Justin Amash Town Hall Meeting on Immigration reform at the Hispanic Center.

Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township

(MLive.com File Photo)

By Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township

Like many in our community, I’ve been left scratching my head at the bizarre smear campaign that was launched against me a few weeks ago—nearly a year before the Republican primary.

One day, my opponent says I’m too conservative because I stood firmly against Obamacare and voted against an earmark. The next day, he runs attack ads claiming I’m too liberal, even though I’m the top conservative in the House according to conservative scorekeepers FreedomWorks and The Club for Growth.

Bizarre, I thought—until I read up on who’s behind his campaign.

The Washington Post reported that my challenger’s backers think he will do things “the old-fashioned way—by working the inside game and playing nice.”

“Wall Street donors” clamored for his campaign, according to a liberal former congressman who supports my challenger and pledged to raise $8 million this cycle.

“I don’t think Justin Amash cares if Bank of America gives to him or not,” one dismayed bank lobbyist told Politico.

They’re right. Crony capitalists have found their guy—and it’s not me.

• My opponent supports earmarks to give special benefits to people with connections. I don’t.

• He doled out taxpayer dollars to corporations as Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s appointee to the MEDC. I oppose corporate welfare.

• He lobbied for higher taxes and more spending—even publicly attacking Gov. Snyder for cutting too much government. I am the leading fiscal conservative in the House.

• He favors “Common Core.” I oppose a federal takeover of our children’s education.

• He recently told a radio interviewer, “Everybody has their own special interests, right?” Enough said.

West Michigan knows who I am: a principled, consistent conservative who follows the Constitution. What throws off the Washington political class is that I’m also nonpartisan, effective, and persistent in my belief that government should treat everyone equally.

I’ve led a broad, bipartisan coalition to rein in the NSA’s unconstitutional surveillance of innocent Americans. Now, comprehensive NSA reform that I’ve coauthored likely will pass the House next year.

I’ve written the most bipartisan balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, which would end Washington’s unsustainable spending. I built support for my legislation by doing something ordinary for West Michigan but extraordinary for Washington: I sat down with my Democratic colleagues and talked to them about our ideas.

My opponent attacks me for voting against a bill to give special regulatory preferences to TransCanada, the Canadian corporation that wants to build the Keystone XL pipeline. I strongly support domestic energy production and construction of the pipeline. But I cannot support an earmark that exempts one Canadian corporation from the law, while denying a similar break to all other companies.

My opponent says I should have voted for a tax package that The Wall Street Journal opposed and that would have increased the federal deficit by nearly $50 billion (about equal to the annual budget of the State of Michigan). He even dings me for having voted against a federal budget that wouldn’t balance for nearly 30 years. (I’ve voted each year for the more conservative Republican Study Committee budget that actually would balance in the short run.)

As I said, it’s bizarre.

West Michigan supports me because I reject business as usual: I never miss a vote, publicly explain every vote, and get the job done for all my constituents, not just the elite insiders my opponent seeks to represent. My approach to representation appears to confuse the political class. Over the next eight months, I look forward to helping Washington, Wall Street, and their yes-men understand.