# Jeff Flake considers 2020 bid as (R) or (I) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 16, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678 "2018-03-16T17:39:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/21 "2018-03-17T18:18:42Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Two, he’s probably too principled for the pro-corruption elements of the party, however important those may be. I can’t see Flake overcoming his weariness of the pro-corruption elements of the party, and won’t run, as a result. Not just his recent “might not deserve to lead” rebuke of the GOP, but also his ‘fake news’ condemnation of Trump in a Jan. Senate speech would not only establish his position but also rub the GOP’s noses the wrong way. Accordingly, doesn’t the _majority_ of the GOP consider him _persona non grata_, then? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/22 "2018-03-17T19:35:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It could have been worse: She could have been named Chastity. Certainly that movie would have been a lot less entertaining. Jeff Flake doesn’t seem to have been influenced by his name. But of course beyond the ‘live up to one’s name’ aspect, there lies the endless opportunity for chuckleheads to mock that particular name. I seem to recall reading that there were worries in the GOP that Eisenhower couldn’t get elected because he had a ‘funny’ name–hence the emphasis on “Ike” in all campaign materials and signage. And Eisenhower wasn’t even all that funny a name. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/23 "2018-03-17T20:44:45Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > I suppose it’s useless to point out that that’s not the proper pronunciation of the name either… He pronounces it akin to “Whiner” instead? Not sure that’s going to help much… ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/24 "2018-03-17T23:28:16Z")
Just a thought: If Flake is serious about opposing Trump and/or holding him to account, what’s to stop him from doing what other politicians have done? That is: _ **right now** _, he could his party affiliation to “Independent” and caucus with the Democrats. What’s stopping him? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/25 "2018-03-17T23:32:14Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Just a thought: If Flake is serious about opposing Trump and/or holding him to account, what’s to stop him from doing what other politicians have done? That is: _ **right now** _, he could his party affiliation to “Independent” and caucus with the Democrats. > > What’s stopping him? Not when there are taxes to cut and regulations to be scrapped! Have some sense of perspective, man! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/26 "2018-03-18T00:14:38Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Someone should run against Trump in 2020 but I don’t know who. Mitt Romney’s starting to look pretty good.😉 But at this point Dubya’s starting to look pretty good.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/27 "2018-03-18T02:29:17Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > He pronounces it akin to “Whiner” instead? > > Not sure that’s going to help much… Beats ‘Wiener,’ especially with a sex offender. 😃 It’s more like ‘Viner’ anyway. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/28 "2018-03-18T03:20:50Z")
Although I don’t like his politics, I’d like to point out that Jeff Flake is a charming, very good looking man that I admire as one of the few Republicans to continue to rebuke Trump to the present day, unlike other Republicans who think, “Party first, Country second.” In fact, he sent a $100.00 check to Doug Jones with the notation, “Country first, party second”. I like his courage, honesty and integrity that I thought had abandoned all Republicans. But I still wouldn’t vote for him, just look at him.😃 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/29 "2018-03-18T09:47:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Beats ‘Wiener,’ especially with a sex offender. 😃 > > It’s more like ‘Viner’ anyway. Aah, you mean the authentic Deutsche pronunciation. That would be closest to vee-ENN-er, I think. But I think the “proper” pronunciation of a person’s name is how that person chooses to have it pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/30 "2018-03-18T12:39:52Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Beats ‘Wiener,’ especially with a sex offender. 😃 > > It’s more like ‘Viner’ anyway. I have close friends with that last name. And they pronounce it exactly the same way Oscar Mayer does. Which is always how I heard Anthony W’s name pronounced in the media. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/31 "2018-03-18T12:45:06Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > But I think the “proper” pronunciation of a person’s name is how that person chooses to have it pronounced. Yep. We know a woman named Boehnoer (or some similar weird spelling). The family pronouncers it Beaner. We got weird looks at a music festival when we saw her and my gf shouted, “HEY, BEANER!”. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/32 "2018-03-18T13:36:03Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > Although I don’t like his politics, I’d like to point out that Jeff Flake is a charming, very good looking man that I admire as one of the few Republicans to continue to rebuke Trump to the present day, unlike other Republicans who think, “Party first, Country second.” In fact, he sent a $100.00 check to Doug Jones with the notation, “Country first, party second”. I like his courage, honesty and integrity that I thought had abandoned all Republicans. But I still wouldn’t vote for him, just look at him.😃 Talk is cheap (and for someone in his bracket, even a $100 check is closer to ‘talk’ than ‘action’). How many times has he **voted** against legislation that Trump supported? There was a hell of a lot of that on the GOP side last year: they’d talk a good game until it was time to vote, then they fell in line like good Germans. Falling in line is what Republicans **do**. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/33 "2018-03-18T17:05:28Z")
