GOP Sen. Ben Sasse is leaving the Senate for a position at the University of Florida. That’s a huge loss for the Senate, but also a huge win for the University of Florida.
Of course, some University of Florida students are extremely pissed off that an “alt-right guy” could threaten their ability to “be queer or non-men.” That’s to be expected from a bunch of coddled young snowflakes who are too busy being woke to stop and consider that they might, in fact, be wrong and stupid.
But a 60-year-old columnist for the Washington Post should really know better. We’re referring, of course, to the illustrious Jennifer Rubin, who has a whole column today about “slippery, right-wing politician” Ben Sasse having no business in academia:
If DeSantis wanted a slippery, right-wing politician for the job, he chose well. Sasse has long been considered bright by the standards of the U.S. Senate, but that does not necessarily mean he is up to the intellectual rigor of a major university. https://t.co/z8RBjZX6Cu
— Jennifer "Pro-privacy" Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) October 12, 2022
If DeSantis wanted a slippery, right-wing politician for the job, he chose well. Sasse has long been considered bright by the standards of the U.S. Senate, but that does not necessarily mean he is up to the intellectual rigor of a major university. Nate Monroe at the Florida Times-Union commented, “Sasse’s turgid, buzzy prose does not reveal the mind of an education reformer but that of a wishy-washy dilettante. Sometimes he says very little … At other points he merely repackages bland ideas into Ponzi-like sales pitches.”
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Sasse is the quintessential affirmative action hire that Republicans love to denounce. His selection certainly appears to be based on political identity, not merit. No one can seriously argue that Sasse is the finest candidate in the country for the position. DeSantis might as well have put in the job description: “Compliant Republican hostile to liberal ideas.”
DeSantis will almost certainly get his pick. But students, donors and faculties have choices. If they choose to shun an institution that is becoming a pliant accessory to the governor’s political ambitions, chalk one victory up for the free market.
Meanwhile, conservative critics of politicized higher education can be put to the test: Do they favor academic freedom, or just academic freedom for people who think like they do?
What? No, seriously. What the hell is she on about?
the man who holds various degrees from harvard, john hopkins, and yale isn’t up for the “intellectual rigor” of the job. i am very smart. https://t.co/ydNMi6Nd3R
— kaitlin (@thefactualprep) October 12, 2022
Narrator: Jennifer Rubin is not smart. She is also not honest or intellectually consistent:
https://t.co/B9u9R6MjTs pic.twitter.com/m5sFtgBoQD
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 12, 2022
Back before Donald Trump broke her brain, Rubin had nothing but nice things to say about Sasse:
In 2016, @JRubinBlogger wrote an op-ed titled "10 reasons Ben Sasse should jump into the race".
Her very first praise, right at the top: "He has been a university president […]".
She goes on to call him a "dynamic brainiac (with a PhD from Yale)".https://t.co/hdYW5eQh3g https://t.co/XYFb4KUzoC pic.twitter.com/lLTJkc2lrG
— pragmatometer (@pragmatometer) October 12, 2022
Prior to that, in 2015, she called his response to the San Bernardino attack "brilliant and far more presidential than anything Obama had done". pic.twitter.com/EkC3KYoS56
— pragmatometer (@pragmatometer) October 12, 2022
Earlier that year, with her legendary pre-brainworm vocabulary at her disposal, what single word did she reach for to describe him?
"smart" pic.twitter.com/lqBsv2vZlV
— pragmatometer (@pragmatometer) October 12, 2022
Well, this one was oddly prescient: pic.twitter.com/mjlyRdxfTm
— pragmatometer (@pragmatometer) October 12, 2022
Sure was.
https://twitter.com/onlyforsiraj/status/1580215495118028800
Are you capable of holding positions you did pre-2016? Or do you have to flip flop on everything? Its comical at this pointhttps://t.co/XPiYtpkXRN
— Gaurav Verma (@goverma13) October 12, 2022
It will never not be hilarious.
Chuckling at the thought of Jennifer Rubin self-appointing herself as an arbiter of intelligence. https://t.co/QFj8IztS8g
— Ekdahl Press Office (@EkdahlPress) October 12, 2022
https://twitter.com/bonchieredstate/status/1580210943048372224
The mental intellect with Jennifer Rubin is just staggering.
I like how Galaxy Brain thinks governors appoint state university presidents
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) October 12, 2022
He can control hurricanes. How hard can controlling UF be?
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 12, 2022
Snort.
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