In case you missed it, Sen. Jeff Flake announced Tuesday that he would not run for reelection in 2017, taking the floor of the Senate to declare, “Enough.”
Sen. @JeffFlake: "Mr. President, I rise today to say 'enough'" pic.twitter.com/2XLtoj1q1b
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 24, 2017
Here’s a portion of the transcript:
It is often said that children are watching. Well, they are. And what are we going to do about that? When the next generation asks us, Why didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you speak up? — what are we going to say?
Mr. President, I rise today to say: Enough. We must dedicate ourselves to making sure that the anomalous never becomes normal. With respect and humility, I must say that we have fooled ourselves for long enough that a pivot to governing is right around the corner, a return to civility and stability right behind it. We know better than that. By now, we all know better than that.
AZ Senator Jeff Flake announces he is not running in 2018, in an absolutely blistering takedown speech on Republican politics. Whoah. WOW.
— Michelle Kosinski (@MichLKosinski) October 24, 2017
WOW.
Sen. Jeff Flake: "Reckless, outrageous, and undignified behavior has become excused and countenanced as 'telling it like it is…'"
— Michelle Kosinski (@MichLKosinski) October 24, 2017
GOP Sen. Flake: "I will not be complicit, or silent."
— Michelle Kosinski (@MichLKosinski) October 24, 2017
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CNN senior diplomatic correspondent Michelle Kosinski called Flake’s speech “absolutely blistering,” and CNN’s Mark Preston tweeted that it would go down as “one of the most historic” ever given on the floor of the House or Senate.
There have been countless number of speeches delivered in The Senate & House. @JeffFlake 's speech will go down as one of the most historic.
— Mark Preston (@PrestonCNN) October 24, 2017
No, it won't. https://t.co/FNwS3vPV8A
— The Nats Won The World Series (@EsotericCD) October 24, 2017
Also picturing Flake’s speech in some future history book was NBC News’s Kasie Hunt.
Jeff Flake's speech on the Senate floor will end up in the history books.
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) October 24, 2017
The history books, people!
??? "History Books". Yes, complete with cartoons and emojis… ?So sayeth the echo-chamber. https://t.co/PYXdUx06rb
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) October 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/eddiecarl4468/status/922914391854530560
Narrator: It won't. https://t.co/McMTSdST5q
— Eric Demamp (@ericdemamp) October 24, 2017
Only if the DNC is writing the history books https://t.co/jGBsXW5CqK
— jeffswarens (@jeffswarens) October 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/JaredBeck/status/922909262761906182
ROTFL. Only a liberal would say something like this ? https://t.co/E0yFHmENiJ
— Wayne Dupree ?? (@WayneDupreeShow) October 24, 2017
Expiration date?
https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/922915651152310273
Guarantee no one's talking about it after tomorrow https://t.co/aKMoWLaTu7
— Ben McDonald (@Bmac0507) October 24, 2017
No, actually it won't. No matter how hard you try it's still going to end up in the trash. https://t.co/spwhlt3HMb
— Nick Short ?? (@PoliticalShort) October 24, 2017
No one will remember it tomorrow. https://t.co/uuCA4IftF3
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) October 24, 2017
No one outside the Beltway will remember it 72 hours from now https://t.co/syX3iXmlF8
— Luke Savage (@LukewSavage) October 24, 2017
Jeff Flake's speech on the Senate floor will end up in viral Facebook posts before being forgotten three days from now. https://t.co/mGZ61wIi1K
— John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) October 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/ThinBlueLR/status/922935615351676928
there is a 100% chance that no one will remember that this happened by the end of the week https://t.co/p76cFN7RqM
— eve peyser (@evepeyser) October 24, 2017
Chapter Entitled: "Profiles in Courage Obtained Only After One's Personal Stakes Diminished to Almost Nothing." https://t.co/Ovw1AJIjKS
— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) October 24, 2017
Yes, in a chapter called the All Hat And No Cattle https://t.co/lbpCFe4Qce
— The Mighty OCD (@MightyOCD) October 24, 2017
The libmedia will be lauding him but let us not forget that he's in this position because he utterly failed his constituents. https://t.co/gL0VjhfjY8
— SFK (@stephenkruiser) October 24, 2017
Political reporters are the easiest marks of all time, part 3,381 https://t.co/tBGiSAzbhY
— Bugatti Spaceship (@BrianByrdman) October 24, 2017
Parting shot:
Too bad so few journalists seem to understand that the “Mr. President” Flake refers to here is the president of the Senate, not Trump https://t.co/b6257zNUor
— Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) October 24, 2017
* * *
Related:
Rep. Ted Lieu offers his 'incredibly stupid take' on Sen. Jeff Flake's retirement https://t.co/ELMrypRPq7
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) October 24, 2017
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