Former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, the man who turned criticizing Donald Trump into a full time career after his Senate gig dried up, is back at it again. This time he is saying he would vote for Texas Democrat James Talarico over Republican Ken Paxton for Senate if he lived in Texas, as The American Tribune reported.
For those keeping score at home, Flake retired from the Senate in 2017 while delivering what amounted to an extended breakup speech aimed at Trump. Since then he has endorsed Kamala Harris for president, served as Joe Biden's ambassador to Turkey, and now apparently spends his free time writing opinion pieces in The Washington Post telling Democrats in Maine to vote for Republican Susan Collins. The man contains multitudes, and none of them seem to know what party they belong to.
Flake's Washington Post piece argues that both parties "are stronger when they hold themselves to a standard." His specific argument is that Maine Democrats should skip their own scandal-plagued candidate Graham Platner and vote for Collins instead. Fair enough. But when writer Matt Berg from Crooked Media asked Flake if the same logic applied to the Texas Senate race, Flake went ahead and said the quiet part out loud.
"It's reasonable to say that if I were in Texas, I would vote for Talarico," Flake said. He then quickly added that this is not a full endorsement, which is a bit like saying you are not technically proposing marriage while down on one knee holding a ring.
"Talarico is much more liberal than I am on economic and social issues," Flake explained. "But how much damage can one senator do, particularly if they're in the minority?" That is a fascinating question coming from a man who was once a senator and presumably thought his own job mattered at some point.
Paxton, who won the GOP primary over incumbent John Cornyn with Trump's backing, is no stranger to controversy. Flake believes Republicans in Texas made a huge mistake by picking him. Whether that assessment is correct or whether Flake just enjoys being contrarian at this stage of his post-political life is a question reasonable people can debate.
Flake also took the opportunity to lament the state of American political norms. "We're just doing away with norms and institutions that we've revered forever," he said. "It's extremely dangerous for this country to have somebody who loses an election or refuses to follow the will of the voters, and that goes to character."
He urged Texas Republicans to do some soul searching. "I hope that Republicans who agree with this piece, and most Republicans do, maybe for partisan reasons, will do a little self-reflection when it comes to the Texas seat, and maybe do differently there," Flake said.
So to recap: a former Republican senator who endorsed a Democrat for president, worked for a Democratic administration, and is now suggesting people vote for a Democrat in Texas wants you to know he is still a Republican. He just happens to disagree with Republicans on virtually every major political question of the last eight years. But sure, it is everyone else who has the party loyalty problem.
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