Sen. Sasse May Support Johnson UPDATE: Romney also might support Johnson

[Stranger in a strange land]

An endorsement from a current U.S. Senator would be just the sort of leg up Johnson needs to have a real shot of hitting 5% in a few counties in Nebraska.

FTFY

[Deblano]

BREAKING NEWS: SENATOR SASSE REPORTED TO POSSES A BACKBONE, UNLIKE MCCAIN, GRAHAM, RYAN, AND THE REST OF THE DAMN CRONIES IN WASHINGTON!

[Mr. Morden]

BREAKING NEWS: SENATOR SASSE REPORTED TO POSSES A BACKBONE, UNLIKE MCCAIN, GRAHAM, RYAN, AND THE REST OF THE DAMN CRONIES IN WASHINGTON!

Oh really?

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=237250.msg5081873#msg5081873

[Deblano]

BREAKING NEWS: SENATOR SASSE REPORTED TO POSSES A BACKBONE, UNLIKE MCCAIN, GRAHAM, RYAN, AND THE REST OF THE DAMN CRONIES IN WASHINGTON!

Oh really?

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=237250.msg5081873#msg5081873

I still don't trust him. Every representative and Senator in the Republican Party has the backbone of an earthworm until proven otherwise.

[Mr. Morden]

BREAKING NEWS: SENATOR SASSE REPORTED TO POSSES A BACKBONE, UNLIKE MCCAIN, GRAHAM, RYAN, AND THE REST OF THE DAMN CRONIES IN WASHINGTON!

Oh really?

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=237250.msg5081873#msg5081873

I still don't trust him. Every representative and Senator in the Republican Party has the backbone of an earthworm until proven otherwise.

How do they prove otherwise, given that it's a secret ballot?  If you don't trust their public comments on who they're voting for, then I'm not sure what they can do to prove sincerity.  Donate money to other campaigns?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Sassehole would be bitching up a storm if Johnson was polling at 1% against Rubio. He's a hypocrite.

Or maybe because Rubio is an actual Republican.

So then maybe he should STFU and run himself instead of tainting the Libertarian brand. He's not behind Johnson, he's behind himself.

[Vosem]

I understand protest voting; I'd have voted for Gary Johnson in 2012 against Romney. I would have voted for Ron Paul if he were the nominee. Gary Johnson, being the closest candidate to Ron Paul, would have been a sensible choice. So would have been Virgil Goode to a lesser extent.

Sasse, a supporter of war hawk/"Reagan Conservative" Marco Rubio has nothing in common with Gary Johnson or the Libertarian Party. In fact, many Sasse fanboys like Erik Erikson endorsed his socially conservative rival Austen Peterson. They failed to hijack the LP (ironically forming an unholy alliance with the party radicals) and are tentatively behind Johnson not out of any remote ideological similarities (ironic because they complain Trump has no core ideology) but rather out of a simple desire to spoil the election. If they wanted a third party alternative, then David French should have run.

They have a ton in common on fiscal issues. If (as Sasse and many others seem to think) you take the position that Donald Trump cannot be trusted on literally any issue at all, and you find voting for Hillary to be very distasteful, then Johnson is absolutely the logical protest vote even if you do disagree with Johnson on foreign affairs. Your whole point about Republicans backing Petersen is totally beside the point. There's no contradiction in backing Petersen, seeing him lose, and then backing Johnson.

Endorsing Johnson is absolutely the logical thing to do for Ben Sasse, Kristol, Romney, and the rest of the hardcore NeverTrump coterie. Endorsing Trump after spending months talking about how he's the literal devil would've been hypocritical.

Had Marco Rubio been the nominee, Sasse would be bitching up a storm.

If Ron Paul had been the nominee in 2012, you would've been the one bitching up a storm about Johnson getting 1%! Give us a ing break.

They want their guy over the will of the rest of the party. People like me who are at least intellectually honest in their voting who backed Johnson in '12? We were RINOs then. Back the party this year? We're stupid.

Er, principles matter more to some of us than the will of the rest of the party. Yeah, backing Trump this year is a pretty stupid thing to do regardless of your political orientation, especially if you're trying to be "intellectually honest". It's even more particularly stupid if you're backing Trump because you're afraid of getting called a RINO.

