a formal campaign kickoff will be held this fall, but that he is, as of now, officially a candidate.

Asked about running in a year when an incumbent Republican governor will likely lead the opposition ticket, Peters said that — and attacks on his support of Democratic health care reform and cap-and-trade environmental policies — don’t worry him.

“As long as you have a message that the people of Michigan can relate to,” he said, “you’ll do fine.” For proof, he pointed to the close race he won in 2010, despite being in a Republican-centric district that voted for Snyder as well.

“The reason I won was that people knew I was passionate about issues they care about,” he said.

Peters said he continues to work on a bipartisan basis in Congress, pushing bills such as those that would reform mortgage assistance with a key Republican. In the Senate, he said, he would press for a national urban policy to aid Detroit, and he wants to see additional support for regional transit in southeastern Michigan.

Meanwhile, he said, he would encourage policies to stabilize real estate values in urban core areas across Michigan.

Asked about gridlock in the Senate, Peters said while he believes in giving the right to filibuster legislation, he disagrees with the current 60-vote threshold needed to cut off debate. A simple majority should suffice, he said.

Peters said he will start his nascent campaign with stops Thursday in Flint and Lansing, and Friday in Grand Rapids. In the weeks to come, he said, he will go to Traverse City, Alpena and the Upper Peninsula.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Rumors that libertarian power players Ron and Rand Paul are advising U.S. Rep. Justin Amash against a Senate run are false, Amash tweeted Monday.

Amash, tweeting from his personal Twitter account, denied that retired Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and his son, current Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, have cautioned him against running for retiring Sen. Carl Levin's seat.

Instead, Amash suggested the falsehoods were being spread by supporters of unnamed, "unelectable" Republicans.

"Report that Ron & Rand have asked me not to run for Senate is false--probably made up by same ppl promoting unelectable political class Rs," Amash tweeted.

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(NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Two political heavyweights are reportedly pressuring Congressman Justin Amash not to run for the Senate next year. There's a lot of speculation that Amash will run for Senator Carl Levin's seat when he retires next year. But an article in the National Journal is reporting Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and his father, former presidential candidate Ron Paul are urging Amash to stay out of the race. The Pauls reportedly view Amash as a strong libertarian voice in the House and wouldn't want to see him potentially lose the Senate race. The article also says an unnamed member of Amash's staff says the Pauls have not tried to convince him not to run.

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Justin Amash ‏@repjustinamash 1h
I spot a place to parallel park. Circle whole block to get to it. Who's pulling in to it when I get there? @RepThomasMassie. Thx, breh.

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Thomas Massie ‏@RepThomasMassie 1h
.@repjustinamash Kentucky: 2. Michigan: 0.

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The libertarian-trending George F. Will seems cautiously optimistic about what an ambitious Rep. Justin Amash could mean for a Republican brand in flux.

He writes of the 33-year-old House member, who’s mulling a run to replace Michigan Sen. Carl Levin:

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Last month, when [Sen. Rand] Paul was waging his 13-hour filibuster, Amash made his first visit to the Senate floor and was struck by the contrast with the House, which he says is “good fun” and “loud and boisterous.” The Senate would be more so with Amash inside, and Michigan Republicans, having lost six consecutive Senate elections, might reasonably want to try something new. But as Amash undertakes to “tear down the left-right paradigm,” he must consider how the delicate but constructive fusion of libertarians and social conservatives has served Republicans, and the sometimes inverse relationship between being interesting and being electable.

Amash is mindful of two things: 1) that there’s a demand among Republican elites for a more “moderate” face of the party; and 2) that lawmakers in the self-styled liberty movement have a reputation for being the opposite of moderate.

And so Amash surveys the scene and calls himself, well, a “moderate”—because, he tells Will, “the point of the Constitution is to moderate the government.”

Read more: http://www.theamericanconservative.c...#ixzz2RDzmCHU7

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Boston and Watertown can rest easier tonight. The victims and their families still need our thoughts, prayers, and love. Great work by law enforcement to take the suspect alive.
- Justin Amash

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Immediately after Levin announced his retirement, Amash received a late-night text message from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), encouraging him to run.