"Jeff Flake gave a nice speech, collected a few compliments, and then went right back to voting for the Trump agenda," summarized The Nation's John Nichols. (Photo: PBS NewsHour)
Oct 25, 2017
While major media outlets, political pundits, and Democratic leaders spent much of Tuesday afternoon praising Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) for their "scathing" public rebukes of President Donald Trump, many progressives are urgently warning against welcoming the two "renegade" Republicans into the ranks of the anti-Trump opposition, given that both have overwhelmingly supported the bulk of the White House's agenda.
"Your daily reminder that establishment Republicans want Trump to do every single thing he's doing minus the mean tweets"
--Kyle Kulinski
Tuesday night offered a case in point: after a long day of denouncing Trump as "dangerous to our democracy" and calling for an end to congressional "complicity," Flake and Corker--both of whom have decided to retire rather than seek reelection--obediently toed the administration line by voting to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ban on "rip off clauses," a move denounced as a massive "gift to the bank lobbyists."
"Jeff Flake gave a nice speech, collected a few compliments, and then went right back to voting for the Trump agenda," summarizedThe Nation's John Nichols following the narrow late-night vote. If just one of the senators had voted no, the measure would have failed.
A glance at the recent past is enough to show that this "wet-kiss-to-Wall-Street" vote was no anomaly. According to FiveThirtyEight, Flake has voted with Trump 90 percent of the time, and Corker 86 percent of the time.
Critics were quick to observe that this is true of all establishment Republicans who have publicly expressed outrage at Trump's conduct in office--Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and John McCain (R-Ariz.) also voted for the Wall Street giveaway.
It is Trump's breach of decorum that the GOP establishment dislikes, not the actual substance of the president's agenda, political commentator Kyle Kulinski concluded amid the chorus of praise for Flake and Corker.
"Your daily reminder that establishment Republicans want Trump to do every single thing he's doing minus the mean tweets," Kulinski wrote on Twitter.
This sentiment was echoed by progressives across social media, with many highlighting the fact that America's political woes run far deeper than Trump and urging the public to recognize the complicity of senators who oppose the president in word only.
Flake is "for lower taxes on rich, denies climate change, [is] anti-union, what exactly is he resisting, Trump's manners?" concludedThe Intercept's Zaid Jilani in response to one Democratic representative who welcomed Flake's "defection" with open arms.
BREAKING: Renegade GOP senators *annihilate* Trump by uhh voting in line with him 90% of the time & then retiring from public office forever
-- LanaDelGravetheon (@LanaDelRaytheon) October 24, 2017
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
While major media outlets, political pundits, and Democratic leaders spent much of Tuesday afternoon praising Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) for their "scathing" public rebukes of President Donald Trump, many progressives are urgently warning against welcoming the two "renegade" Republicans into the ranks of the anti-Trump opposition, given that both have overwhelmingly supported the bulk of the White House's agenda.
"Your daily reminder that establishment Republicans want Trump to do every single thing he's doing minus the mean tweets"
--Kyle Kulinski
Tuesday night offered a case in point: after a long day of denouncing Trump as "dangerous to our democracy" and calling for an end to congressional "complicity," Flake and Corker--both of whom have decided to retire rather than seek reelection--obediently toed the administration line by voting to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ban on "rip off clauses," a move denounced as a massive "gift to the bank lobbyists."
"Jeff Flake gave a nice speech, collected a few compliments, and then went right back to voting for the Trump agenda," summarizedThe Nation's John Nichols following the narrow late-night vote. If just one of the senators had voted no, the measure would have failed.
A glance at the recent past is enough to show that this "wet-kiss-to-Wall-Street" vote was no anomaly. According to FiveThirtyEight, Flake has voted with Trump 90 percent of the time, and Corker 86 percent of the time.
Critics were quick to observe that this is true of all establishment Republicans who have publicly expressed outrage at Trump's conduct in office--Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and John McCain (R-Ariz.) also voted for the Wall Street giveaway.
It is Trump's breach of decorum that the GOP establishment dislikes, not the actual substance of the president's agenda, political commentator Kyle Kulinski concluded amid the chorus of praise for Flake and Corker.
"Your daily reminder that establishment Republicans want Trump to do every single thing he's doing minus the mean tweets," Kulinski wrote on Twitter.
This sentiment was echoed by progressives across social media, with many highlighting the fact that America's political woes run far deeper than Trump and urging the public to recognize the complicity of senators who oppose the president in word only.
Flake is "for lower taxes on rich, denies climate change, [is] anti-union, what exactly is he resisting, Trump's manners?" concludedThe Intercept's Zaid Jilani in response to one Democratic representative who welcomed Flake's "defection" with open arms.
BREAKING: Renegade GOP senators *annihilate* Trump by uhh voting in line with him 90% of the time & then retiring from public office forever
-- LanaDelGravetheon (@LanaDelRaytheon) October 24, 2017
While major media outlets, political pundits, and Democratic leaders spent much of Tuesday afternoon praising Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) for their "scathing" public rebukes of President Donald Trump, many progressives are urgently warning against welcoming the two "renegade" Republicans into the ranks of the anti-Trump opposition, given that both have overwhelmingly supported the bulk of the White House's agenda.
"Your daily reminder that establishment Republicans want Trump to do every single thing he's doing minus the mean tweets"
--Kyle Kulinski
Tuesday night offered a case in point: after a long day of denouncing Trump as "dangerous to our democracy" and calling for an end to congressional "complicity," Flake and Corker--both of whom have decided to retire rather than seek reelection--obediently toed the administration line by voting to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ban on "rip off clauses," a move denounced as a massive "gift to the bank lobbyists."
"Jeff Flake gave a nice speech, collected a few compliments, and then went right back to voting for the Trump agenda," summarizedThe Nation's John Nichols following the narrow late-night vote. If just one of the senators had voted no, the measure would have failed.
A glance at the recent past is enough to show that this "wet-kiss-to-Wall-Street" vote was no anomaly. According to FiveThirtyEight, Flake has voted with Trump 90 percent of the time, and Corker 86 percent of the time.
Critics were quick to observe that this is true of all establishment Republicans who have publicly expressed outrage at Trump's conduct in office--Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and John McCain (R-Ariz.) also voted for the Wall Street giveaway.
It is Trump's breach of decorum that the GOP establishment dislikes, not the actual substance of the president's agenda, political commentator Kyle Kulinski concluded amid the chorus of praise for Flake and Corker.
"Your daily reminder that establishment Republicans want Trump to do every single thing he's doing minus the mean tweets," Kulinski wrote on Twitter.
This sentiment was echoed by progressives across social media, with many highlighting the fact that America's political woes run far deeper than Trump and urging the public to recognize the complicity of senators who oppose the president in word only.
Flake is "for lower taxes on rich, denies climate change, [is] anti-union, what exactly is he resisting, Trump's manners?" concludedThe Intercept's Zaid Jilani in response to one Democratic representative who welcomed Flake's "defection" with open arms.
BREAKING: Renegade GOP senators *annihilate* Trump by uhh voting in line with him 90% of the time & then retiring from public office forever
-- LanaDelGravetheon (@LanaDelRaytheon) October 24, 2017
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.