Fox News host Tucker Carlson issued a three-part challenge to Ben Sasse after the Republican Nebraska Senator responded to his Tuesday night segment on the plight of Sidney, Nebraska.
Carlson’s Tuesday “Tucker Carlson Tonight” segment dealt with billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer’s apparent role in Bass Pro Shop’s acquisition of sporting goods retailer Cabela’s, and the subsequent economic damage the Cabela’s headquarters closure had on the residents of Sidney. At the time, Sasse had not responded to the show’s request for comment, but after being challenged directly by the Fox News host as a beneficiary of Singer’s political donations, the Nebraska senator issued a statement which was shared during the Wednesday night segment:
“Melissa and I know the families in Sidney and I have constantly told companies, including Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops, that nobody outworks or out hustles Nebraskans,” the statement said. “Sidney hasn’t given up and neither have we. There’s a real problem with American communities coming apart, and it’s going to require creative policy making. But this problem isn’t going to be solved by the easy, over-promising big government advocates on either the left or the right.”
“Creative policy making is what Senator Sasse says we need, and of course we agree with him,” said Tucker before introducing “three creative policies” the Senate should consider.
“First, call it what it is,” said Carlson. “This wasn’t creative destruction. Nothing was created. It was just destruction. Destruction for the enrichment of a tiny number of people at the expense of many others. You don’t have to make this illegal to call it disgusting. Because that’s exactly what it is. So our first creative policy ought to be to tell the truth.” (RELATED: Does Paul Singer Think Open Borders For America Will Be Good For Israel?)
Tucker’s second recommendation involved returning the money donated by Singer to “remove all doubt” that he’s doing the hedge fund manager’s bidding. “If one of your biggest donors turned out to be a pornographer or a mass distributor of Oxycontin, you’d send back the donation,” he said. “You wouldn’t want to be associated with someone like that. You would want to be clear about your own values. Senator Sasse should be clear about his.”
“Third and finally, Republican senators ought to resolve to speak to the rest of us like adults,” said the Fox News host. “No more baby talk. Stop with the bumper sticker phrases from 1986. It’s a different country now. The question isn’t whether we are getting big government. Too late. We already have it, in part thanks to you, Republican senators. The question is whether we will become a socialist country run by a terrifying alliance of authoritarian big tech moguls and wild eyed identity politics cult members. That could happen. We are closer to it than our leaders acknowledge.”