Just hours before Presidnet Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) launched a brutal attack on Twitter calling the Russian president a crook, a liar, and a murderer.
Sasse Tempts Trump’s Wrath
“Ben Sasse has so far been spared the public floggings that Donald Trump inflicted on two since-vanquished GOP critics in the Senate, Jeff Flake and Bob Corker. But that may soon change. As the ‘never Trump’ faction of the Republican Party dwindles to a lonely few, the Nebraska senator has shown little interest in backing down – leaving him vulnerable to a Trump-fueled primary challenge in 2020, when he’s up for reelection,” Politico reports.
“How Sasse responds — he has a book coming out three weeks before the midterm elections and has quietly launched a new political non-profit group, fueling speculation that he might launch a Hail Mary bid for president rather than seek another term in the Senate — promises to be the next intra-GOP drama.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“This is dumb. Europe, Canada, and Mexico are not China, and you don’t treat allies the same way you treat opponents. We’ve been down this road before—blanket protectionism is a big part of why America had a Great Depression. ‘Make America Great Again’ shouldn’t mean ‘Make America 1929 Again.'”
— Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), quoted by the Washington Post, on President Trump’s decision to impose steel and aluminum tariffs.
Sasse Writing a Book on Political Polarization
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) is writing a book about the polarization of America, the Lincoln Journal Star reports.
“The book is coming together during the 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. hours that Sasse devotes to reading and writing most days.”
It’s going to be titled Them: Why We Hate Each Other and How to Heal.
Sasse Quits Using Twitter
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) “is known as one of the more prolific Twitter users in Congress, often writing his own tweets himself to chime in on policy issues, crack jokes, and in some cases, rebuke President Donald Trump. But over Christmas weekend last year, Sasse stopped tweeting and has not picked up the phone since,” Business Insider reports.
Sasse sees his sabbatical from Twitter as a healthy decision too, because “there’s just a ton of data about the way social media is designed to create dopamine hits for teenage kids.”
Hannity Hits Back at Sasse
Fox News host Sean Hannity fanned the flames of his feud with Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), saying he has “done nothing” in the Senate and to “call me when you repeal Obamacare loser,” The Hill reports.
He added: “How about standing up to McConnell?”
Sasse Declines Heritage Foundation Top Job
“The Heritage Foundation has approached one of the Senate’s leading anti-Trump Republicans, Ben Sasse, to gauge his interest in serving as president — an indication the influential conservative think tank may turn away from its supportive posture toward the president,” Politico reports.
“Sasse, who was elected to his first term in the Senate in 2014, has swatted down the overtures from Heritage’s board of trustees.”
The Wasted Mind of Ben Sasse
Slate: “Many politicians are hypocrites, of course. But most of them are also phonies and bullshitters. Ben Sasse isn’t. He stands out by educating himself earnestly and speaking honestly about complicated matters of history and policy… Unfortunately, he is also beginning to stand out by doing nothing of substance as the things he says he believes in are thrown in a garbage can by his own party.”
How Not to Primary Donald Trump
“If there’s a path for a Republican to challenge Donald Trump, it doesn’t run through Iowa. Sen. Ben Sasse’s foray this weekend into the first-in-the-nation caucus state has already sparked chatter about a potential 2020 GOP primary to unseat Trump. But Iowa’s top operatives say there’s no appetite, today, to see any Republican take on the president,” McClatchy reports.
“That hasn’t stopped Sasse, and his possible ambitions, from attracting attention in Iowa and nationwide, notably as Trump’s disapproval rating hovers around 60 percent and a smattering of Republicans around the country speak openly of their hopes for a run from someone like the Nebraska senator… Yet despite Trump’s myriad challenges and the angst his Twitter account causes in Washington, he remains so strong in conservative corners of Trump-friendly states, including Iowa, that party leaders, operatives and grassroots activists say there is no serious on-the-ground discussion of a 2020 challenge at this point.”
Sasse Says Trump Is ‘Weaponizing Distrust’
Sen. Ben Sasse told CNN that he is troubled by President Trump’s latest attacks on the news media because he is concerned about the danger of “weaponizing distrust.”
Said Sasse: “There’s an important distinction to draw between bad stories or crappy coverage and the right that citizens have to argue about that and complain about that and trying to weaponize distrust. The First Amendment is the beating heart of the American experiment, and you don’t get to separate the freedoms that are in there.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
Bonus Quote of the Day
“We are in the midst of a civilization-warping crisis of public trust, and the President’s allegations today demand the thorough and dispassionate attention of serious patriots.”
— Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), in a statement.
Sasse May Support Libertarian Ticket
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who has said he won’t be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, told the Lincoln Journal-Star, “The Libertarian Party is something I would certainly consider in the long term” but added that he “hadn’t really looked closely at it yet.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“They wish they would have done or could do what I’ve said, but they don’t know how it would play at home.”
— Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), quoted by National Journal, on what other Republican lawmakers think of his opposition to Donald Trump.
Sasse Smacked Down by State Party
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) “has carved out a name for himself on the national stage as a leader in the ‘Never Trump’ Republican faction,” the Omaha World Herald reports.
“On the home front, however, the Nebraska freshman found himself rebuked Saturday by party loyalists upset at his call for a third candidate to arise and give conservatives such as himself an alternative to Donald Trump in the fall election. Delegates at the State Republican Convention overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing Sasse’s call for a third candidate.”
Sasse Faces Backlash Over Anti-Trump Stance
Sen. Ben Sasse’s (R-NE) “outspoken rejection of Donald Trump is roiling Nebraska Republican politics, and the discord is threatening to boil over at the state’s GOP convention Saturday,” Politico reports.
“A prominent Nebraska political operative — who is the nephew of senior GOP Sen. Deb Fischer — is behind a move to publicly rebuke the anti-Trump movement. Sam Fischer has issued a proposed resolution — set for a vote at the convention — declaring that the state party will refuse to support any Republican officeholder who opposes the GOP presidential nominee or agitates for a third-party candidate.”
