Sen. Ben Sasse is no fan of Donald Trump
“This is the party of Abraham Lincoln, this is not the party of David Duke/Donald Trump.”
On the eve of Super Tuesday, Sen. Ben Sasse is imploring voters to chose anyone but Trump.
Sen. Sasse joined Chuck Todd to discuss Trump’s candidacy Monday:
“Fundamentally, this party needs to return to its principles of believing in equality under the law and believing in the greatness of the potential of the American people. We believe in limited government, we don’t believe in a bigger Washington,” said Sen. Sasse.
Todd asked Sasse whether broad support for Trump was indicative of a new Republican party.
Sen. Sasse:
So, great question. And let’s start with this — Donald Trump has one definite skill, and he knows organizations that are ripe for the hostile takeover. And the Republican Party has been way too vacuous and not nearly clear enough about first principles for quite some time, so he’s trying to wage a hostile takeover of this party. He’s attacking all of the core tenets of the Republican party’s platform.
This guy believes in abortion on demand, this guy says that he hates the concept of guns, this guy’s been for single-payer health care, he’s for a $6 trillion tax increase. That’s not the Republican party. But right now, people are worried about future of the country, and Donald Trump is screaming the loudest.
The problem is at the end of the day, most people really want a choice that is about a constitutional recovery. They want to rebuild what’s broken in America, not tear it down. And when you listen to Donald Trump, all you really hear is more Donald Trump, more tear it down, and a lot of praise of foreign dictators. I don’t think the American people, and I don’t think most Republicans really want a strongman.
One of Sasse’s best answers came from Todd’s question, “What’s more important to you at this point? If it means electing Hillary Clinton, you would rather see anything to be done to stop Donald Trump from taking over the Republican Party?”
Sasse responded:
No, it’s a false choice. The American people deserve better than two fundamentally dishonest New York liberals. This is a country that put a man on the moon. And the American people deserve a better choice than this. But you asked what a party is. A political party is a tool. It’s not a religion, it’s not a family, it’s not the nation, it’s not even as important as Husker football. The Republican Party is a tool. And if it’s useful, people should embrace it. And if it becomes totally vacuous, they should find a candidate that believes in the American ideals and they should want somebody who will lead us forward by celebrating a Washington that is about servant leadership.
On his Facebook page, Sen. Sasse composed a lengthy argument detailing the reasons he believes Trump is harmful to the country:
AN OPEN LETTER TO TRUMP SUPPORTERS To my friends supporting Donald Trump: The Trump coalition is broad and…
Posted by Ben Sasse on Sunday, February 28, 2016
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Comments
“This is the party of Abraham Lincoln, this is not the party of David Duke/Donald Trump.”
Abraham Lincoln? The president most responsible for turning economic nationalism into the 100+ year governing economic doctrine of this country, a practice that Trump is trying to revive? That Abraham Lincoln is being used as a contrast to Trump?
God help us.
Take your paleo garbage and get lost. You are not wanted here.
Sasse pretty much hit all the nails in the coffin on their heads.
To combine a metaphor.
No clear-thinking conservative can support Der Donald, no matter who they claim to be.
With the way he talks he should run for President. Actually, there already is a guy running who says the same things Sasse does. His name is Ted Cruz.
I gave money to Sasse during the primary when the establishment was pushing some other joker. Rarely have my investments paid off so well.
Note that I also gave to Rubio and Cruz during their primary contests.
Patrick Buchanan’s take on the same topic:
http://www.wnd.com/2016/02/a-new-gop-is-born/
Pat Buchanan is a f—ing antisemite and nothing he has to say can be of any interest to any decent person.
Just another one that rode the coat tails of the Tea Party Movement, only to get to Washington to be seduced by power.
All of these people (too may to nae anymore) disgust me.
As do these Trump bashers.
Rush Limbaugh blows up the “Trump won’t denounce KKK” meme being pushed by the left and Special Snowflake Republicans trying to elect Hillary to punish the GOP rank and file.
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/02/29/trump_declines_to_disavow_david_duke_and_the_kkk_but_only_on_sunday
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/02/rush-limbaugh/
Huh.
I guess Dim Jim Hoft didn’t get the memo from Trump Tower…
“RUSH LIMBAUGH SPARKS OUTRAGE After Suggesting Trump is Pandering for KKK Vote” (Emphasis in the original.)
We all know this is b.s.
Sasse is just another spokes-hack of the party of Boehner. He looks it, too.
Either Sasse is as lame as he looks, or he’s just a GOPe hack, looking out for #1.
The more the hacks of the GOPe hit Trump, his approval goes up.
The GOPe is just as dangerous as the democrat machine.
Well, no “we all know” nothing of the kind.
Did you read his open letter?