You’d think, though, that there’d be room on the political spectrum, in the Age of Trump, for a conservative-but-not-batshit party, a place for Flake and Kasich and Murkowski and Collins and McCain and whoever else hasn’t yet gone into full sucking-up-to-Dear-Leader mode. I don’t expect they’d have broad support, but you’d think that somewhere around 10% of the electorate would be relieved to not have to choose between Trump and the Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/34 "2018-03-18T17:45:22Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > There was a hell of a lot of that on the GOP side last year: they’d talk a good game until it was time to vote, then they fell in line like good Germans. Falling in line is what Republicans **do**. That ain’t no shit. The whole time I was watching the cabinet confirmation hearings, I thought maybe McCain had a little tiny bit of Naval Aviator left in him to throw in a “no” vote for one of the more blatantly unqualified appointees, like DeVos. Nope. He’s 100% bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/35 "2018-03-18T21:39:02Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Just a thought: If Flake is serious about opposing Trump and/or holding him to account, what’s to stop him from doing what other politicians have done? That is: _ **right now** _, he could his party affiliation to “Independent” and caucus with the Democrats. > > What’s stopping him? > [@Bayard](#): > > Not when there are taxes to cut and regulations to be scrapped! Have some sense of perspective, man! Yes, sure. But if and when Flake does run, he’s going to be asked why he didn’t stand up to Trump via his votes (as opposed to making Tweets and statements to reporters). And there WILL be opportunities for votes that would act to deny Trump stuff he wants while still standing firm for good Republican values like cutting regulations and taxes. If Flake flakes out on those votes, it will be perfectly fair to point out the discrepancy between his brave words and his craven votes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/36 "2018-03-19T01:15:09Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > That ain’t no shit. The whole time I was watching the cabinet confirmation hearings, I thought maybe McCain had a little tiny bit of Naval Aviator left in him to throw in a “no” vote for one of the more blatantly unqualified appointees, like DeVos. Nope. He’s 100% bitch. Why would having been a pilot nearly 50 years ago impart some sort of moral fiber, integrity, or decency? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/37 "2018-03-19T10:21:00Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Jeff Flake doesn’t seem to have been influenced by his name. Just to mention that Jeff Flake is a scion of one of the founding families of Snowflake, Arizona (founded in 1878 by Mormons Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake), and he is rather proud of that. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/38 "2018-03-22T18:48:22Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Seriously, the research on the topic (some of which is discussed at the link I posted) does indicate that people’s names can influence their behavior. > > If Anthony Weiner had been named Anthony Loyal, maybe he wouldn’t have put so much energy into impressing women-not-his-wife with cell phone shenanigans. > > (Or if he’d been named Anthony Elbow, he would still have tried to impress other women through cell phone pics, but they’d have been of…something else.) She didn’t win, but an AG candidate in the Illinois Democratic primary was named “Sharon Fairley”. With a name like that, how could you NOT be a Democratic politician?! ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/39 "2018-03-22T19:12:30Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Talk is cheap (and for someone in his bracket, even a $100 check is closer to ‘talk’ than ‘action’). How many times has he **voted** against legislation that Trump supported? > > There was a hell of a lot of that on the GOP side last year: they’d talk a good game until it was time to vote, then they fell in line like good Germans. Falling in line is what Republicans **do**. I know, I was being facetious. The only things going for Flake in my opinion are his good manners and good looks. I wouldn’t vote for him even if a gun was held to my head. I would just pray that the gunman would be merciful and kill me quickly.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678/40 "2018-03-22T22:58:39Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > She didn’t win, but an AG candidate in the Illinois Democratic primary was named “Sharon Fairley”. With a name like that, how could you NOT be a Democratic politician?! Indeed that is an egalitarian name! (Still, I immediately thought of comic Kate Micucci’s joke that it was a good thing her parents hadn’t named her Sharon.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeff-flake-considers-2020-bid-as-r-or-i/810678.md?page=3)