It’s just ego fulfillment. He wants to be on the right side of history, but he doesn’t want to take any actions with a reasonable chance of making the future better–at least not any actions that might involve some sacrifice.
If you actually believe all the stuff Jeff Flake says, and you had a modicum of personal character, you would act on it. You would not make a speech and retire. You would use your power as a Senator to try to curtail Trump’s power; to empower those who seek to investigate impeachable offenses; and to strengthen the institutions and norms that might keep him in check. There is a lot that a single Senator can do on those counts. I’m not aware of Jeff Flake anything substantial in those areas. What am I missing?
I do not rule out the possibility of action. But I see no evidence that it will happen.
And I’m not impressed by a guy who talks about doing harm to his career by speaking out and then voluntarily ending said career. Neither he nor Corker have anything on the line; they aren’t risking anything by speaking out.
Last, I’m not impressed by people who won’t call a liar a liar, etc. “Says things that are untruthful”? He fucking lies. He’s a lying liar; fucking call him one. Be REALLY bold and let’s get this conversation where it needs to be: “Our president is an unhinged fucking liar and can’t be trusted. FFS, get the launch codes away from him! FACE REALITY HERE, GODDDAMMIT!”
Not impressed by the words of a man who withheld his strongest invective until it was clear he was headed for defeat. Why should anybody listen to a quitter? His soapbox means about as much as me starting a strongly worded Pit thread.
I’ll be impressed when a Republican congressman/senator with something to lose speaks out against Trump.
But Flake at least puts a little pressure on other Republicans. Two retiring senators speaking out don’t make a huge difference by themselves. But get that number up to 10 or so, and it might change things.
This is pretty much how I feel too. It’s the same as last week when GWB gave his speech, without quite naming names, that was taken as a Trump rebuke. Well that’s nice, it’s a start I suppose, but in the end I doubt it will amount to much. The people who still have skin in the game need to speak up.
That won’t happen until they figure it would actually help them in the next primary. Unfortunately, given the makeup of today’s GOP electorate, we aren’t there yet.
Call me when 10 Republican senators switch to the Democratic Party and cite Trump and the direction he is taking the country as the reason, and then show me that they vote against Trump and the GOP, and I’ll say you’ve got something.
I hear all of ya. Two not up for re-election, and one dying (McCain). Kept hoping Lindsey Graham would step up to the plate, but gosh, he lost me when he fed us all the shit about Trump’s golf game, and his 73 score in windy conditions that nobody in their right mind believes. Trump is famous for cheating in golf, everyone knows it, from those that have played with him, to his caddies he tips generously to place his balls in better positions, to the way he scores his card which always go in his favor. He truly is pathetic.
That doesn’t sound like the same sentiment as what the OP expressed. What you said does indeed seem to be the opinion of some Republicans, which I would chalk up to the argument of “he’s not Hillary”; maybe Wesley Clark was trying to say that but came out differently.
In other words, there’s a difference between expecting that Trump would be on-board with general Republican priorities, like tax cuts etc. (what you said) and hoping that Trump would be tamed by Congress (what Wesley seemed to say).
He wrote a damn book blasting the president! He made an enemy of the president while he was still planning on running for re-election! He did exactly what you are demanding someone do! Re-read Post 17. Flake wrote that while he still (likely) intended on running for re-election. What is it exactly you want a Republican Senator to do in addition to something like this?
And to all of you people wondering why Flake and Corker call the president out, yet continue to vote for “Trump’s agenda?” It’s because “Trump’s agenda” is most of the time the Republicans’ agenda. Do you expect these guys to suddenly start voting like Democrats just cuz they don’t like Trump? They’re calling him out for being a disgusting human being who is demeaning the presidency, not for being a white corporate rich-guy conservative.
I would expect him to take some actions, which might well include subordinating some of his policy views in the interest of limiting the power of the person he thinks is a dangerous demagogue, but it needn’t even necessarily mean that. Can you point to anything Flake has done with his powers as a Senator to try to limit Trump’s power? Has he withheld a vote on a single bill or nominee in order to try to support any kind of check on Trump’s power? Has he proposed or co-sponsored any legislation to do so?