What did you find objectionable?
We know Trump is not a Grand Wizard of the Klan, unlike Hillary Clinton’s mentor and democrat Senate leader Robert Byrd.
The GOPe sold us down the river. They stabbed us in the back. Even if they weren’t corrupt scum, they have neither the talent nor the balls to oppose the media and cultural stranglehold the GOPe has allowed the left to gain.
A vote for anyone but Trump or Cruz is a vote for a continuation of the legacy of Boehner and the newer, even more grotesque face of the GOPe, McConnell.
Trump ain’t perfect. But he can win. He beats benign slavery, which is the situation we will effectively be in if anyone but Trump or Cruz is not the next president. Actual slavery is what we will be in if Clinton wins. Rubio won’t beat Clinton – he and the GOPe and its bozo chairman Prebus just don’t motivate the base, nor do they have the network to oppose democrat cheating of the vote. (If that were not so, Obama would be an on/off camera straight man to Ellen Degeneris instead of being in the White House.)
“What did you find objectionable?”
For starters, after 7 years of Obama, this is the first I am hearing of him. Why? Couldn’t find his voice? Couldn’t find his spine? Or was his mouth full?
He was elected November 2014, started in the Senate January 2015, and has been vocal since going to Washington. Just because he isn’t on the Sunday shows every week doesn’t mean he isn’t vocal.
As I discussed earlier, Ben Sasse is a sassy guy and don’t let his previous display of politeness fool you.
Sassy to what end? To enable the democrats, which is the only role the scummmy and talentless GOPe has found for itself. Oh, forgot one more role the GOPe has found for itself: sticking a knife in the back of its base.
The GOP is a dead party. They’re just ‘not the democrats.’
If Trump or Cruz wins, their first act as president-elect should be resigning from the GOP and join the Tea Party.
Trump is a big-government Statist and authoritarian. He has exactly nothing in common with Tea Party ideals.
“this is not the party of David Duke/Donald Trump.”
What a stupid thing to say. The GOP is the party of White Supremacy because David Duke likes Donald Trump? Because Trump refuses to denounce every crackpot who endorses him? What an idiot.
You’ll notice who Sassy is in bed with as he denounces members of his own party: that democrat fake news schmuck to left of him.
Great move, Sassy. You’ll make it to the Boehner Hall of Fame yet. Start drinking more.
“No clear-thinking conservative can support Der Donald, no matter who they claim to be.”
Another idiotic statement. Conservatives are supporting Trump because they have lost faith in the GOP – the party no longer represents their interests.
And note your “no true scotsman” appeal. You sound like one of those who vote to Virtue Signal, like the highschool cheerleader who puts her ankles behind her ears so the football team will like her. Get some principles.
Instead of carping at the voters who elected he & his party into the majority I suggest the senator talk to his leadership. They’re the ones that voted for & funded the president’s agenda. And what his party has done was not what they ran on somewhat over a year ago.
In Colorado both Republican congressman Tipton & Lamborn are campaigning with Colorado Democrat senator Bennett. I’d like senator Sasse to explain that before he questions the intelligence of Colorado voters support for Trump.
Those decrying Sasse as a “lame GOPe hack” need to look at his Conservative Review ranking. He scores higher than Sessions.
https://www.conservativereview.com/scorecard
This recent practice of shouting “GOPe RINO!” at anyone not supporting Trump is both desperate and weird. It reminds me of the Obamabots shouting down everyone as “racist.”
Words and phrases thrown around like this with no regard as to their actual meaning stop meaning anything. You may as well just run around yelling “shut up shut up shut UP!” Since that’s what you are actually trying to say anyway.
Everything Sasse said was 100% right on. Gives me a reason to move back to Omaha away from the expanding liberal base here in Denver.
Ben did get one thing wrong: There is nothing more important that Husker Football! GO BIG RED!!
Sen. Ben Sasse, my hero and man of principle not afraid to voice and stand for his convictions. He votes FOR his principles and not for “hostile takeovers” by any Democrat.
Hey, when is Legal Insurrection going to publish the fact that David Duke never, NEVER endorsed Trump?
Hey, when is LI going to publish the fact that…
Sen. Jeff Sessions, The Politician, in office since January 16, 1995, that’s 21 years for you Trumph Trophies, endorsed Trumph by saying he is impotent but Boi-Wonder will save us all:
“Politicians have promised for 30 years to fix illegal immigration. Have they done it? Donald Trump will do it,” Sessions said at the Madison City Schools Stadium, where thousands gathered to hear Trump speak. “I’ve told Donald Trump this isn’t a campaign, this is a movement.”
The bowel movement has begun. Sessions took a dump and out came Trumph.
#NeverTrump
Sen. Ben Sasse is the latest establishment republican sent on
a mission from the puppet masters to attack Trump!
