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.”
Sasse Wants a Third Party Candidate
In a Facebook post, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) is urging Americans to draft a third-party candidate, because he says that neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump are honest.
Sasse Votes for Cruz In Nebraska
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) said that he and his wife cast their ballots early for Ted Cruz, even though he hasn’t made a formal endorsement, Politico reports.
Said Sasse: “Happy to report that Melissa and I just early-voted for Ted Cruz… Time for conservatives to unite here in winner-take-all Nebraska.”
Quote of the Day
“Absolutely not. I’ve got three little kids and the only callings that I want: raising them and serving Nebraskans. No way.”
— Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), quoted by the Washington Post, on running as a third party presidential candidate to thwart Donald Trump.
Sasse Says He Won’t Vote for Trump
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) said in a Facebook post that he will not vote for Donald Trump if he is the Republican presidential nominee.
Said Sasse: “I sincerely hope we select one of the other GOP candidates, but if Donald Trump ends up as the GOP nominee, conservatives will need to find a third option.”
Sasse Heads to Iowa to Campaign Against Trump
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) “is heading to Iowa to campaign against Donald Trump over the next two days, with plans to appear at events for Senate colleagues Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, and ‘possibly other constitutional candidates,'” Politico reports.
Said Sasse: “We are in a moment of constitutional crisis. America already has one post-constitutional party; we don’t need another.”
‘Our Enemies Hate Freedom’
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) released a very powerful video on the San Bernadino terrorist attacks.
Sasse Breaks His Silence with Plan to Save U.S. Senate
A year after he was elected, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) will speak this week on the Senate floor for the first time, Molly Ball reports.
“But once he starts speaking, Sasse doesn’t plan to stop. He has concocted an audacious plan to get his fellow senators’ attention—one he hopes could rescue the moribund upper house from its current torpor. Sasse says he has approached the Senate like a company in need of a culture change.”
Said Sasse: “You always have to walk this fine line between learning a place—by being humble and asking questions and having empathy for real humans laboring in broken institutions—and resolve, that you’re going to still steel yourself to not let human empathy cloud the fact that a broken institution is a broken institution.”
