Yesterday, I praised Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona for his “principled” speech denouncing donald trump. In a near-18-minute speech, Jeff Flake laid out a solid case for why Republicans should also denounce trump, and what their silence and complicity will mean for our posterity. I was ready to believe that perhaps, in light of Bob Corker’s and John McCain’s tepid courage, perhaps the GOP was about the turn the corner on the long nightmare of the donald trump presidency.
But then Jeff Flake rushed off to make the rounds of the daily punditry and quickly proved that Republicans are dishonest, cynical assholes who can’t even take a principled stance without crossing their fingers behind their back.
Here was Jeff Flake on Meet the Press with Chuck Todd:
It’s about 12 minutes long. I recommend that you skip the stupid shit and go right to Flake’s takeback that occurs around 07:25, where he balks at any thought of removing trump from office, nor will he even claim that trump is unfit, and concedes to Todd that he is basically in full policy agreement with trump, stating that he votes his conscience regardless of what party the president belongs to. And what is that conscience?
Let’s let Chuck Pierce explain it:
Flake—along with fellow brave truth-tellers Bob Corker, Ben Sasse and, significantly, John McCain—joined with every other Republican (including Mike Pence, The Great Tiebreaker) to arrange for the screwing of countless Americans and their families.
In the dead of Tuesday night, with the applause still ringing in his ears, Flake voted to strip the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau of a rule that allowed Americans to file class-action suits against banks rather than being forced into an arbitration process that generally is as rigged as a North Korean election.
So, when Flake took to an empty senate floor to flaunt his dedication to “character,” just what did that mean? Republicans should know that to us, character means letting your actions outclass your words. That means that I don’t care that donald trump used the word pussy. It means I care that he sexually assaulted at least 17 women. It means that when the president calls foreigners who risk their lives and their freedom to come here for a better life, I don’t reject calling them murderers and rapists for political reasons, but for humanitarian reasons. It means that when I hear someone talk about how he just starts kissing women uncontrollably, I don’t wince at how that will play in the primaries, but because that’s sexual assault, and it’s not only illegal, but morally detestable.
It means that when I say that I cannot abide the behavior of a colleague, I don’t then publicly endorse every policy they endorse. Senator Flake squandered the good will he had cultivated in less time than it took for most people to watch his resignation speech. And that’s because, despite what he said, he’s still a Republican, and that means that he’s dishonest, disinterested in the issues that appeal to working people, and generally a despicably callous dolt.
So, fuck you, Senator Flake.
Here’s your trump picture:
