My Party Is in Denial About Donald Trump

[Formerly Once-Ler]

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/31/my-party-is-in-denial-about-donald-trump-215442

Senator Jeff Flake is up for re-election this next year.

...

For a conservative, that’s an awfully bitter pill to swallow. So as I layered in my defense mechanisms, I even found myself saying things like, “If I took the time to respond to every presiden­tial tweet, there would be little time for anything else.” Given the volume and velocity of tweets from both the Trump campaign and then the White House, this was certainly true. But it was also a monumental dodge. It would be like Noah saying, “If I spent all my time obsessing about the coming flood, there would be little time for anything else.” At a certain point, if one is being honest, the flood becomes the thing that is most worthy of attention. At a certain point, it might be time to build an ark.

Under our Constitution, there simply are not that many people who are in a position to do something about an executive branch in chaos. As the first branch of government (Article I), the Congress was designed expressly to assert itself at just such moments. It is what we talk about when we talk about “checks and balances.” Too often, we observe the unfolding drama along with the rest of the country, passively, all but saying, “Someone should do something!” without seeming to realize that that someone is us. And so, that unnerving silence in the face of an erratic executive branch is an abdication, and those in positions of leadership bear particular responsibility.

...

More at link

[Wingnut]

Did you know Flake was born in Snowflake, Arizona.

Coincidence?  I think not.

[Free Vulcan]

Well Flake is known to be pretty um, flaky himself.

He is part of a gaggle that doesn't understand that unless he's removed or resigns, Trump is here for four years. This isn't a liberal college campus where you can attack like a bunch of bees with cute words cobbled together in clever arrangements to make opponents cower and fear and run away. Continuing to throw ones self againts the mountain while screaming out Trump's character shortcomings isn't going to change anything, just result in futile self-damage. It's very doubtful the mountain is going to move.

Particularly for public officials like Flake, they need to suck up, buck up, and try and work with the guy to get things done. It isn't the Executive branch that has failed to pass meaningful legislation in 6 months, so maybe the senator should shut the flap yap and get to work.

[dfwgator]

And Flake is in denial as to why Trump won the nomination.

[truth_seeker]

And Flake is in denial as to why Trump won the nomination.

And he appears to not be mindful, Trump won Arizona.

Perhaps he is setting himself up to qualify, as McCain's replacement.

[Formerly Once-Ler]

I've seen Senator McCain do this trick, when he was unpopular and facing re-election. 

First he would raise a lot of money...
then...
he would spend a lot of money on campaign ads.

He had this other trick too...where he would fight dirty, but I don't have time to explain all the intricacies of that trick right now.

Senator Flake recently announced he had $4 million in the bank.  He's going to face at least 2 primary challengers and he has arguably the lowest approval ratings in the Senate.

Hard to see how going after Trump lowers his approval, and I bet he see a big jump in donations now.
https://morningconsult.com/july-2017-senator-rankings/

[libertybele]

And Flake is in denial as to why Trump won the nomination.

For that matter, most of Congress is in denial.

[Wingnut]

For that matter, most of Congress is in denial.

Most of them should visit the Nile. Travel the entire 4,258 miles. I hear it is nice this time of year.