Well, this stupid RINO has done more for this party in the last week then Vosem and company have ever done. I'd be willing to venture the same about the nakedly ambitious Ben Sasse.

I have no idea what you're doing in real life to promote the party, and I know that you have no idea what I've done. The "nakedly ambitious" Ben Sasse, who just alienated a third of the party or so out of principle, holds down a Senate seat and has done more for the Republican Party than you (or, for that matter, I) probably ever will.

[Famous Mortimer]

No, it does not make any sense for Kristol to back Johnson. If your number one issue is foreign policy, you should not back Johnson. For a normal, pro-market Republican though, endorsing Johnson is logical.

[Downnice]

I think it is clear Johnson is going to get 5% in the G.E

[SillyAmerican]

Having just watched Governor Johnson's interview on the June 5th edition of Meet the Press, I hope he is included in the presidential debates and ends up doing well in November.

Amazing, that made Australian TV, and I could finally see who this guy was.

He seems legit.

He was a two term Governor of New Mexico. Yes, he's legit.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

If he endorses pro-abortion Johnson, I would lose a ton of respect for him.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

If he endorses pro-abortion Johnson, I would lose a ton of respect for him.

Pro-choice != pro-abortion

Donald Trump is also pro-choice. Pro-lifers' best choice is probably Johnson, who at least doesn't want federal funding for abortion.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

If he endorses pro-abortion Johnson, I would lose a ton of respect for him.

Pro-choice != pro-abortion

Donald Trump is also pro-choice. Pro-lifers' best choice is probably Johnson, who at least doesn't want federal funding for abortion.

Trump says he is pro-life, so I will vote for him and respect anyone who does.  Anyone who supports abortion at all is guilty of murder themselves and should never receive my vote or the votes of any true conservative.  If Trump announces that he is pro-choice, Mike Smith or some other protest candidate has my vote.  Anyone who votes for Clinton or Johnson is an accomplice in 3000 murders every day and deserves to go to jail.

[pbrower2a]

One of the electoral votes of Nebraska could be in play with this endorsement -- for Gary Johnson.

...So far we have practically no polling of the High Plains states. Although these states (the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas) have few electoral votes altogether (17) they could show some interesting patterns in 2016. They may be conservative, but they just aren't crazy. 

[IceSpear]

If he endorses pro-abortion Johnson, I would lose a ton of respect for him.

Pro-choice != pro-abortion

Donald Trump is also pro-choice. Pro-lifers' best choice is probably Johnson, who at least doesn't want federal funding for abortion.

Trump says he is pro-life, so I will vote for him and respect anyone who does.  Anyone who supports abortion at all is guilty of murder themselves and should never receive my vote or the votes of any true conservative.  If Trump announces that he is pro-choice, Mike Smith or some other protest candidate has my vote.  Anyone who votes for Clinton or Johnson is an accomplice in 3000 murders every day and deserves to go to jail.

Seek help.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

If he endorses pro-abortion Johnson, I would lose a ton of respect for him.

Pro-choice != pro-abortion

Donald Trump is also pro-choice. Pro-lifers' best choice is probably Johnson, who at least doesn't want federal funding for abortion.

Trump says he is pro-life, so I will vote for him and respect anyone who does.  Anyone who supports abortion at all is guilty of murder themselves and should never receive my vote or the votes of any true conservative.  If Trump announces that he is pro-choice, Mike Smith or some other protest candidate has my vote.  Anyone who votes for Clinton or Johnson is an accomplice in 3000 murders every day and deserves to go to jail.

Seek help.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

If he endorses pro-abortion Johnson, I would lose a ton of respect for him.

Pro-choice != pro-abortion

Donald Trump is also pro-choice. Pro-lifers' best choice is probably Johnson, who at least doesn't want federal funding for abortion.

Trump says he is pro-life, so I will vote for him and respect anyone who does.  Anyone who supports abortion at all is guilty of murder themselves and should never receive my vote or the votes of any true conservative.  If Trump announces that he is pro-choice, Mike Smith or some other protest candidate has my vote.  Anyone who votes for Clinton or Johnson is an accomplice in 3000 murders every day and deserves to go to jail.

