Flake’s bombshell announcement today that he would not seek reelection next year is rocking the state’s political landscape.
Flake took time on the Senate floor today to explain his decision, saying that the coarseness of President Donald Trump drove his decision. Talking Points Memo summarizes:
“I have children and grandchildren to answer to. And so, Mr. President, I will not be complicit or silent,” Flake said in a speech that centered around the degradation of political civility in the age of Trump.
He criticized the “coarseness of our leadership” and the “regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms and ideals.”
“When the next generation asks us, ‘Why didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you speak up?’ What are we going to say? Mr. President, I rise today to say, enough,” Flake said. “We have fooled ourselves long enough that a pivot to governing is right around the corner, a return to civility and stability right behind it. We know better than that. By now we all know better than that.”
“We must stop pretending that the conduct of some in our executive branch are normal. They are not normal. Reckless, outrageous and undignified behavior has been excused as ‘telling it like it is’ when it is actually just reckless, outrageous, and undignified,” Flake continued. “And when such behavior emanates from the top of our government, it is something else. It is dangerous to a democracy.”
I suspect Flake would not have made this move if he hadn’t seen polling numbers that showed his support collapsing among Republicans in Arizona. That problem been building for awhile, but his feuds with Trump have definitely accelerated his decline—and his decision to write a book hammering away at Trump surely didn’t help things.
I don’t agree with many of Flake’s policies (other than his push to solve the nation’s immigration problems with the Gang of Eight back in 2013), but I do believe he is a fundamentally decent guy who wants to reverse the rot within his party. But he’s spitting into the wind. The GOP is moving in a sharply different direction where primary voters celebrate what Trump represents.
So what happens next? I’m guessing there’s a rush among Republicans to jump for the open seat and Flake challenger Kelli Ward will now face a more crowded and difficult path to the GOP nomination. And not to be morbid, as we wish him the best with his battle against brain cancer, but there is also a possibility that John McCain won’t be able to finish his term, which could put both of Arizona’s U.S. Senate seats in play next year.
This article appears in Oct 19-25, 2017.
Flake obviously saw the internal polling writing on the wall. “You can’t fire me; I quit!”
Great news for Dr. Ward. No bruising battle against Flake, and likely full NRSC support in the primary.
2018 is shaping up to be the year of the populist. MAGA.
Wonder what happened during that lunch with the Orange Terror.
No doubt they all had to watch baby fingers eat his three scoops.
“Cowardice asks: Is it safe? Expediency asks: Is it politic? But Conscience asks: Is it right?”
–William Punshon
Unfortunately, for America and the world too many in Washington, from both sides of the aisle, are more concerned for their own political power and amassing of personal wealth.
As a tribute to the basest form of capitalism, we have been sold to the highest bidder and the dreams of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans are slipping away.
It was not the barbarians at the gates we needed to fear, but the barbarians that were “elected” to office.
To his credit, Sen. Jeff Flake, in deciding not to seek re-election and his continued criticism of Donald Trump, has put the viability of our Constitutional principles, the very fabric of our democracy, above the Republican Party’s support of Donald Trump.
Congress must use its Constitutional authority is assessing the threat that Donald Trump has posed and continues to pose to our inherent diversity and protected freedoms, as well as the threat he poses to our national security.
Mr. Trump, I my view, is NOT fit to service in the Office of President of the United States. He is Mentally Unstable and has undermined the very nature of our Constitutional Democracy with Three Co-Equal Branches of Government, as well as our Independent and Free Press. His statements regarding His Russian Mentor and “Friendship” with the Thug Putin threatens the National Security of our Country.
It remains to be determined the nature of the contacts He and his Minions have had with Russia before, during, and after the Presidential Election. His statements during the Election encouraging Russia to hack Servers of the DNC and Mrs. Clinton are sufficient, in my view, in making him Complicit in undermining the validity of this Election and are sufficient Grounds for His Impeachment. This, of course, is a decision that Congress will make when these Congressional Investigations are Complete.
