Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) has chosen to retire rather than engage in a 2018 primary tussle with Kelli Ward. From CNN come his and other Senator’s remarks:
“If I have been critical, it’s not because I relish criticizing the behavior of the President of the United States,” Flake said. “If I have been critical, it is because I believe that it is my obligation to do so, as a matter of duty and conscience.”
He continued, “The notion that one should stay silent as the norms and values that keep America strong are undermined and as the alliances and agreements that ensure the stability of the entire world are routinely threatened by the level of thought that goes into 140 characters — the notion that one should say and do nothing in the face of such mercurial behavior is ahistoric and, I believe, profoundly misguided.”
He is following his colleague Senator Corker (R-KY) to the retirement door. The reaction from his colleagues:
McCain and Corker were both in attendance of Flake’s Senate floor speech Tuesday and gave him a standing ovation at conclusion of his remarks — as did Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso.
“One of the greatest people I’ve served with,” Corker said after the speech, describing Flake and adding later, “He’s what I would call a real conservative.” …
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia left the floor in tears following Flake’s speech, calling it “depressing.”
“When someone as good and decent a person as Jeff Flake does not think he can continue in the body, it’s a very tragic day for the institution,” Kaine said.
While I have very little opinion of Senator Flake, I do note he has a Trump Score of 90% as of this writing, and he was not one of the Senators who broke the GOP‘s disgraceful boat of healthcare “reform” on the rocks of honor – so he’s not entirely the most decent of the GOP Senators, an honor that goes to McCain, Collins, and Murkowski.
However, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t redoubled the pressure on the GOP Senators to return to a generally honorable manner of conducting business. He’s basically declared that he may join the Democrats in voting against legislation which is developed in an inappropriate, dishonorable manner.
And that can only be a good thing.
But I am puzzled that someone who has at least Senator Kaine’s respect is choosing to bow out rather than fight the good fight. Of course, there may be family illnesses and that sort of thing operating behind the scenes, but to leave the field open to right-wing extremists is a discouraging move by someone who at least is saying the right things, even if he’s not backing this up with words.
