Senator Ben Sasse's First Senate Speech Kicks Azz

[3rdnlng]

https://youtu.be/zQMoB4aUn04

 

This non-partisan speech from a former historian/college president and business consultant should go viral. (at least amongst those who are concerned about the state of our government) He calls out the Senate but in a way that few can dispute. He spent the last year since his election interviewing other Senators and forming his opinion re what is wrong with the Senate. It's worth the time to listen to it.

[Bob in Mich]

Did you ever see the movie "Jerry Maguire"? The speech reminded me of Jerry's manifesto given to his peers. He made some great points and was pretty much spot on but it won't change anything because he cannot fix the underlying problem.

 

Politicians are far too concerned with their political future. They should be focused on addressing the concerns of their constituents but we have incentivized them to instead focus on their next campaign. Of course money drives everything because as we know, massive advertising campaigns can turn elections.

 

They don't want to touch issues that will upset their big campaign contributors. Many won't touch 'toxic' issues such as gun control because then their next opponent will have more money to spend than they will due to NRA response. They prefer not to vote if they can help it. And the partisanship is to the point where we don't need the actual politician in the legislature in order to determine votes, just his party designation.

 

So, interesting speech? Yes, but it is somewhat naive and idealistic.

Edited November 8, 2015 by Bob in Mich

[keepthefaith]

Great find and thanks for posting this. Worth every minute. This guy should replace McConnell right now.

[Azalin]

https://youtu.be/zQMoB4aUn04

 

This non-partisan speech from a former historian/college president and business consultant should go viral. (at least amongst those who are concerned about the state of our government) He calls out the Senate but in a way that few can dispute. He spent the last year since his election interviewing other Senators and forming his opinion re what is wrong with the Senate. It's worth the time to listen to it.

 

Thanks for posting that. It's refreshing to hear something like that coming out of the Senate.

[B-Man]

Sass and Sense from Ben Sasse

 

His whole speech is worth reading, or viewing in its entirety below, but I especially note this passage in which Sen. Sasse takes aim at the administrative state and questions the core legacy of Wilsonian progressivism that is the foundation of Obaman progressivism:

 

I

therefore propose a thought experiment: If the Senate isn’t going to be the most important venue for addressing our biggest national problems, where is that venue? Where should the people look for the long-term national prioritization? Or, to ask it of ourselves, would anything be lost if the Senate didn’t exist? Again, this a thought experiment, so let me be emphatically clear: I think a great deal would be lost if the federal government didn’t have a Senate — but game out with me the question of “Why?”

What

precisely

would be lost if we had only a House of Representatives, rather than both bodies?

The growth of the administrative state, the fourth branch of government, is increasingly hollowing out the Article I branch, the legislature — and many in Congress have been complicit in this hollowing out of our own powers.

So would anything really be lost if we doubled-down on Woodrow Wilson’s impulses and inclinations toward administrative efficiency by removing much of the clunky-ness of legislative process?

 

 

Most liberals either could not give a coherent answer to this challenge, or would agree with the premise. In fact some liberals have called for the Senate to be abolished, or at the very least having it based on proportional representation so that small states don’t dominate it. (In other words, some liberals simply want a second House of Representatives. When they want any elected representation at all.)

 

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/11/sass-and-sense-from-ben-sasse.php

[3rdnlng]

Did you ever see the movie "Jerry Maguire"? The speech reminded me of Jerry's manifesto given to his peers. He made some great points and was pretty much spot on but it won't change anything because he cannot fix the underlying problem.

 

Politicians are far too concerned with their political future. They should be focused on addressing the concerns of their constituents but we have incentivized them to instead focus on their next campaign. Of course money drives everything because as we know, massive advertising campaigns can turn elections.

 

They don't want to touch issues that will upset their big campaign contributors. Many won't touch 'toxic' issues such as gun control because then their next opponent will have more money to spend than they will due to NRA response. They prefer not to vote if they can help it. And the partisanship is to the point where we don't need the actual politician in the legislature in order to determine votes, just his party designation.

 

So, interesting speech? Yes, but it is somewhat naive and idealistic.

Stick to your weed crusade. One trick ponies don't do well when they venture outside.

[Bob in Mich]

Sorry, guess I wasn't amazed enough for you.

 

So you actually think shaming the Senators is going to fix the campaign finance problem? If so, you are more naive than Senator Sasse. Let's see what changes.

[Tiberius]

 

This non-partisan speech from a former historian/college president and business consultant should go viral. (at least amongst those who are concerned about the state of our government) He calls out the Senate but in a way that few can dispute. He spent the last year since his election interviewing other Senators and forming his opinion re what is wrong with the Senate. It's worth the time to listen to it.

What specific points do you like? You just like his emotion? Is that all you get, or did he say something that you think is profoundly thought provoking? I'm betting it was the emotion, but I'll let you try and prove me wrong

[Keukasmallies]

A moving statement that summarizes, for me, what's wrong in DC.