All Partisanship Must be put aside in the evaluation of the evidence and in determining if Donald Trump should be removed from Office.
Notwithstanding, Donald Trump, in my view, must be removed from office forthwith!
My take is that Flake is beginning a run for the presidency – memorable speech and a published book. I haven’t seen him break from the straight Republican ticket on Senate votes.
Agree with Mary – probably making a run for President. As one of the 2 or3 liberal Republicans left in my shattered party I wish him well and hope that other leaders of character join him.
If Republicans want a Senator that votes for higher immigration and more illegal immigration, and who publicly advocates for illegal immigration in the New York Times, they can just vote for a Democrat.
I seldom agree with Flake, but have never questioned his honesty. He got sick of lies and lack of moral fibre from the President just as many of us did long ago. Maybe Repub primary will now open up to some decent candidates.
With a brilliant comment from Peabrain and another speech from his ” friend” Francis, need I say more?
No, please , don’t say anymore. Intelligent people’s ears are bleeding.
During McCain’s run for president, he conducted a town hall in which a woman, pretending to be a conservative, said some horribly racist things and then professed her support for McCain.
Well, she was a liberal democrat, planted there to discredit McCain. That was how Obama operated. How many times was that one political thug, an actual thug, in the White House? 168?
Flake is pretending that a moral equivalence exists, that we aren’t involved in a street fight.
Flake got his behind kicked for five years and he accepted the beating with style and grace.
On top of that, he never worked at the job. Spent his time playing basketball with Obama, spent 2 hours a day polishing his abdominals and another ten minutes a day combing his hair.
He should have done some work.
Flake wants us to accede to a new normal. One where we feel comfortable with 70% of African American children in single parent families, one with 1 out of four African American males experiencing imprisonment.
An education system with horrible outcomes for African Americans.
One where we just slide into Social Security bankruptcy with a 1.9% growth economy.
An economy where almost half our college graduates go to work for minimum wage, where over 10% promptly drop out of the workforce because they can’t find a decent job.
In other words, a European economy.
We have a president now who is actually solving these problems and Flake is of no help at all.
Trump will be better positioned if the Democrats control the Senate. Then, the Democrats will have to negotiate, they won’t be able to just say no.
Regarding Mary’s presidential hypothesis, so Flake is positioning himself to be Evan McMullin with slightly greater national name recognition?
Yeah, good luck with that.
I’ll say it again. You’re right, I don’t know shit. We’ve never met’
Truth be told he could not raise enough money and feared real conservatives would beat him. So instead he winds up on the political trash heap with John McCain, forever labeled as “one of the swamp rats.”
There are some in both parties. Wait until Trump targets the demo “swamp” crats.
That is going to be fun. Can you say Dick Turbin?
Awww…. it’s so sweet that our disgraced former State Schools Chief is confessing his crush on Sen. Flake. Come out of the closet John… you’re so deep in the closet you could buy property in Narnia.
Removing trump from office is an extremely bad idea for reasons that can be summed up in two words: president pence. Furthermore, its not going to work and only going to help him build up his “anti establishment” image to try to get him removed.
Also that 70 percent statistic is a disturbingly inaccurate reading of the actual statistic. Its that 70 percent of african american children were born outside of marriage, that doesnt mean that the mothers were single at the time nor does it mean that 70 percent of all black children have a single mother.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/st…
Thank god this Rino/Liberal has bowed out. Hopefully McLame will be gone soon as well.
These backstabbing so called Republicans would be better off just registering as Democrats.
And for all the whining liberal haters, get over it.Trump won.He will be your president for ,hopefully, the next 7 years. Perhaps time to find a safe place and don’t forget your blankies.
After reading the comment thread, I’m wondering if Flake may be right to believe that only supporting Trmp 98% of the time will not satisfy Chem Trail Kelli’s supporters in the state. But with his vote on the tax bill, he can now tell his children and grandchildren their inheritance is safe, and his own pension and healthcare are secure and ride off into the sunset with a hastily rewritten ending.