I was out of the office when Sen. Jeff Flake gave his self-immolating nuclear hand grenade, great patriotic, fall-on-his-sword, statesman speech. I read the speech and it’s epic.
I am of two minds here. The left hand is telling me the speech was needed; it was correct; it was everything the GOP had to say but was too overpowered by the life force of the Trump thing to say publicly.
The right hand is telling me it took just this kind of pointless moralizing from a senator who put himself in the precarious position of having to lose his re-election bid as a conservative incumbent to make such a speech. In the cynical world of politics, the reasoning and motive why something happens is just as important as the thing itself. So the message was muddled because the sender was likely going to lose anyway.
Jeff Flake’s full speech announcing he won’t run for re-election – CNNPolitics
Read the speech the Arizona lawmaker made on the Senate floor on October 24 to announce he would not seek re-election.
Left hand: the speech was political dynamite
Politicians don’t talk like this anymore. Flake’s language came straight out of “Mr. Smith goes to Washington,” or a liberal’s dream of what a Democrat would write for a Republican to stand up to the bully Trump. Flake even quoted Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
Mr. President, I rise today to say: Enough. We must dedicate ourselves to making sure that the anomalous never becomes normal. With respect and humility, I must say that we have fooled ourselves for long enough that a pivot to governing is right around the corner, a return to civility and stability right behind it. We know better than that. By now, we all know better than that.
We all know how President Trump will react, when he does react. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called it “petty” and praised Flake’s and Corker’s decisions to retire as “the right decision.” But Trump won’t be satisfied to let this go. We see how he counterpunched Corker, and he’s never let anyone get away with attacks like Flake’s (not Trump’s favorite senator in the first place).
It’s going to be ugly, and play directly into the feedback loop of division: Trump loyalists will say “see, he fights for us!” while critics will say “see, he’s exactly what Flake said he was.” And I’m talking about Republicans.
My better angels hope that other senators fall in behind this speech, especially Ted Cruz. But it seems unlikely.
Right hand: the speech was pointless cover for a bad-faith conservative who was going to lose
If you’re going to lose your seat, why not shoot while the powder is dry? Why not make the biggest bang possible? Better to burn out than to fade away, the Kurgan from “The Highlander” said.
Political reality is that Flake, who was elected to the House as a solid conservative, used that platform to rise to the Senate, where he became John McCain light. This was disappointing to conservatives, to say the least. It was more disappointing to his base. But in normal politics, milquetoast party hacks can keep running and win as incumbents. This isn’t normal politics.
In the age of Trump and Bannon, everyone’s job is in play. If there’s an election, someone’s going to try to pry you out of the seat. Even Speaker Paul Ryan has a Trump-friendly challenger in Paul Nehlen, though that’s a real longshot. It doesn’t matter–the longshots, the nutcases, and the populists are coming out to unhorse those who have been weighed in the balance and found wanting (and some who Bannon just doesn’t like).
Flake has nobody to blame but himself. He played by the old rules, didn’t adjust to the times, then tried to blame it on “populism” and President Trump. That’s a hollow excuse. If the only way to summon up the courage to “speak truth to power” is to pretend you weren’t about to lose in the first place, the cynic inside me cries “self-deceived fool!”
It is clear at this moment that a traditional conservative who believes in limited government and free markets, who is devoted to free trade, and who is pro-immigration, has a narrower and narrower path to nomination in the Republican party — the party that for so long has defined itself by belief in those things. It is also clear to me for the moment we have given in or given up on those core principles in favor of the more viscerally satisfying anger and resentment. To be clear, the anger and resentment that the people feel at the royal mess we have created are justified. But anger and resentment are not a governing philosophy.
Who created the anger and resentment, Senator Flake? You were supposed to be one of the politicians who didn’t give up on core principles. But in large part, you did. And now you’re on the receiving end of the anger. That sort of makes your message a bit of preaching to yourself, doesn’t it?
Ben Shapiro nailed it
Flake blaming his fall on Trump and the supposed inability of the base to support good people is disingenuous and cynical. (/1)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 24, 2017
Flake was deeply unpopular for years and was going to lose. Not because of Trump. Because he broke faith with his base. (2/)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 24, 2017
Blaming Trump and Trump voters is a way of playing hero while quitting because he was going to lose. (3/)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 24, 2017
The media will eat it up because anyone who badmouths Trump (and I agree with many Flake critiques) becomes a tragic hero. (4/)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 24, 2017
Trump is happy to play into that story because it makes him look powerful. Flake wants to play tragic hero. Media love the conflict. (5/)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 24, 2017
So, in the end, this is cynical politics, as always, and sheer BS generally. Trump is not the party or the future of conservatism. (6/)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/922931402642923520
Other reactions
Depending on where you’re sitting, either the left hand or the right hand dominates. It’s possible for Flake to be right on target, and self-immolating at the same time.
Jeff Flake is a terrible conservative & was going to get crushed in 2018 so he decided to blame Trump instead of taking responsibility. pic.twitter.com/0dzXJCpiXy
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/922929133369352192
Sen. Jeff Flake becomes the 5th GOP senator whose career was ended by his vote for Marco Rubio's amnesty bill. Nine to go. pic.twitter.com/L9NqdVAgb6
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) October 24, 2017
Senate GOPers increasingly see Trump as a threat. Then they give him a standing O at lunch.https://t.co/J3JZehrRGo@desiderioDC @swin24
— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 24, 2017
Bannon celebrates Flake retirement: "Our movement will defeat you in primaries or force you to retire" https://t.co/jMkR2WTezh pic.twitter.com/1dP4W1rwfQ
— The Hill (@thehill) October 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/922934986176638977
Final thoughts
There’s a place for dragon fire. Unfortunately, the messenger and the timing here were wrong. The dragon fire was exactly what was needed. But Trump will not hear it, and his base will only listen to Trump. It’s going to take more than just one self-inflicted political grenade to get through Trump’s fortifications. Sadly, what it will take is a Democrat wave in 2018. If that happens, it’s going to hurt.
But we expected this all along (at least I did).
Further reading
Sen. Jeff Flake shouldn’t retire. He should run for reelection. – Vox
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57297653/GettyImages_862822036.0.jpg?w=200&ssl=1)
“Sustained incumbency is not the point of seeking office, and there are times when we must risk our careers in favor of our principles,” said Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, of Arizona, in a searing speech. If only that’s what Flake was doing. Flake’s speech on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday will prove a historic document in American politics.
White House brushes off Corker, Flake as ‘petty’ attack dogs – POLITICO
“Look, I think the voters of these individual senators’ states are speaking in pretty loud volumes,” she added at the White House press briefing. “I think that they were not likely to be reelected, and I think that shows that the support is more behind this president than it is those two individuals.” Corker (R-Tenn.) repeatedly blasted the president in a series of morning-show appearances and exchanges with reporters. “Reckless, outrageous and undignified behavior has become excused as telling it like it is when it is actually just reckless, outrageous and undignified,” Flake said.
Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
To those who have the means, we ask that you please donate. We have options available now, but there is no telling when those options will cancel us. We have our GivingFuel page. There have been many who have been canceled by PayPal, but for now it’s still an option. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker
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