Sen. Flake is no flake. Regrettably, a great many of his constituents are. And so, he's retiring.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) is a staunchly conservative Republican who has not hesitated to call Donald Trump out for his childish, irresponsible, and divisive rhetoric and behavior. As a result, enough of his Republican constituents- who, like Republicans throughout the country, have in many cases forgotten their constitutional values and the dedication to reason, decency, and common sense which have traditionally animated their party- are strongly inclined to support former state senator Kelli Ward or state treasurer Jeff DeWit in a pro-Trump primary challenge of Sen. Flake.

Today, Flake announced that he would not seek re-election. He eloquently called Trump out for the coarse, juvenile, and generally irresponsible way he's governed, saying that he's concluded that he can best serve the nation and the people of Arizona in retirement.



When we lose people the caliber of Jeff Flake because of small-bore pigmies like Donald Trump, it's indeed a sorry day for America and a sad indictment of all of us for what we've allowed our nation to become.

All of us, whether we live in Arizona or elsewhere, owe Jeff Flake a debt of gratitude for his courageous service of the values the Republican Party has abandoned and Donald Trump has betrayed. May his prediction that we will return to the decent, just, and compassionate principles upon which our nation was founded come true soon.

May we chose democracy over populism, freedom over authoritarianism, and faith over fear, and thus choose to be America again.