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Flake Goes, But Not Quietly
Yesterday, Jeff Flake announced on the floor of the US Senate that he would not be seeking reelection next year. Taking a lot of heat for his opposition to the President, Flake was staring down the barrel of a primary challenge and was far behind in the polls.
That’s not all Flake said during his speech, however. Saying that it was “a matter of duty and conscience,” he criticized both the President and the the wider tone of politics in the country.
“We must stop pretending that the conduct of some in our executive branch are normal,” Flake said. “They are not normal. Reckless, outrageous, and undignified behavior has become excused and countenanced as telling it like it is when it is actually just reckless, outrageous, and undignified. And when such behavior emanates from the top of our government, it is something else. It is dangerous to a democracy.” There was more, a lot more, like that. You can see his whole speech here.
Flake clarified his choice to retire in an interview saying, “Here’s the bottom line: The path that I would have to travel to get the Republican nomination is a path I’m not willing to take, and that I can’t in good conscience take.” Adding, “It would require me to believe in positions I don’t hold on such issues as trade and immigration and it would require me to condone behavior that I cannot condone.”
And lest you shout, “Good riddance! Flake was a RINO anyway!” we need to point out that the Arizona senator has a lifetime rating of 93.07 from the American Conservative Union and before that, he was Executive Director of the Goldwater Institute.
So where does that leave the state of the race? Well, for Trump, there was the possibility of electing a more friendly face, but absent a primary challenge, it’s hard to unseat a sitting Senator. Despite what happened yesterday, the Cook Political Report still calls that race a “toss up” for now.
Now that Flake is out, there may be more Republicans in the primary. Flake was losing badly to state legislator Kelli Ward. Former state GOP chair Robert Graham and Arizona State Treasurer Jeff Dewit (both of whom are closer to Trump than Ward is) have been mentioned as possible candidates, as has Rep. Martha McSally and, of course, Jon Gabriel. But Arizona has a late filing deadline, so there’s the possibility of some dark horse that no one expects.
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My question for anyone willing to proffer an answer:
Flake was first elected to the Senate in 2012–since it is 2018 and he is up for re-election–so during the past six years, before there ever was a candidate Trump, let alone a President Trump, did he not find “disrepair and destructiveness of our politics,” “the coarseness of our leadership,” “the compromise of our moral authority,” in anything the Democrats did? If he did–which I am sure many of you will convey to me–where was his voiced concern on the Senate floor about such “disrepair and destructiveness of our politics,” “the coarseness of our leadership,” “the compromise of our moral authority,” coming from the Democrats?
Now an observation. In Flake’s speech, he offers a little glimpse of what is so wrong with many in politics today, both on the Left and the Right. Flake states, “Reckless, outrageous, and undignified behavior has become excused and countenanced as ‘telling it like it is,’” he said, “and when such behavior emanates from the top of our government, it is dangerous to our democracy.” (emphasis added.) The problem is that the President of the United States is not “the top of our government” and Senator Flake should know this. I know, I know, you corrupted “Conservatives” are going to tell me that this is the nature of modern politics, but that A) doesn’t make the statement correct and B) exhibits the very reason why I have come to despise “Conservatives.” You are willing to give up. You know what else is a staple of the modern world? Drug use, premarital sex, porn, and abortion, to name a few things, yet you all continue the fight against these things in various ways. So why are you willing to give up the fight on the very basis of our system of government? Flake is an equal representative in our system with just as much power, albeit in a different form, as the president. That is what we mean by separation of powers. It isn’t hierarchy of powers, it’s separation of powers, meaning equal power but different usages.
Please put Corker under one arm, McCain under the other and go.
Exactly! Robert, you took the words right out of my mouth!
And isn’t it interesting that Senator Flake did not take this unprecedented action on the floor of the Senate until the polls against him proved insurmountable. Perhaps it was even Mitch’s super PAC that forced him to throw in the towel on his re-election campaign.
Its a bit of a shame. By and large he was an excellent conservative. Unfortunately, when it came to immigration, he was not just open borders, which actually can be defended on conservative grounds and can be a respectable position but he was an obnoxious, sanctimonious jack-wagon about it. Thus, his comments about current politics are a bit too cute for me.
On trade he is correct and on the coarseness spewing from our President’s twitter account, he is correct. However, his political awareness is nonexistent and his ability to discuss these respectable differences with the President in a way that builds instead of breaks is why he is making like Gollum at the end of Lord of The Rings.
OK, good riddance but who takes his seat? This is high risk, high reward.
If in fact he truly believes the things he is saying, then I commend him for his honesty and sticking to principles – a rarity in the swamp.
While I may have preferred it a different way, I can understand not making a major speech on the Senate floor, or having a press conference all the reasons he thought Obama’s administration to be despicable. But being in his own house, Trump is a bit closer to home.
Flake was on our side – the side of Conservative principles and the Constitution. Sure, he was flat wrong on immigration. Sure, we were not together on some trade issues. Maybe he compromised where I would not approve. Maybe He isn’t perfect. Some (most) up there are much less perfect.
For better or worse, he’s leaving. As a result, to my opinion there are much more important questions than how much of a dirtbag he is. After Trump finishes Tweeting about it, will Flake’s speech/diatribe have any lasting effect? What about on taxes? Spending? Hope a Democrat doesn’t take the seat. Wonder who’s gonna replace him? Will they be better, or just different. Is there anyone that an out of stater like me should support? Will they do a better job of watching out for Arizona’s interests?
