The purported conscience of our Republican Party, righteous Jeff Flake, announced last week his planned retirement from the Senate with a diatribe against both our sitting Republican President and fellow Republicans in the Senate.  As a general rule, politicians who by their actions have alienated their voters plan dignified exits for themselves and move quietly into the next stage of life.  Flake, however, a "Never-Trumper" par excellence, refuses such a dignified exit and now attempts to play the martyr rather than continuing to support "reckless, outrageous and undignified behavior" coming from the Executive Branch of our government.  His newly found ethical sensitivities, however, leave me wondering at his apparent lack of outrage during the previous administration.

I don’t recall Senator Flake being as exercised over the carnage resulting from the previous administration's placement of guns in the hands of Mexican drug cartels as he is with the behavior of our President.  I don’t recall the Senator expressing public outrage when the Obama Administration weaponized the Internal Revenue Service against conservative organizations. When Obama traded five high-value terrorists for an American deserter in Afghanistan, I don’t recall Flake’s having a great deal to say.  Indeed, compared to his continuing outrage over Donald Trump, Mr. Flake seemingly had little to say about these or any of the profusion of scandals occurring during the Obama Presidency.

Consider President Obama’s attempt to make gender dysphoria, (a mental disorder) a protected right and clear the way for men to use women's restrooms and locker rooms.  Politicians, as we hear over and over again, do everything “for the children.”  What will such an emphasis do to children who as a general rule outgrow their gender confusion?  Such encouragement in their aberrant and confused behavior virtually guarantees lives of confusion and difficulty for thousands!  Where was Flake on this issue?

Then we come to the recent revelation that FBI, in the midst of an investigation into Russian influence buying and bribery, didn’t bother to share their findings in regard to such criminal activity with Congress for its constitutionally mandated oversight, thereby allowing the Obama Administration to transfer to a Russian owned company control over 20% of America’s supply of uranium. What has been Senator Flake’s response to this outrage?

With the questionable at best, unethical, illegal and perhaps even treasonous (at worst) actions taken by the previous administration, Senator Flake, his apparent flare for writing notwithstanding, didn’t write a condemnatory book.  Only Donald Trump, a president nominated by his own political party, calls out the scandal for public castigation.

Can it be that since President Obama was polite, eloquent, and soft spoken, AKA “demonstrating a presidential demeanor,” that efforts to divide and weaken our nation are deemed insignificant?  Instead self righteous vitriol is saved for Trump.  Why?  Trump isn't nice, Trump says mean things, Trump tweets outrageously, Trump is abrupt, Trump picks battles with the press, Trump coarsens the political discourse in our nation, Trump is not qualified, and Trump may be mentally unbalanced.

Senator Flake, with his self-satisfied smirk, along with his promise-much-deliver-little Republican associates in the Congress, completely failed their constituent voters.  In the process, they created the leadership void that Donald Trump filled.  Republican weakness and duplicity created the circumstances that made possible President Donald Trump! Had there been no Donald Trump, the many millions of demoralized Americans would have had to find another suitable voice.

What our all-knowing representatives in the Congress even now seem unable to grasp is that Trump's comments, Trump's opinions, Trump's tweets, Trump's expressed values and Trump's willingness to hit back (something Republicans by and large have refused to do) reflect the frustration and anger of the American voter far greater than the self-righteous blathering of self-appointed elites.  Trump loves America and understands its voters.  His views mirror the views of a likely majority of Americans across party lines who love this country as bequeathed them by its founding fathers, and who don't care to live in a nation that is increasingly hostile to their hopes, beliefs, values and continued freedoms.

There is no mystery in regard to the results of last year’s presidential election.  On November 8, 2016, Americans from all walks of life loudly said we will no longer accept a government that rules against the will of the people.  It is time that Republicans in general and Senator Flake in particular divest themselves of their holier than thou attitudes and do the things on which they campaigned for office.  America voted for change, America voted for Donald Trump and America expects its elected majority in the Congress to give them the change for which they voted!