Hardiman Will Run

State Senator Bill Hardiman has announced that he will run for the 3rd district seat in Congress.

Republican state Sen. Bill Hardiman to run for Vern Ehlers' Congressional seat

This is bad news:

"West Michigan has a history of sending conservative, thoughtful representatives to Congress such as President Ford, Paul Henry and Vern Ehlers," Hardiman said. "They carried themselves with dignity and integrity. I'm a thoughtful conservative and am excited about running for this seat."

Hardiman seems to be using 'thoughtful' as a synonym for 'not'. None of Ford, Henry, or Ehlers were conservative. Ehlers has a sorry lifetime 70% rating from the American Conservative Union. Henry's lifetime ACU rating is an even worse 61%. Ford may be an icon in Grand Rapids, but there's a reason Ronald Reagan ran against him in 1976. For example, Ford remained proud of his appointment of John Paul Stevens to the Supreme Court.

Justin Amash is looking better and better in this race.