Look—if @JustinAmash does run, you can bet I’ll support him. I’ve never looked at voting as a binary choice. The candidates we vote for should have to earn our vote based on their ideas & competence. Amash has more than earned mine.

I recognize many folks I greatly respect are going to make a different choice in 2020—and that’s perfectly fine. But, @JustinAmash...if you’re seeing this, count me in.

For the last three years, I have relentlessly pilloried Rs on principle for making some version of this same argument: “Do I agree with Trump all the time? No. Do I think his ideas are conservative? No. But, he’s the best chance to beat Dems, so I’m all in for now.”

If a candidate joins the race that shares so many of my principles & championed them when it wasn’t easy, I’d make a mockery of my convictions not supporting them.

I meant what I said about Rs who embraced Trump out of strategic convenience—and I’m not about to give them an out.

Don’t worry, folks. I can take the arrows, so fire away. I still respect you guys. I didn’t expect this to be a popular take. But it’s my take and I’ll own those every time.

So, principles aside, appetite for an Amash candidacy seems ... low. I’ve had several conservatives reach out (some voting Biden, some Trump—all of whom I respect) argue why it would be a lost cause. They make good points, & I admit: Amash would be mostly a symbolic choice.

But, our disagreement isn’t over the practical consequences. I don’t disagree that a vote for Amash would pull some votes from Biden or Trump—but I’d quibble with the certainty over *who* loses out. I think most Amash voters would stay-at-home or write-in if he wasn’t a choice.

Our disagreement also isn’t over the stakes: I also think they couldn’t be higher. I’ve made no secret about the fact that I think Trump poses a threat to the future of conservatism, our public budgets, the Constitution, the rule of law, & the health of our republic.

Our disagreement is over the core of what voting means & what the duty of voting requires of us as citizens.

So all of the appeals about an Amash vote aiding Trump somehow—while certainly devastating to swallow, if true—are ultimately off the mark.

I think the act of voting is sacred. As citizens, it’s our chief constitutional tool for giving power to our voice. And when we speak, we can either say what we support, what we oppose, or now, sadly, what we *least oppose*.

I think voting deserves that we say what we support—and I simply don’t support the agendas of Biden or Trump.

Amash has routinely stood for the Constitution, the rule of law, freedom, limited government, & decency—over & over again—even leaving the GOP to do it. I support that.

John Quincy Adams once said, “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, & you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”

I agree—but no chance I disparage #PrinciplesFirst conservatives who think “voting for principle” requires something else.