Sasse Says He ‘Regularly Considers’ Leaving the Republican Party

Chris Deaton
1 Min Read

September 8, 2018 at 7:20 PM

The Nebraska senator tweeted about it on Saturday.

Republican senator Ben Sasse, a critic not only of President Donald Trump but of his own political party, said on Saturday that he has considered leaving the GOP on more than one occasion.

The Nebraska lawmaker responded to a Twitter user who asked if he would think about following her example of ditching the Democratic party to become an unaffiliated voter.

“[Y]ep, regularly consider it,” he wrote, “(except for the ‘from Dem’ part).”

The timing of Sasse’s comment dovetails with his criticism of Congress during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh last week, when he assailed the legislative branch for allowing the judiciary to become politicized. The reason for such politicization, he said, partly stemmed from legislators forfeiting their responsibility as lawmakers, whether to agencies in the executive branch or to federal courts.

“Our political commentary talks about the Supreme Court like they’re people wearing red and blue jerseys,” Sasse said on Tuesday.

But Sasse has narrowed in on his own party in the past, as well. During an interview with economist Tyler Cowen last year, for example, he called both the Republican and Democratic parties “intellectually exhausted.”

“I don’t think either party can articulate a vision for America that’s five or ten years future-looking right now,” he said. “So when you ask the American people, ‘Do you identify more with the Republican party or the Democratic party,’ and if you don’t give them the option to say ‘none of the above,’ 46 percent of people still interrupt to say ‘none of the above.’”

Sasse sounded open to joining them with his tweet on Saturday.

https://www.weeklystandard.com/chris...publican-party