Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) has never exactly been in lockstep with the GOP establishment during his time on Capitol Hill. And his latest comments are unlikely to endear him to those in the mainstream wing of the party.

Speaking with conservative pundit Jonah Goldberg on The Remnant podcast (in remarks transcribed via The Hill), Sasse discussed the state of the GOP in the context of the Alabama Senate race — in which highly controversial conservative candidate Roy Moore defeated mainstream incumbent Luther Strange in the Republican primary.

“I think we’re getting a new kind of identity politics — of, kind of, white backlash grievance,” Sasse said. “Which isn’t surprising that the right would echo the left. It isn’t surprising if you don’t have principles — and it feels like these parties don’t have a lot of principles.”

Sasse went on to call the Alabama Senate race “crappy,” and said that Moore’s 2006 op-ed for World News Daily — in which Moore wrote that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) should not be allowed to serve in Congress because he is a Muslim — should disqualify him from running for the Senate.

“I don’t know the particulars of what Moore has said. But as it’s been reported, you can’t have people running for office saying that being a Muslim would be a disqualification for being in Congress,” Sasse said. “The Constitution is pretty dang clear about not having a religious litmus test.”

Earlier Thursday, outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) gave the same rationale for not suporting Moore. Most Senate Republicans, however, have either backed Moore for the Alabama seat or been mum on the subject.

[image via screengrab]

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