Thread by @mike_frags

Jeff Flake gave my my start in politics and for that I’m grateful, but his commentary keeps missing the mark. Bc he’s not really in the game anymore he misinterprets what happened to Tillis, gives flawed advice, and downplays the threat of Democrats. 🧵1/21

Let’s start with TT. As I’ve said before in this context, it’s just not right to say that he refused to cling to Trump to win a primary. His problem was that Trump and Leadership wouldn’t let him move center *on policy* for the general election. 2/21

This simply isn’t JF’s morality tale. Maybe TT will convert it into such a tale in the coming months? But that would be unwise. The eternal morality play puts you on JF’s trajectory; the process/policy story on Sinema’s. Knowing TT, he’d prefer the latter. 3/21

This goes to JF’s generally unhelpful advice. He wants Senate Rs to recover “principled dissent.” As to what? Tax cuts? Conservative judges? Bombing Iran? It’s amorphous because in the end he means Trump. That’s a path to pointless defeat. 4/21

Death is only martyrdom if it forms the basis of a cause among the living. There simply isn’t an anti-Trump faction within the GOP looking for a martyr around whom to rally. There’s a reason JF ended up working and campaigning for Democrats. 5/21

A principled conservative in the Senate should not focus on personality games but on policy. Work with Trump; vote with Trump; move policy to the right. Thune and Cotton and Cruz and countless others get this. 6/21

If you don’t see the policy changes in the cards you can stand on principle for the longer term, like McConnell on defense. It’s no mystery what he and Trump think about each other but you never see MM attack Trump personally. Because he’s in it for policy not personality. 7/21

But going full Bulwark/NoKings is a ways to lose all influence on policy. You get written off. 8/21

But what about the “personality cult”? Guess what: politicians of all stripes are proud and personality driven. Much contemporary D dysfunction stems from the personality-based mutual loathing between the Obama, Clinton, and Biden client groups. 9/21

Is the persistent, personal hatred of Trump from the old McCain network policy based? The guy literally bombed Iran right after Brian Wilson died! Peak McCain. No, it’s because Trump repeatedly insulted their patron. 10/21

And sure, W never held Jeff’s conservative-purist “no” votes on W’s bipartisan agenda against him, but how’d that work out for Chuck Hagel, after he opposed things W actually cared about? 11/21

While a return to “decency” would be nice, it’s the Democrats currently accusing Republicans of mass murder (a charge that, eight years ago, got JF shot at during baseball practice!). 12/21

When Merrick Garland apologizes for declaring open season on Republican SCOTUS justices in the lead up to Dobbs, nearly getting Kavanaugh and his family murdered, then maybe there can be a conversation on decency. 13/21

Lastly, “constitutional balance” doesn’t mean senators obstructing their own party. Rs not cutting off their noses to spite their face isn’t a threat to the constitutional order. 14/21

In fact, I’m old enough to remember Democrats trying to nuke the filibuster to nationalize elections and add states. Biden set up a court-packing commission! 15/21

Senators have obligations to the Constitution and their constituents which requires them to assess policy choices in the full context of both parties and not Catonian moral drama. 16/21

I have never seen JF adequately address the incipient Chavismo that dominates the anti-constitutional policy aims of the contemporary Democrat party. His successor, Kyrsten Sinema, famously did. But that was principle not vibes. 17/21

JF means well because he’s a fundamentally decent guy. But he keeps misdiagnosing the problem, trapped in the politics of 2016. 18/21

It’s unfortunate because I’d love to hear what he has to say about efforts like DOGE and impoundment. In many ways it’s JF’s successful crusade against earmarks that made DOGE possible, and their recent return that will cause agency heads and Russ Voght headaches. 19/21

That’s an interesting irony! JF’s thoughts on it would be fascinating—and relevant. But instead it’s the same old Manichean tale of good versus evil, decency versus viciousness, truth versus lies. I’m sure that has an audience at the NYT but not in the GOP. 20/21

TT should decide which audience he wants. 21/21