 

g'man, you sink further into the depths of ignorance with your comment. I sincerely hope you didn't take the time to listen to the entire speech.

[keepthefaith]

What specific points do you like? You just like his emotion? Is that all you get, or did he say something that you think is profoundly thought provoking? I'm betting it was the emotion, but I'll let you try and prove me wrong

My guess is that you didn't watch much of this because it was far more about substance than emotion and it was an invitation to both parties for seriousness and cooperation.

[Tiberius]

Was the speech about Republican obstructionism?

My guess is that you didn't watch much of this because it was far more about substance than emotion and it was an invitation to both parties for seriousness and cooperation.

So what substance was it about?

[keepthefaith]

Was the speech about Republican obstructionism?

So what substance was it about?

Tell you what - check your yourself into Planned Parenthood and have yourself aborted and have your brain devoted to medical research. If that research helps us eliminate your way of thinking, the world will be a better place.

[Azalin]

 

So you actually think shaming the Senators is going to fix the campaign finance problem? If so, you are more naive than Senator Sasse. Let's see what changes.

 

Campaign finance? Is that what your takeaway was?

 

Tell you what - check your yourself into Planned Parenthood and have yourself aborted and have your brain devoted to medical research. If that research helps us eliminate your way of thinking, the world will be a better place.

 

Have what devoted to medical research?

[Tiberius]

Tell you what - check your yourself into Planned Parenthood and have yourself aborted and have your brain devoted to medical research. If that research helps us eliminate your way of thinking, the world will be a better place.

So you can't say what you liked about the speech? No surprise an idiot like you has absolutely no clue what you are even talking about.

 

Great thread 3rdthing! Neither you nor the pathetic clowns that stick up for can even discuss the merits of it! Morons!

[B-Man]

He Waited a Year to Give His First Senate Speech: Then Ben Sasse Cut Loose

by Scott Ott

 

FTA:

 

Sen. Sasse spoke in a way that only an historian and an organizational turn-around specialist would. In fact, he spoke in a way that almost guaranteed he’ll be ignored by the 24/7 news hounds, and even by many of his ambitious colleagues. But I heard him, and you will hear him, and we can share this message with our fellow Americans until someone else listens.

 

His thesis boils down to a basic management axiom: Every system is perfectly organized to get the results it’s now getting. If you don’t like the results, you have to change the system.

The Senate is broken because it has forgotten why it exists, Sasse said. It has abdicated its legislative role to the executive branch, and settled for unseemly, disingenuous partisan squabbling about inconsequential policy scraps, along with desperate non-stop efforts to get re-elected to an increasingly-useless body.

 

In private conversation some of Sasse’s colleagues — who, when off camera, get along with each other just fine — blamed the state of the Senate on the political polarization of the country at large.

 

Sasse said that’s no excuse, because…

• We’ve been more polarized in the past: read some history.
• The real issue is citizen disengagement, not hyperpartisanship. A mere 2 million viewers, in a nation of 320 million, tune into the 24/7 news channels.
• The Senate was designed to mitigate polarization through substantive, respectful debate about big-picture issues.
• People are more angry with their representatives than exercised about any actual issue, or ideology.

 

So polarization in the country is not the problem, and if it were, the Senate should apply the balm of legitimate civic dialogue.

 

We don’t buy the excuse that all our senators can do is to helplessly regurgitate the vitriolic talking points of a tiny handful of hyperpartisans.

 

While this may sound like another weary plea for civility and compromise in Washington, Ben Sasse says he’s actually calling for more conviction, more cleaving to principle, and more substantive debate. Let’s have real fights, with real data, and real integrity over the big issues that really matter.

 

“We all know deep down,” Sasse said, “that the political class is unpopular not because of our relentless truth-telling, but because of politicians’ habit of regularized pandering to those who already agree with us…This is the very reductionism – the short-termism – that this institution was explicitly supposed to guard against.” He added, “A six-year term is a terrible thing to waste.”

 

The framers of the Constitution created the Senate to become the world’s greatest deliberative body, and a bulwark of federalism, by giving senators long terms, and by vesting their appointment with the state legislatures (an innovation tragically scuttled by the misbegotten 17th Amendment). The framers intended to ensure vibrant, thoughtful debate and most importantly, to protect minorities against the stampede of temporary majorities. In addition, despite the partisan atmosphere that now prevails, Senate rules, until the 1970s, gave virtually no formal recognition to political parties. They still imbue each senator with the remarkable power to filibuster.

 

{snip}

 

Ben Sasse has done something extraordinary. He has run for office to reform the institution. In his speech, he promised to deliver a series of Senate addresses on the growth of the administrative state. He knows that without the balance of enumerated powers, and without a properly-deliberative Senate, this Constitutional republic cannot stand.

