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#DraftSasse
While we’re still in the midst of a fantastic struggle, I see no harm in proposing a Plan B. If we get to a contested convention, then I would like to propose a unity name: Senator Ben Sasse. Youthful, charming, and clever, he’s been popping up here and there repeatedly offering insight from a devotedly conservative position, but with an calm a courtesy unusual in this election cycle.
Yes, he’s young, but he also hasn’t run for the presidency, which I feel makes him appealing in that he hasn’t yet been rejected in the way my favorite, Governor Bobby Jindal, has for 2016.
This is just to test the waters. We’re a long way off from June, but it’s good to have a Plan B.
[Editor’s addendum: Pete’s not the only one thinking this way. A #DraftSasse movement has begun on Twitter.]
Published in Elections, General
Ben Sasse is worthy of Plan A. A courageous man, I am so glad he is a U.S. Senator. In Ohio, our state auditor, Dave Yost, and Franklin County Auditor Clarence Mingo both publicly promised to never back Donald Trump. I am proud I have voted for both men and that they are men of conviction who will put principle before party like Ben Sasse. Wonderful to see.
Absolutely.
I’d rather have Tom Cotton. He served in Iraq, and his knowledge of the Middle East is solid.
But I would be very happy with Ben Sasse too.
They would work well together.
Sassy Cotton or Cotton Sass?
Sasse is a good man. I’d support him. We really have some good Senators out there.
I just sent him the link to your post:
What do you imagine he’d do if Trump asked him to be his running mate? If Trump’s the master strategist everyone says he is, that’s who he’d pick: Someone so sane, so committed to the Constitution, and so reassuring that it might even make me think, “How bad could Trump be? And besides, Trump’s not young.”
What do you think he’d say if asked? What would you want him to do?
Ben Sasse is supposed to be some sort of new Republican luminary and is getting a lot of play for taking a “principled” position in opposition to Trump. I read his “open Letter” today.
My response: Mr Sasse, where were you when it counted? What tough positions did you take? Did you put your future on the line for the Constitution?
No, I didn’t think so.
Read his resume. Sasse is an Ivy liberal big government guy who just wants to negotiate his way into controlling levers. Same defect as Romney. And all the rest of them.
Wouldn’t the candidate have to be one of those who has battled throughout the campaign year? We have to find a way to get Trump supporters to back an alternative. What would convince Trump to support our candidate?
Elect a university president as President of the US because of a split in the GOP? What could go wrong?
I would be glad to support Sasse or Lee. It needs to be someone with exceptional rhetorical powers, a demonstrated commitment to fundamental principles and values, and credible to the base.
Not Romney. Not Ryan. No one conspicuously from the establishment or squishy wing of the Party. Those would further alienate and enrage the base.
I think he’d say no, he already vowed to never endorse/support, why would he renege and join forces?
Duty to country? Asked to serve? Capable of discharging the job faithfully?
VP has to align with the Pres, he’s not aligned/in agreement, couldn’t do it. I could be wrong, but I think, like many conservatives, Ben Sasse does not want to be tainted by Donald Trump. He wouldn’t see himself as regulating Donald Trump, he would see himself as capitulating to tyranny. Remember when Obama was going to apponit Judd Gregg to something, he flirted with it, and then declined. Sasse will look at Trump like Obama 2.0, which, in terms of Trump’s view of the constitution and government power, Trump is simply applying the principles laid out in Obama’s first innagural to the issues of immigration, economic protectionism, and anti-Muslim animus, a la, we have to seriously consider shutting down Mosques. Given the opportutnity, I don’t think Donald would hesitate to give us internment 2.0 and try to round up Muslims because they’re Muslims. After Koramtsu, hopefully the courts would have enough of a backboane to stop Trump, but that’s not a place we should ever let ourselves get to.
Genuinely asking – what has Sasse done to demonstrate commitment to fundamental principles and values? A career at the Ivies, the Federal government and academia might hone rhetorical powers, but so does being a community organizer.
He can’t do that because Ricochet Members and Contributors like Rachel Lu would probably try to assassinate him. Given they are already praying and advocating for the same, right here on Ricochet even. The home of smart civil center right conversation, until you minorly disagree, and then its the home of “we are going to [redacted] kill you.”
So he has to pick a candidate who doesn’t make assassination a viable strategy. Sad we are here.
So who could Trump pick who would make you happy, but keeps the dangerously violent among the “conservative movement” from killing him? Serious question.
Well there are no guarantees, of course, and when there’s little in the way of a record in office, the risk is greater. But judging from the way he lives and talks, he seems to me the genuine article.
A community organizer shifts and panders, foments discontent, lies and manipulates. Senator Sasse appears to be doing the opposite—defending core principles and values against the political tide, because he really believes them.
Regarding Trump VP:
He needs someone like Kasich but with some pizzazz, and just wild eyed enough to keep the assassins at bay.
Kasich is the safe pick and really fills the holes he desperately needs. I just don’t think he “fits” into the show.
I think Scott Brown from MA is a good pick as well.
my dark horse is Mercedes_XXX Engineer turned Porn Star libertarian (maybe reactionary, I quit twitter as well) activist mixing it up with SJWs on the internet. It would definitely fit the anti-PC unapology mood of the thing, and balance out the organizational perspective.
Put that on the debate stage next to some boring old white guy.
Did anyone else just picture Claire leaning into an astromech droid and saying “Help me Benjamin Sasse, you’re our only hope”?
President of Columbia University, 1948–1953
I prefer my Ivy League presidents to have actually done something.
…
Ben Sasse is a bad choice — unless you are purposely trying to anger Trump supporters and get Hillary Clinton elected. (Sean Hannity has mentioned the same thing.)
Larry Arnn has stayed neutral. Try him.
Tom Cotton has also stayed neutral, I think, but that’s more for vice president I would say as one of the only politicians with military experience.
It’s most likely going to be one of the current candidates.
If you are going to pick another candidate, you have to find one that doesn’t upset the Trump supporters too. How the heck are you going to do that?
a Ricochet reader might like Sasse, but he’s too esoteric for the average low information voter
I don’t know why when conservatives feel anxious they immediately start flailing for the latest shiny, new object. This is worse than Prof. Rahe’s overly earnest and desperate appeal to Paul Ryan to save the world from Mitt Romney in 2012.
Ben Sasse seems like a brilliant guy with a bright political future, but he has no track record and no experience in government yet. Pining for Sasse is like a baseball team in the world series promoting it’s 18 year old number one draft prospect that they just signed and whose never thrown a pitch in professional baseball to start game seven.
There are plenty of good experienced options for the GOP to get behind in the case of an open convention. Two of them are in fact running and will have a significant number of delegates at the convention if it comes to that.
Let’s not be ridiculous people.