Maybe he has and I’ve missed it. But if he hasn’t, then you’re being taken by a PR campaign, not a serious man trying to grapple with a serious problem.
I have no idea what he’s done, and I’m no fan of Jeff Flake. But I’m responding to everyone saying “I’ll be impressed when someone with something to lose speaks out.” I’m saying Jeff Flake had something to lose, but he spoke out anyway. In a book.
The goal posts can keep moving until you ask “Why doesn’t the House just vote to impeach and the Senate vote to remove?” But Jeff Flake, for all his faults, of which he has legion IMO, has spoken out against Donald Trump, he had much to lose by doing so, yet he did it anyway. Is it PR for something else? Maybe, but let’s just start with the fact that he spoke out when no one else did.
I don’t think it’s obvious that Flake thought his book would be politically harmful. He might have correctly calculated that he would need to distance himself from Trump to win a close general election race, hoping it wouldn’t harm him too badly for the primary.
And, obviously, this speech comes after he decided he could not win the primary.
So I don’t see that he deserves your brownie points. But a good test for whether he does or not would be whether he has taken other actions consistent with sincerely believing what he says. I fail to find any.
Good point. His book didn’t make quite the splash nationally as his speech yesterday, and I ignored it in my comments. I withdraw some of my criticism of Flake, and increase it for the other members who have remained silent even after Flake blazed a path. I retain some criticism of Flake for the reasons pointed out by Richard Parker above - what has he done about it besides write a book and give a speech?
I agree to a certain extent. If you’re waiting for Republican senators to “switch to the Democratic Party,” then you’re a bit divorced from reality. I’d love for the Republicans to be out of power, but right now I’d settle for policy decisions that aren’t based on spite, revenge, and animus, and a government that represents us with dignity and respect.
McCain is a decent yet frustrating example of resistance. Decent because he has stood up for doing things right, like having hearings on the health care bill, and frustrating because he still sides with the Republicans on the actual policy in the end. That’s really about all we can hope for.
Forget whether he thought his book would be politically harmful or not. He said what people are demanding that Republican politicians say about Trump and the Party’s role in putting someone like him into the White House. Whether the book was a political calculation, or a political miscalculation, he said exactly the things anti-Trumpers are demanding we hear from Senators and Congresspeople. So, we’re only accepting politicians’ words as legitimate if their motivations line up with ours?
It starts with one person. Then two. Then ten. Then…more. But unless there’s that one, the snowball doesn’t grow. And really, if someone like Flake becomes too much of an obstructionist or goes too far in his actions from within the Senate, he’ll piss off the very people on his side of the aisle we all need so desperately. Flake or Corker or McCain or whomever can’t just start from a place of drawing up bills to kneecap the president and hope enough Republicans jump on board. Let’s just start with politely cheering when national Republicans call Trump out for the piece of crap he is, and go from there.
It’s worth noting that Flake still has more than a year in the Senate before he steps down. There will be many crucial votes coming up, and the GOP only has a slim majority, so he could still do some good.
Whatever his reasons, he deserves praise for speaking out when many haven’t. Perhaps he will inspire other Republicans to take a stronger stand. Don’t knock someone for doing something right, whatever his motives and circumstances may be.
Your position is that Flake is to be praised even if he limits his actions to a speech (which did not mention Trump), and even if he gave that speech after he had nothing to lose?
I’m not sure I agree, especially since he is not the only Senator saying these things. Corker and McCain have also said them, not to mention all of the Republicans who have done so outside of Washington DC.
Is it a good thing that Flake criticizes Trump? You betcha. Is it worthy of praise? Depends on why he’s doing it and what else he will do, IMO.
I agree with this, it is the heart of the problem. I’m glad he finally spoke out, but he did this after deciding not to run for re-election, not showing the courage he should have a long time ago. Corker and McCain are in the same boat, the horses are already out of the barn, and they helped open the barn doors.
While the speech was really nice, and definitely overdue to be coming from a Republican, it would have been a lot more forceful if he hadn’t then turned right around and voted in lockstep with the rest of the GOP on the credit company arbitration bill last night.