GOP Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska says one of the upcoming party conventions could still offer a “surprise” and nominate a candidate “our kids and grandkids won’t be ashamed of,” writing that neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton “embody the best of America.”
“Most of our country believes this election is a disaster,” Mr. Sasse wrote in a Medium post Monday evening. “Unless something changes, America — the greatest experiment in self-government the world has ever known — is going to spend the next four months shouting that the other party’s nominee is the bigger liar.”
“Tragically, everyone knows that neither front-runner tells the truth,” he wrote.
Mr. Sasse, first elected in 2014, has been one of the more prominent “never Trump” adherents within the GOP. He said he was writing the open letter in advance of the national party conventions “with sympathy for the millions of Americans who yearn to cast our ballots for someone we judge to be trustworthy.”
The senator says he understands the “lesser of two evils” argument for voting — but said many others believe voting is a civic duty that tells people what they think America means and what they want the country to present to the world.
Mr. Sasse conceded that politicians aren’t perfect, saying he has a “lead foot” and has received “multiple speeding tickets” in his three decades of driving.
But he also said most are not guilty of murder.
“Our situation today lies somewhere between those two extremes,” he said. “We don’t have a murderer on our hands, but neither of these people are just low-level speeders, either. Sadly, they both appear to be willfully dishonest.”
He said one of the party conventions coming up “could still surprise us and nominate someone the Founding Fathers would be proud of, and someone our kids and grandkids won’t be ashamed of.”
“Ask yourself: Why are these two the most unpopular candidates in the history of presidential polling? Because they are not honest. And everyone knows it. They do not embody the best of America,” Mr. Sasse wrote.
“It seems like we’ve gone from ’I cannot tell a lie,’ to ’I need not tell the truth.’ What am I missing? You tell me…,” he concluded.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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