Takeaway from Sen. Jeff Flake’s town hall: The Left is energized
Dan Nowicki , The Republic | azcentral.com
U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake was blistered Thursday during a hostile, 2–1/2-hour town-hall meeting in which he was battered with questions about his support of President Donald Trump’s nominees and agenda, his opposition to the Affordable Care Act and a host of other issues ranging from climate change to women’s health.
Flake is a first-term Arizona Republican who is up for re-election next year and could have difficult races in both the GOP primary and the general election. He tried to keep a smile as he got hit with question after question framed from the liberal perspective. By the end of the night, little if any common ground was reached.
Flake, who criticized Trump during the 2016 presidential race and never endorsed or even voted for him, argued that he is his own man and that he will oppose or support Trump as he feels appropriate. So far this year, Flake has been pretty supportive.
He also pointed out how he worked with former President Barack Obama on thawing U.S. relations with Cuba and has been instrumental in trying to enact bipartisan immigration reform.
On other issues, Flake, a libertarian-leaning fiscal conservative, said he and the audience at the Mesa Convention Center simply would have to agree to disagree.
The crowd’s fury never subsided and many if not most in attendance left unsatisfied with Flake and his answers.
“This is happening all over the country and it’s a way for upset Democrats to let Republican senators and House members know how unhappy they are,” said Larry Sabato, a veteran political scientist and director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “I’m sure Flake is not looking forward to the election year, because it’s going to be more of this plus two tough contests.”
Flake already has a challenger in Arizona’s 2018 Republican Senate primary, former state Sen. Kelli Ward of Lake Havasu City. Deedra Abboud, a Phoenix attorney, on Monday announced her candidacy for the 2018 Democratic Senate nomination.
U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., also has been talked about as a possible Senate candidate. She reported raising $678,000 in January, February and March and having $2.8 million on hand as of March 31. Flake raised $1.4 million in the same period, but told The Arizona Republic Thursday that he only had about $1.8 million or $1.9 million on hand, or about $1 million less than Sinema.
“We’re always behind everybody. That’s the way we run,” Flake quipped. “… I’ll be prepared for whoever is running.”
Though some may try to dispute the characterization of the Flake town-hall audience as liberal or progressive, the Democratic dominance of the discussion was unmistakable, showing that the political left is energized and organized in its opposition to Trump and the Republicans who control both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The “Indivisible” movement particularly has emerged as an anti-Trump version of the conservative “tea party” that dogged lawmakers in 2009 and 2010.
“It suggests a fairly mobilized liberal backlash to the Trump presidency,” said David Berman, a senior research fellow at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy. “Even though Flake certainly was not pro-Trump, he is up for election and somebody’s got to pay.”
The Democratic National Committee sent an email to supporters urging them to attend Flake’s town-hall session and “Go get in Jeff Flake’s grill.”
Members or supporters of organizations such as Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America also were on hand to question Flake.
Sabato wondered how many, if any, in attendance at Flake’s Mesa town hall voted for Trump last year.
“People who are in power tend to be comfortable — they don’t feel the need to spend their evening showing up at a town hall,” Sabato said. “It’s the people who are shut out of power who are determined to have their voices heard. It was the right during Obama, and now it’s the left’s turn.”
Nowicki is The Arizona Republic’s national political reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @dannowicki and on his Facebook page.
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