The GOP Establishment targeted two conservative, Republican Congressmen from Michigan for defeat in the November midterms. The Establishment won one, and lost one.
Last March, we chronicled here how Michigan’s 11th District freshman Congressman Kerry Bentivolio’s election in 2012 was an embarrassment to the GOP establishment.
We asked this question in a subsequent article: “Will the GOP Establishment that failed to block Cong. Kerry Bentivolio in ’12 try again in ’14?”
The answer was “Yes” – they tried again, and succeeded this time.
In the GOP primary election, David Trott, an experienced GOP fund-raiser and wealthy foreclosure attorney, spent $2.4 million of his own m money and crushed Bentivolio by a 2-1 margin.
Then, in the midterm elections, according to the Detroit News, “{Bobby} McKenzie {Trott’s Democrat opponent in the November election} in the last month repeatedly slapped the ‘Foreclosure King’ label on Trott for the Birmingham attorney’s work representing banks in tens of thousands of foreclosure cases in Michigan that resulted in families being forced out of their homes.”
Trott won in midterms.
Also last March, we described here how Karl Rove targeted Michigan’s 3rd District Congressman Justin Amash for defeat, describing him as “the most liberal Republican” in Congress.
If you follow the 19th Century definition of “liberal” (which meant the opposite then from today), Rove was correct.
But by the 20th Century use of “liberal,” Amash is one of the least liberal in Congress.
The GOP Establishment stood up Brian Ellis, President of Brooktree Capital Management in Grand Rapids, to oppose Amash in the GOP primary election.
We described, in detail, how the Ellis campaign enjoyed genuine “bi-partisan” funding. It seems the Democrats wanted Amash out of the House as much as Karl Rove did.
One of the seven Michigan Republican luminaries who signed a well-publicized letter of endorsement for Ellis’ candidacy made significant contributions to Democrat Gary Peter’s U.S. Senate campaign. Peter’s won.
Below, newly-elected Peters is being congratulated by retiring Democrat Senator Carl Levin.
Amash was re-elected, handily.
Here’s a video (6:14) of part of his victory speech, characterized by the Washington Post as “amazing.”
Here’s what the Washington Post (Yes, the Washington Post) wrote about Amash:
“Politicians who win campaigns, no matter how dirty, will almost always kiss and make up with their political opponents in their election-night speeches.
Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), of course, is not your average politician.
After defeating a Chamber of Commerce-backed candidate in his primary by 14 percentage points on Tuesday, the Ron Paul ally set about settling a few scores.
Former congressman Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), who backed challenger Brian Ellis, ‘You are a disgrace. And I’m glad we could hand you one more loss before you fade into total obscurity and irrelevance.’ (Hoekstra lost the state’s 2012 Senate race — and in the 2010 gubernatorial primary.)
Ellis, ‘You owe my family and this community an apology for your disgusting, despicable smear campaign. You had the audacity to try and call me today after running a campaign that was called the nastiest in the country. I ran for office to stop people like you.’
Ellis in one ad referred to a quote from Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who labeled Amash ‘Al Qaeda’s best friend in Congress.’
In a later TV interview, Amash said: ‘I’m an Arab-American, and he has the audacity to say I’m al-Qaeda’s best friend in Congress. That’s pretty disgusting.’”
It’s clear that both the GOP Establishment and the Democrat Party see candidates who are supported by persons espousing the Tea Party Movement ideals of fiscal responsibility, smaller government, and respect for the Constitution of the United States as political adversaries.
And, given the recent vote on the 2015 federal budget, the Republican Party has abdicated all claims on its alleged belief in fiscal responsibility.
Meanwhile, in our own back yards, here’s a list of the 15 Texas members of the U.S. House of Representatives who voted to increase the national debt, yet again, in the 2015 federal budget: Brady, Burgess, Carter, Conaway, Culberson, Farenthold, Flores, Granger, Hall, Hensarling, McCaul, Olson, Sessions, Smith and Thornberry.
