Speakerwatch

Over the past several days, there have been more and more representatives that have publicly voiced their intention not to vote for John Boehner to retain the Speakership. Several more have hinted at their true feelings. There was, of course, the ultimately fruitless attempt to oust Speaker Boehner in early 2013 (spearheaded by Raul Labrador and Justin Amash), but this attempt seems to be gaining more steam and popular support.

A list of those opposing (or likely to oppose) Boehner follows.

1. Justin Amash (R-MI): One of the most prominent liberty Republicans in the House of Representatives, and one of the few to oppose Boehner in 2013, is almost certain to oppose Boehner. In a recent interview, he had this to say.

"I'm deeply troubled by what I think were some misleading statements by the leadership team about the "cromnibus" and the process that brought it to the floor. I'm not going to put that on Speaker Boehner, but the leadership as a whole. And I want to have these conversations with the speaker before we have the vote for speaker and I haven't made a decision yet about what I'll do, but I need to see that things are moving in the right direction."

While hardly an outright declaration, Amash is likely to oppose.

2. Thomas Massie (R-KY): Massie, a sophomore Republcian, opposed Boehner in 2013, and has again publicly declared his opposition.

3. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK): Bridenstine, who also voted against Boehner previously, has declared his intention to do so again.

There were a total of 9 other Republicans (12 total) who revolted in 2013. 10, including the three above, were re-elected. I've been unable to track down an exhaustive list, but they include 4) Raul Labrador (R-ID), 5) Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), and 6) Walter Jones (R-NC).

More Republicans are likely to officially announce opposition prior to the vote, and many who don't are presumed to oppose Boehner regardless.

The Rebel Alliance of the GOP

There's been a lot of hubbub recently over so called "Tea Party" challengers to Republican incumbents across the state, many of whom lost to their more moderate, establishment counterparts. Many within the Republican Party see this as a good thing, after all, some crazy far-right wing nutjob couldn't ever win past a primary, right?

I don't like the term Tea Party. Well, I used to, in its earliest days. I think as the movement grew and expanded, it became less and less meaningful. What started as an ostensibly grass-roots movement (funded by the Koch brothers, which for some reason gets a lot of people riled up) against government excess has become, for a large part, a meaningless stamp used to get elected.

There's no shortage of challengers from the right claiming the Tea Party moniker, but I don't think that's the best word for it anymore. What instead, then? How should the libertarian-leaning wing of the Republican Party be described in a way that's actually accurate and meaningful?

Justin Amash (who is so transparent he posts an explanation for every vote he casts on Facebook) and his supporters coined the term "Rebel Alliance" as a description of these politicians; those who, when elected, refused to play along with the leadership in violation of their principles.

Justin Amash's personal vehicle

The "Rebel Alliance" is a fairly consistent group of two dozen or so Senators and Representatives in Congress. Some of the most prominent Senators include presidential hopeful Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ted Cruz (R-TX). The House has a few more prominent names, most notably Justin Amash. Justin Amash took over the mantle of Ron Paul as the House's libertarian leader, often standing alone as the only one to vote "No" on one of the many ridiculous bills that manages to pass through Congress. However, he's slowly gaining allies, the strongest of which is Thomas Massie. Often, these two stand alone voting against a bill. There are many others in the House who are frequently allied with them, like Paul Broun, Jeff Duncan, or Tim Huelskamp.

This small Rebel Alliance has grown every session of Congress, and will continue to grow, despite minor primary victories coming in. These principled few represent essentially the last hope for stopping the horrific growth in debt and government that has been continuing unchecked for decades. Many libertarians gripe and complain about some minor ideological impurity found in some of these men, or loudly proclaim they'll never support anyone besides a Libertarian Party candidate.

In an ideal world, yes, we'd have a perfectly pure, nationally viable, Libertarian candidate. But we don't live in a perfect world. I see this branch of liberty Republicans, this Rebel Alliance, as the best way to bring libertarian ideas to the mainstream and make a genuine difference.