This will sound overly cynical, so I apologize in advance. But this is a nice sentiment that risks being quickly brushed aside — along with Amash himself, perhaps — by an American political system that thrives on partisanship and has for a long time.
Unless, of course, Amash has other plans. He has left open the possibility of running for president as the nominee of the Libertarian Party, which would undoubtedly be glad to have him. He fits the party ideologically, and he would give it a shot at increased relevance in American politics if he ran. It would also provide a potentially huge platform to make the case he makes in his op-ed and actually make a dent in the two-party system.
At the same time, he could have switched to the Libertarian Party on Thursday, and he did not. That does not preclude this eventuality, but it does suggest perhaps he is not there yet. Amash is a principled lawmaker, if there ever was one, and even if he knows running for president could afford him a unique platform, he has to also know the potential pitfalls. Taking a significant share of the vote in 2020 could render him a perceived spoiler — a new Ralph Nader.
If you want to see how that could turn out, look no further than Howard Schultz. His mere flirtation with an independent 2020 bid has enraged Democrats who fear a well-funded independent candidacy (Schultz is a billionaire former Starbucks CEO) could help reelect Trump.
Amash is not Schultz, though. While Schultz struggles to enunciate a policy platform other than “the two major parties are doing it wrong,” Amash has real convictions and an apparent desire to take a stand, even if he cannot win. It is also not entirely clear whether he would take more votes from Trump or the eventual Democratic nominee. While he has been a Republican and a founder of the tea-party-aligned House Freedom Caucus (which he has also left), some early polling suggests his candidacy might actually benefit Trump in Michigan.
So Amash might not necessarily be signing up for the kind of instant abuse Schultz got. But it does seem he is unsure about whether he wants to go there or thinks it is worth it.
“I never stop thinking about these sorts of things,” he told CNN’s Haley Byrd recently about running for president. “It’s not because I have any immediate plans or anything like that, but I never stop thinking about those things because there is a big problem with the current two-party system we have, and someone has to shake it up.”
“Now, is it possible for anyone to shake it up and make a difference?” he added. “I don’t know.”
Now we will see if he really wants to try.