He rose in the Senate this afternoon to give a blistering speech on the degrading of our government, our ideals and political discourse by Trump. He did not say the man’s name, but you got it. And he announced his retirement from the Senate at the end of this term:
The Washington Post has helpfully posted the text of the speech.
“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.”
It’s a scathing bit of business and now means that he joins the Unpredictable Caucus of GOP members in the Senate. It is worth remembering, though, that he has voted on the Trump agenda the majority of the time — including the health care debacles.
Still, it is worthwhile to hear someone from the GOP talk about how not normal all of this is and remind all of us that we shouldn’t accept it.
How many more need to get fed up before the Senate is in play?
I think the Senate already is in play. Long time to go, of course, but the current trend is running blue, and I no longer fear the GOP reaching 60.
https://www.270towin.com/2018-senate-election/
If the GOP nomination goes the Bannon-backed Kelli Ward, who believes chemtrails are a real thing, we could have another Christine O’Donnell situation on our hands.
But can we trust Arizonans to not elect them?
Good question, I see Arizona on it’s way to going purple if not true blue. Best way to flush a COD candidate is expose the lunacy early on and sound the alarm.
Who knows. If Arizonans were unhappy with Flake who is pretty much in line with the entire GOP line, it is hard to imagine that they wouldn’t vote for her. Bannon already endorsed Kelli Ward and there is speculation that Joe Arpaio may get into the Senate race too.
Interesting times or what? Old fogeys like me never thought we would see anything like this, especially from the Republicans, not one but two senators telling the president to stuff it and sounding the alarm fro the rest. Dare say every senator has contingency plans for a Trump attack, they are right so to do.
Interesting, and both Flake and McCain voted to peel back consumer rights to sue banks last night.
These are still Republicans, much more so than Trump ever has been. Bad votes like last night are why so many are clinging to him; his “base” is still powerful enough to cost them their jobs and their chance to get their shitty agenda through.
If you read Flake’s speech, it’s apparent that Flake has a problem with Trump’s personality, not his politics. His voting record reflects that.
Wonderful speech….. There was this sucking sound though, kind of like a drain makes. You know what I’m talking about?
Actually the sucking sound may have come from Northram campaign headquarters…
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2017/governor/va/virginia_governor_gillespie_vs_northam-6197.html
Oh my.
Best part is when he loses all the loonie lefties will say it was because he ran as a Third Way candidate.
Get the popcorn ready!
You were sucking Trump’s asshole?
Al, always the great debater!
Good one, but no. It’s actually the sound of the swamp draining. Flake is one of those politicians who runs on a certain platform, but doesn’t legislate accordingly.
I’m with Alby and want to know what the KoolAid of the Day flavor is. There’s no swamp draining when the government is run by billionaires, lobbyists, and Goldman Sachs execs. They’re working on how much of your money they can take from you and put in their own pockets.
I will stipulate that Fox is telling you that this is the greatest thing since the invention of Klan robes though.
I don’t follow his career very closely. Can you give examples?