 

If we fix the process, the product takes care of itself

 

 

 

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/11/05/he-waited-a-year-to-give-his-first-senate-speech-then-ben-sasse-cut-loose/

[Keukasmallies]

So you can't say what you liked about the speech? No surprise an idiot like you has absolutely no clue what you are even talking about.

 

Great thread 3rdthing! Neither you nor the pathetic clowns that stick up for can even discuss the merits of it! Morons!

 

PPP Moderators: Is there some way you can just give gatorman his money back and send him on down the road for good?

[3rdnlng]

So you can't say what you liked about the speech? No surprise an idiot like you has absolutely no clue what you are even talking about.

 

Great thread 3rdthing! Neither you nor the pathetic clowns that stick up for can even discuss the merits of it! Morons!

What is your first language?

[Tiberius]

 

PPP Moderators: Is there some way you can just give gatorman his money back and send him on down the road for good?

Why can't you simply ignore what I write? You seriously want to silence me? You are so weak you can't handle an opposite opinion or criticism? What a loser

What is your first language?

What a great response! ha ha ha

He Waited a Year to Give His First Senate Speech: Then Ben Sasse Cut Loose

by Scott Ott

 

FTA:

 

Sen. Sasse spoke in a way that only an historian and an organizational turn-around specialist would. In fact, he spoke in a way that almost guaranteed he’ll be ignored by the 24/7 news hounds, and even by many of his ambitious colleagues. But I heard him, and you will hear him, and we can share this message with our fellow Americans until someone else listens.

 

His thesis boils down to a basic management axiom: Every system is perfectly organized to get the results it’s now getting. If you don’t like the results, you have to change the system.

The Senate is broken because it has forgotten why it exists, Sasse said. It has abdicated its legislative role to the executive branch, and settled for unseemly, disingenuous partisan squabbling about inconsequential policy scraps, along with desperate non-stop efforts to get re-elected to an increasingly-useless body.

 

In private conversation some of Sasse’s colleagues — who, when off camera, get along with each other just fine — blamed the state of the Senate on the political polarization of the country at large.

 

Sasse said that’s no excuse, because…

• We’ve been more polarized in the past: read some history.
• The real issue is citizen disengagement, not hyperpartisanship. A mere 2 million viewers, in a nation of 320 million, tune into the 24/7 news channels.
• The Senate was designed to mitigate polarization through substantive, respectful debate about big-picture issues.
• People are more angry with their representatives than exercised about any actual issue, or ideology.

 

So polarization in the country is not the problem, and if it were, the Senate should apply the balm of legitimate civic dialogue.

 

We don’t buy the excuse that all our senators can do is to helplessly regurgitate the vitriolic talking points of a tiny handful of hyperpartisans.

 

While this may sound like another weary plea for civility and compromise in Washington, Ben Sasse says he’s actually calling for more conviction, more cleaving to principle, and more substantive debate. Let’s have real fights, with real data, and real integrity over the big issues that really matter.

 

“We all know deep down,” Sasse said, “that the political class is unpopular not because of our relentless truth-telling, but because of politicians’ habit of regularized pandering to those who already agree with us…This is the very reductionism – the short-termism – that this institution was explicitly supposed to guard against.” He added, “A six-year term is a terrible thing to waste.”

 

The framers of the Constitution created the Senate to become the world’s greatest deliberative body, and a bulwark of federalism, by giving senators long terms, and by vesting their appointment with the state legislatures (an innovation tragically scuttled by the misbegotten 17th Amendment). The framers intended to ensure vibrant, thoughtful debate and most importantly, to protect minorities against the stampede of temporary majorities. In addition, despite the partisan atmosphere that now prevails, Senate rules, until the 1970s, gave virtually no formal recognition to political parties. They still imbue each senator with the remarkable power to filibuster.

 

{snip}

 

Ben Sasse has done something extraordinary. He has run for office to reform the institution. In his speech, he promised to deliver a series of Senate addresses on the growth of the administrative state. He knows that without the balance of enumerated powers, and without a properly-deliberative Senate, this Constitutional republic cannot stand.

 

If we fix the process, the product takes care of itself

 

 

 

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/11/05/he-waited-a-year-to-give-his-first-senate-speech-then-ben-sasse-cut-loose/

Oh my, just how inspiring.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Keukasmallies]

Why can't you simply ignore what I write? You seriously want to silence me? You are so weak you can't handle an opposite opinion or criticism? What a loser

 

 

Actually, most of us do ignore what you write.

[Azalin]

Why can't you simply ignore what I write? You seriously want to silence me? You are so weak you can't handle an opposite opinion or criticism? What a loser

 

You aren't offering an opposite opinion, you're trolling. You add nothing to the discourse aside from name calling and taunts. You are an immature fool, and you would greatly increase the credibility of your political causes if you just went away.