Flake and Corker quit for one reason and one reason only …. they were US Senate incumbents running for re-election and the writing on the wall indicated they were going to lose the Republican US Senate primary election in their home state ….. which means their own Republican constituents in their home states wanted them gone.
So blame Trump or the tone of politics all you want, but the reason those two are out is because their home state constituents showed them the door, which is how it is supposed to work.
It’s hard to beat a sitting US senator. The Republican majority in the Senate is only 52 seats. (Possibly only 51 if Alabama flips in Decembers.) Pushing these people out makes it more likely that Democrats will win those seats.
Add to that primary challenges from Bannon, the historical tendency for the party in the White House to lose seats in the midterms, the total failure of the Republican agenda, Trump’s historical, and whatever else hits the fan in the next 12 months — You’re probably looking at a Democratic Senate majority.
I think these comments are related. For better or worse he was leaving one way or the other. There was no polling that showed the incumbent Senator winning his Primary or winning the General.
He was not going to be re-elected. Whether it is today because he quite or in months when he lost the Primary, the question of what now was going to come up.
Some people don’t seem to like Ward as Republican nominee. Fine they have the chance now to run a non-Flake candidate to challenge her in the primary.
That may be the case. But I don’t think it is supported by the link you posted.
Polls are not even my main concern. I am more interested in the standing ovation Flake is getting for his words from folks like those at NR or here. There was blatant degradation of office emanating from the Obama administration (lying about Benghazi, voting for revenge, you didn’t build that) that was not chastised in the same manner as what Mr. Flake did from the Senate floor. But Flake is a good “Conservative.”
The world looks so different depending upon the prism through which you look.
First, in Alabama, Roy Moore has an 11 point lead. Alabama is not going democrat. Yes, Roy Moore is a very unconventional candidate. Particularly for the United States Senate. However, we’re in a timeframe where unconventional is a plus rather than a deterrent for GOP voters. See POTUS November, 2016.
Secondly, the democrats are defending 25 of the 33 Senate seats up for re-election in 2018. And of those 25, ten (10) are in states won by President Donald J. Trump. I like the chances of the GOP gaining a substantive majority of those 10 seats. And it is likely that many of the new Senators will be more like Cotton and Cruz than Corker and Flake. You’re probably looking at a Senate majority that even McQueeg, Collins and Murkowski can’t screw up.
And through this prism, that is winning. Bigly. Big League even.
Interesting commentary from no fan of the President … Jeff Flake is no martyr.
Erick Erickson, from the article ….
Indeed. And this exposes the GOP Senate under Majority Leader McConnell. It was and is a “talk loud and carry a twig” brand. The insight from Jeff Flake’s friends connects exactly with what Ted Cruz faced in McConnell’s Senate …
Senator Cruz continues the filibuster on the EIB network (Sept, 2013):
Yes. That’s where the race stands right now. We are seven weeks out. That’s seven weeks for Roy More to continue to say crazy [expletive]. A lot of stuff can happen in seven weeks. There could be a momentum shift depending on how the VA governor’s race turns out. And I hasten to point out that, while Moore is averaging an 11 point lead in polls, it’s a state that that Trump won by 28 points.
Right. That sounds impressive, except that two of those, Trump won by less than two points, and two more he won by less than a point.
As to the other six, remember that the reelection rate for US Senators is typically above 80%. Last year it was 93%. The last time it dipped below 80 (to 79) was 2006.
And if Moore wins is Alabama (which is probable), he’ll be a drag on other Republican Senate candidates who will be asked whether they think (as Moore does) that homosexuality should be illegal, gay people are unfit to be parents, or any and all other crazy ass stuff he says in the next 12 months.
As I said, different prisms, different results. I’ll check back in on this conversation in November, 2018.
Bookmark!
Lots of us in other states pretty much agree with Moore. Just because you don’t agree doesn’t make us crazy. Agreed, thinking you can win an election being honest to these “crazy” ideas is crazy but, as Alabama demonstrates, truth can prevail.
Moore is an outspoken Christian. Anti-Christian bigotry is in vogue in this day and age.
I listened to a little of his speech. To me he sounded like a cry baby. He did say one thing I agreed with. He said the American people were right to be angry at the mess “we have created.” Meaning our masters in Washington. Then he went on to basically insult all Trump voters saying how our anger was misdirected. Trump is not some nut ball in spite of what you hear in the media. The sky is not falling. The shake-up is good. Our first Kenyan American president, (please let there not be another) complaining about people their guns, their religion, and the moron ex first lady complaining about the basket of deplorables are examples of real dividers.
I wish Vegas took “over-under” betting on the amount of airtime Flake receives over the next couple of months. Between CNN, MSNBC, and the Sunday shows, there’s probably no number high enough. Perhaps a one-on-one with Charlie Rose, and maybe a segment on 60 minutes (“The Principled Conservative”). No doubt numerous pundits, reviewers, and interviewers (Terry Gross come on down?) who originally ignored Flake’s book because it had “conservative” in the title will rediscover it. Flake may be dead in the Senate, but, as was said of Elvis’ death, good career move.
Jeff Flake beat Jeff Flake … Sixteen reasons (there’s more but why bother)
I doubt it. The dems have more tough seats to defend. Granted, the generic number is bad, but so are the dems candidates and finances. It evens out. As long as we have credible challengers, we can flip more dem seats than they flip. Plus Roy Moore will win in Alabama. Probably won’t be close, but it might be within 4 points. A credible republican will enter the race for Flakes seat and erase his baggage. I fully expect Flake to resign his seat early and allow AZ governor to appoint a strong senator to hold the seat.