Sasse Skewered and more — #NebDems News

The King of Hyperbole, Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, announced with great fanfare this week that he is seeking a second term, prompting an immediate skewering from Esquire’s venerable Charles Pierce:

“If Young Ben Sasse ever had a sincere moment, it died of loneliness.

He has been the most insufferable of them—those Republicans who are Deeply Troubled every time the president* acts like a racist maniac and then vote in lockstep with him on practically everything, only to become Deeply Troubled again a few months later. Even Susan Collins of Maine isn’t as bad. Occasionally, she will vote her conscience. Young Ben Sasse only wants to shine his up and put it on display, hoping that the glare will blind people to the fact that, yes, he’s voting to take away their healthcare, and that, yes, he’s putting another larval Scalia on the federal bench.

If banality were currency, Ben Sasse would be an ATM. Stay home, Ben. Bake something nice for the Kiwanis.”

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From the “Well, THAT Didn’t Go Well Department,” President Trump visited Ohio and Texas this week under the pretense of showing empathy following the mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso.

He largely failed, turning both appearances into quasi political rallies. The low came in El Paso, when hospital workers brought out an infant whose adoptive parents were killed in the Texas massacre that left 22 people dead.

Trump appeared untouched by the child’s tragic plight — posing for a photo op with the infant while sporting a ridiculous grin and giving a thumbs up.

      Photo: The Independent

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Back in Nebraska, Republican state Sen. John McCollister showed courage Sunday by calling out his own party on Twitter for “enabling white supremacy in our country.”

“As a lifelong Republican, it pains me to say this, but it’s the truth. We have a Republican president who continually stokes racist fears in his base. He calls certain countries ‘sh*tholes,’ tells women of color to ‘go back’ to where they came from and lies more than he tells the truth.”

The Nebraska GOP’s response was predictably smug.

“Did they join me in identifying and condemning obvious racism and duplicity inside of our party?” McCollister said. “Sadly, no. They instead encouraged me to leave the party.”

    Photo: KMTV

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There was some good news this week, as the Lincoln Journal Star’s Don Walton pointed out on Twitter.

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NDP Chair Jane Kleeb and Shannon Watts, Founder of Moms Demand Action, will be on MSNBC’s “AM Joy with Joy Reid” tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. CT to discuss gun violence and the failure of the GOP to address the problem.

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Having trouble deciding which of the Democratic presidential candidates to support? CNN has compiled a wonderful tool showing where each stands on the issues.

                Photo: LA Times

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Congratulations to Christine Trinh, a senior at Lincoln North Star High School, Kenna Barnes, a graduate assistant and research coordinator at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Haley Mazou, a student at the University of Nebraska at Keaney for winning $500 scholarships today at the 2019 Helen Boosalis Luncheon, which was hosted by the Nebraska Democratic Women’s Caucus.

The annual scholarships go to Nebraska women who are continuing their education, active in their communities and implementing progressive politics.

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The 2019 Nebraska State Fair is Aug. 23 through Sept 2.

NDP staff will be manning our fair booth each day, but we need volunteers to help!

Please follow this link to sign up for a shift. And feel free to share.

Also, 2020 candidates are urged to drop of campaign materials (yard signs, etc.) at our Lincoln office (3701 O St. Suite 200) before Aug. 21 that we will take to our booth for distribution.

You can also drop them by our booth once it opens on Aug. 23.

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We leave you this week with a rendering by Bill Bramhall of the New York Daily News, which needs no setup.

–By Kevin O’Hanlon/NDP Communications Director

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IMPORTANT DATES

Aug. 22-24: DNC Summer Meeting in San Francisco

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