Well, I guess I deserve to go to jail.

Look, I'm probably just as pro-life as you are, but, at the very least, you shouldn't just assume that Trump is going to govern with a pro-life agenda.

[ElectionsGuy]

If he endorses pro-abortion Johnson, I would lose a ton of respect for him.

Pro-choice != pro-abortion

Donald Trump is also pro-choice. Pro-lifers' best choice is probably Johnson, who at least doesn't want federal funding for abortion.

Trump says he is pro-life, so I will vote for him and respect anyone who does.  Anyone who supports abortion at all is guilty of murder themselves and should never receive my vote or the votes of any true conservative.  If Trump announces that he is pro-choice, Mike Smith or some other protest candidate has my vote.  Anyone who votes for Clinton or Johnson is an accomplice in 3000 murders every day and deserves to go to jail.

Seek help.

[Fargobison]

If he endorses pro-abortion Johnson, I would lose a ton of respect for him.

Pro-choice != pro-abortion

Donald Trump is also pro-choice. Pro-lifers' best choice is probably Johnson, who at least doesn't want federal funding for abortion.

Trump says he is pro-life, so I will vote for him and respect anyone who does.  Anyone who supports abortion at all is guilty of murder themselves and should never receive my vote or the votes of any true conservative.  If Trump announces that he is pro-choice, Mike Smith or some other protest candidate has my vote.  Anyone who votes for Clinton or Johnson is an accomplice in 3000 murders every day and deserves to go to jail.

Well, I guess I deserve to go to jail.

Look, I'm probably just as pro-life as you are, but, at the very least, you shouldn't just assume that Trump is going to govern with a pro-life agenda.

He is the guy that had five positions on abortion in 48 hours. He either doesn't give a damn or is still pro-choice. Either way, not somebody you want talking for the pro-life movement.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

If he endorses pro-abortion Johnson, I would lose a ton of respect for him.

Pro-choice != pro-abortion

Donald Trump is also pro-choice. Pro-lifers' best choice is probably Johnson, who at least doesn't want federal funding for abortion.

Trump says he is pro-life, so I will vote for him and respect anyone who does.  Anyone who supports abortion at all is guilty of murder themselves and should never receive my vote or the votes of any true conservative.  If Trump announces that he is pro-choice, Mike Smith or some other protest candidate has my vote.  Anyone who votes for Clinton or Johnson is an accomplice in 3000 murders every day and deserves to go to jail.

[°Leprechaun]

What a hypocrite, LMAO. Guess you can write him off for the 2020 election. It seems he doesn't know the meaning of the term "never".

I'm not following.  In what way does he not know the meaning of "never"?

NeverTrump means NeverJohnson too.

#NeverTrump only has one rule and that rule is #NeverTrump.

Not unless you're 100% committed to the idea that Trump NEVER becomes President. That leaves Hillary as your only option.

Using that logic,  a "neverClinton" (for a Democrat) movement would mean voting for Trump rather than Jill Stein.
Obviously most Sanders' supporters who don't vote for Clinton are not going to vote for Trump.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

If he endorses pro-abortion Johnson, I would lose a ton of respect for him.

Pro-choice != pro-abortion

Donald Trump is also pro-choice. Pro-lifers' best choice is probably Johnson, who at least doesn't want federal funding for abortion.

Trump says he is pro-life, so I will vote for him and respect anyone who does.  Anyone who supports abortion at all is guilty of murder themselves and should never receive my vote or the votes of any true conservative.  If Trump announces that he is pro-choice, Mike Smith or some other protest candidate has my vote.  Anyone who votes for Clinton or Johnson is an accomplice in 3000 murders every day and deserves to go to jail.

Seek help.

[Mr. Morden]

Romney also says he might vote for Johnson...though he says he'd be more likely to vote Libertarian if it was Weld at the top of the ticket rather than Johnson:

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/10/politics/mitt-romney-donald-trump-racism/index.html

[Figueira]

Huh. That makes me realize that Johnson probably chose Weld in order to attract a Romney endorsement.

[ElectionsGuy]

We already knew Romney had no political compass, but COME ON.