Jeff Flake: In Today's G.O.P., Voting Your Conscience Is Disqualifying
Last weekend, Senator Thom Tillis announced that he would not seek re-election, and delivered a message that echoed my own. 'It's become increasingly evident,' he said, 'that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species.'
His decision underscores what I feared in 2017: The fever still hasn't broken. In today's Republican Party, voting your conscience is essentially disqualifying.
When I was first elected to the House, in 2000, there was room in the G.O.P. for independent judgment. There were plenty of occasions when I voted against President George W. Bush's agenda, including on No Child Left Behind and the Medicare prescription drug benefit. But President Bush never took it personally. He understood that members of Congress might differ with him and one another on policy without questioning their loyalty. Later, when I was in the Senate, he even came to Arizona to help raise money for my last, abbreviated campaign.
Contrast that with the party under President Trump. Any deviation from his dictates is treated as apostasy. It's no longer about ideas or governing philosophies. It's about personal allegiance to a single man, whose positions can shift by the day.
That's what makes Senator Tillis's retirement so telling. He could have easily won a general election in North Carolina. But to get there, he would have needed to survive an almost certain primary challenge that would demand he demonstrate absolute fealty to President Trump — something that often requires toeing a constantly shifting line and frequently leads away from responsible governance.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ship attacked in the Red Sea is taking on water, UK military says
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship set ablaze by a series of attacks in the Red Sea was taking on water Sunday night as its crew prepared to abandon the vessel. The attack marks the first serious assault in the vital corridor for trade after a monthslong campaign by Yemen's Houthi rebels there. Suspicion for the attack immediately fell on the Houthis, particularly as a security firm said it appeared bomb-carrying drone boats hit the ship after it was targeted by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. The rebels' media reported on the attack but did not claim it. It can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge an assault. A renewed Houthi campaign against shipping could again draw in U.S. and Western forces to the area, particularly after President Donald Trump targeted the rebels in a major airstrike campaign. And it comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, as a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance and as Iran weighs whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program following American airstrikes targeting its most-sensitive atomic sites amid an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic. 'It likely serves as a message that the Houthis continue to possess the capability and willingness to strike at strategic maritime targets regardless of diplomatic developments,' wrote Mohammad al-Basha, a Yemen analyst at the Basha Report risk advisory firm. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center first said that an armed security team on the unidentified vessel had returned fire against an initial attack and that the 'situation is ongoing.' It described the attack as happening some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the country's Houthi rebels. 'Authorities are investigating,' it said. It later said the ship was on fire after being 'struck by unknown projectiles." Major escalation Ambrey, a private maritime security firm, issued an alert saying that a merchant ship had been 'attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea.' Ambrey later said the ship also had been attacked by bomb-carrying drone boats, which could mark a major escalation. It said two drone boats struck the ship, while another two had been destroyed by the armed guards on board. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the ship was taking on water and its crew were abandoning the vessel. The U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet referred questions to the military's Central Command, which said it was aware of the incident without elaborating. Authorities did not identify the vessel for hours. However, the description of the vessel targeted matched against the Liberian-flagged bulk tanker Magic Seas, which had been broadcasting it had an armed security team on board in the vicinity the attack took place and had been heading north. Its owners did not respond to a request for comment. Houthi attacks in support of Hamas The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The group's al-Masirah satellite news channel acknowledged the attack occurred, but offered no other comment on it as it aired a speech by its secretive leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi. However, Ambrey said the vessel targeted met 'the established Houthi target profile," without elaborating. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually. The Houthis paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the U.S. launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis haven't attacked a vessel, though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel. On Sunday, the group claimed launching a missile at Israel which the Israeli military said it intercepted. Meanwhile, a wider, decadelong war in Yemen between the Houthis and the country's exiled government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, remains in a statemate. The Yemeni Coast Guard, which is loyal to the exiled government, has engaged in a firefight with at least one vessel in the Red Sea in the past as well. Pirates from Somalia also have operated in the region, though typically they've sought to capture vessels either to rob or ransom their crews. But neither the Yemeni Coast Guard nor the pirates have been known to use drone boats in their attacks. Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Politico
35 minutes ago
- Politico
Trump signs disaster declaration for Central Texas floods
Coast Guard officials and Texas first responders had saved over 850 people from the floodwaters, Trump said. Officials search on the grounds of Camp Mystic after a flash flood swept through the area July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. | Julio Cortez/AP By Gregory Svirnovskiy 07/06/2025 01:10 PM EDT President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he 'signed a Major Disaster Declaration' for relief for Kerr County in Texas, as the region deals with heavy rains and extreme flooding that have killed dozens. 'These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing,' Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social. 'The Trump Administration continues to work closely with State and Local Leaders. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was on the ground yesterday with Governor Greg Abbott, who is working hard to help the people of his Great State.' Coast Guard officials and Texas first responders had saved over 850 people from the floodwaters, Trump said.
CNN
35 minutes ago
- CNN
On GPS: Three experts on Trump's transformation of the world order
At the Aspen Ideas Festival, Fareed assesses President Donald Trump's worldview with two former national security advisers — John Bolton and Susan Rice — and one former CIA director, retired Gen. David Petraeus.
