Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, who has expressed concerns about Donald Trump's commitment to conservatism and the Constitution, campaigned for Ted Cruz in neighboring Iowa on Tuesday and followed that up by campaigning on Wednesday for Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina. In between campaign stops, Sasse appeared on MSNBC, where Chuck Todd asked him, "What is a conservative in your view today?"
Sasse had a strong reply, one rooted in the Declaration of Independence and focused on the Constitution:
"America is the most exceptional nation in the history of the world because the U.S. Constitution is the best political document that's ever been written, because it says something different than almost any people and any government has believed in human history. Most governments in the past said might makes right, and the king has all the power, and the people are dependent subjects. The American Founders said no; God gives us rights by nature, and the government is just our shared project to secure those rights. Government is not the author or source of our rights, and you don't make America great again by giving more power to one guy in Washington, D.C. You make America great again by recovering a constitutional republic where Washington is populated by people who are servant-leaders, who want to return power to the people and to the communities, because what's great about America is the Rotary Club, it's small businesses, it's churches, it's schools, it's fire departments, and it's Little Leagues across this country. What makes America great is not some guy in Washington who says if I had more power, I could fix it all unilaterally."