Jeff Flake -- Coulda Been a Contender

By Paul Jacob

When Arizona's Jeff Flake entered Congress, he had pledged to limit his stay to three terms, following in Matt Salmon's footsteps. Salmon had also limited himself and quickly gained recognition for his adherence to principle.

Endorsed by his respected forebear, Flake was much heralded. Steve Moore of the Club for Growth said, "We thought Jeff was the second coming of Ronald Reagan."

And Flake did perform pretty well. He's been an outspoken defender of smaller government and been applauded by taxpayer groups. Flake had a great future ahead of him. He could have gone on to be a U.S. Senator, or Governor of Arizona. But, not anymore.

This last election was for the last term he could serve in Congress under his self-imposed pledge. And he began to waffle. He wouldn't answer questions about whether this would be his last term. He pretended that he didn't want to be discriminated against by the Republican leadership for being a self-limiter.

Then, having dodged the issue when facing voters, Flake announced on the Friday before Thanksgiving, when the fewest possible folks are paying attention, that he would break his word. He planned to run again.

Flake will never be a Senator now, or a Governor. Not a single pledge-breaker has won higher office. Instead, he'll sit in the same congressional seat, perhaps for life, becoming more and more the problem he went to Washington to solve.

Jeff, ya coulda been a contender. Now, you're just a Flake.

OK, sorry, I just couldn't resist.

This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob.

Common Sense is published by Americans for Limited Government. Their website can be visited at www.limitedgov.org.