Before moving on to the next campaign and talking about the general election, it is important that we reflect upon what has happened here. Every election has a story, and this one is about the people of Nebraska. DC political operatives and many national reporters decided to tell their cookie-cutter version of this story before it even began, regardless of actual facts on the ground. Initially, they said we simply couldn’t win — terms like “long-shot candidacy” appeared in many stories when we launched — because I hadn’t previously been involved in electoral politics. Well, when I told Nebraskans that I had never been a candidate before, they cheered. The pundits were wrong. Now, it is true that we began this race with 3% name-identification. That, by the way, was in a poll that had margin of error of +/-5%. Mathematically, I might not have existed. But we didn’t decide to run because we needed a new job. Melissa and I spent a lot of time in prayer and debate last summer before make this decision. And we resolved at the very outset that we would go big or go home. We would run only if we could invest this year of our family life talking about big, bold, conservative solutions. This campaign was never about a position or new title. It was always about bigger ideas, better solutions, more compelling persuasion -- and about growing the conservative movement. I know it doesn’t fit into the liberal national media’s preordained stories about a supposedly endless “civil war” in our ranks. Their favorite story is always about Republicans fighting Republicans. We were also told by the political class that you couldn’t run a campaign talking about the Constitution. We were told that you couldn’t run a campaign built on substantive townhalls. We were told that you couldn’t run talking about real policy every day – living on a campaign bus to bring us face to face with as many of you as possible. But they clearly didn’t know Nebraskans. And they didn’t know you. The fact is that this campaign started on Main Street in Fremont, Nebraska. That is where Melissa and I went to the fathers and mothers of my hometown, and told them we would run only if they told us they wanted us to do so for their kids and grandkids. These folks weren’t thinking about — and they certainly didn’t talk about — a so-called “civil war” way off in Washington. Instead, they all talked about the next generation. Whether we are losing them, and how we win them back — and forward — to the idea American exceptionalism again. Because American exceptionalism is about the future, about taking what our parents give us, and giving something better to our children. We talked about the work ethic – which is far more central to American identity than is anything in today’s DC politics. Nebraskans told us something very different than the DC political class, both on our original listening tour last summer and then for this whole year as we hosted “Conservative Solutions Town Halls” in town after town after town. Here’s what we heard: It’s time for a party that fights for the American Promise for every race, every region, and every generation. You told us you were sick of political games – because the future of our kids is not a game. You told us you want solutions, not soundbites. You told us that it takes big ideas to tackle big problems. You told us that you still believe in the Nebraska Way and the American Creed – because the offer as promise for tomorrow as they did for yesterday. You told us its time to turn the minority leader into the majority leader — lets fire Harry Reid! But you also told us that you want more urgency out of our leaders. The problem is not just that Democrats are in charge in Washington, but that too many Republicans also want Washington to be in charge of us. We don’t want that. We want farmers and ranchers, moms and dads, and small businesspeople to be in charge of their own lives. Ten months ago, the Omaha World Herald called this project a “long-shot” – they didn’t bet on us. Because they didnt count on you! Now it’s time to keep the momentum going. Will you help us spread our Conservative Solutions? Please share this note with your friends and family, and join our team here: sign.sassefornebraska/conservative-solutions/ -Ben Sasse
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 18:53:33 +0000
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