Election after election the hand picked boy was pushed on the republican voters. Election after election we were lied too.
OPEN your eyes establishment! We are Mad as Hell and we are not going to take it any more!
Trump
You people are unhinged.
NO! The republican establishment is UNHINGED!
They are going to try to shove some phony
candidate down our throats!
Not going to happen!
Common NONsense, all you can do is keep chanting “establishment this” and “establishment that”.
Cruz is criticized by T-rump cultists as “unlikable”.
Why? Because he has a history of actually BUCKING the “establishment”. The “business as usual” clique HATES him for that.
There certainly IS a phony in this race, and his name is Donald J. (for Judas) Trump.
If he didn’t demonstrate his PURE “business as usual” Mr. Establishment core in his embrace of ethanol subsidies and allied mandates in Iowa, you are simply blind, deaf, AND dumb.
We are now coming into an age of absurdity. Those running for office are now expected to renounce every single act and person who ever states or does something against the morals of the many in every case, every time. Not only is this a new requirement, but the added requirement of having a timer present where the person must make their condemnation known within a certain period is now in effect.
Wrong. This was not an ambush question on the campaign trail that he could blow off. Trump voluntarily chose to sit for the television interview. He did so precisely because he wanted his message to reach the millions of potential voters in 12 mostly southern states holding primaries two days after the interview. He made a conscience decision not to disavow the support of white supremacists to pander for votes. His refusal to disavow the support of white supremacists suggests he believes the stereotype that many southerners are racist bigots. Southerners who are not bigots ought to be insulted by the implication that they are.
Every time a GOP politician openly says he/she will NOT support Trump if he is the nominee chosen by the voters, is one more check in the box allowing voters to tell the party to drop dead whenever there is a candidate we don’t personally like.
No more, you have to support the party, no more being obliged to support some twit RINO because he’s needed, no more taking one for the team. Wish they’d pushed this line back when the GOP was fielding losers like Romney – wouldn’t have had to hold my nose and vote for him.
Nice to know the GOP nomination label means nothing.
Sasse a RINO? Baloney. The real RINO is Trump. If you want to vote for him that’s your right, but don’t pretend for a minute that’s he’s a Republican let alone a conservative.
I was not calling Sasse a RINO. Rather referring to the middle of the roaders the GOP establishment normally prefers – like Romney?
As for whether Trump qualifies as a Republican. Thought people wanted the GOP to be a bigger tent?
Oh dear, another lecture. “The party of Lincoln…we believe in a return (yeah, right, if someone else’ll do it) to principles…equality under the law…greatness of the American people…limited government; don’t believe in a bigger Washington. … Republican party way too vacuous, not clear enough about first principles…” Yadda, yadda, yadda.
The only thing more obviously fixed than the Democrat Party is a pair of dice with a one on all twelve faces. OTH, the Republican elite, to use the now-common phrase, is the party of ‘talking the walk,’ to coin another phrase. People know it Senator Sasser, your boring little lecture, which they also know, notwithstanding. And then the Republicans were given–yes, given–first the House, then the Senate, and then……nothing changed. So where do folks go?
Frankly, I doubt anyone, Republican or Democrat, “loves” Trump. But you’ve given us nothing else. Not. One. Thing. So, Americans are confronted with the choice of two broken down old hacks from the land of the Big Fix, some folks from the Party of Principles, or taking a chance on the possibility of a “rude, crude, lewd, and socially unattractive” (to repeat a phrase from my mid-1950s school days) guy who goes after everyone?
What’ve you got, Senator? The RNC never backs anyone except one of its (your) own. One of its favorite claims is that we “let the people decide.” Well, they decided in 2012, again in 2014; lucky you. Now they’re deciding again. Many folks, Republican and Democrat, may be thinking “fool me twice, shame on me” and looking for something besides the same old nags. There’s gonna be a race, so they may as well place their bets. Just sayin’.
How about a small bit of statistics reflecting the ambivalence of positions from among LI’s commenters on this post at around 11:45 this morning? Ignoring the nature of the position taken by the commenter, there were 128 thumbs up and 130 thumbs down. See what I mean, Senator Sasser? Republicans are going to have to do better, much better, and if it looks like you’re trying to rig the game by inserting a party loyalist at the last minute, you’re finished and we’re all done because one of the Democrat nags will win the race. You guys just may be able to pressure, work with, Trump, but you have no chance–none–with one of the Democrats. They’ll own you. Stop whining and do something constructive.
“This is the party of Abraham Lincoln, this is not the party of David Duke/Donald Trump.”
so what ? the fact that Lincoln founded the Republican party has nothing to do with who is running for office today …
pretty sure Trump would agree with the statement …