Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) follows in the footsteps of his “maverick” Arizona colleague, John McCain: he’s never afraid to anger Republican voters. The latest example: Flake, on a book tour for his Conscience of a Conservative (an obvious play on former Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative), has been ripping President Trump up and down. The book itself doesn’t pull punches: Flake says that Trump was “a candidate who entertained [voters] and offered oversimplied answers.” In an op-ed for Politico, Flake wrote, “We created him, and now we’re rationalizing him. When will it stop? … that unnerving silence in the face of an erratic executive branch is an abdication, and those in positions of leadership bear particular responsibility.”
So, has Flake earned the respect of Democrats for his willingness to “go it alone”? Have Democrats cheered Flake’s apparent intrepidity? Have they celebrated Flake for speaking what they perceive to be hard truths about Trump?
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