Larry Sabato: Jeff Flake Is No ‘Profile in Courage’

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) is hardly a “profile in courage,” according to Larry Sabato, professor of politics at the University of Virginia.

Sabato made the remarks to Laura Ingraham in a radio interview Thursday on “The Laura Ingraham Show.”

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Sabato, one of the nation’s top political academics and a major pundit, was discussing former President John F. Kennedy when the term “Profiles in Courage” came up. Kennedy wrote a book by that name, with Ted Sorensen, about courageous political leaders.

But Sabato said Flake wouldn’t make the cut. Flake said on Tuesday that he would not be seeking re-election in 2018. In a long speech on the Senate floor in which he announced the news, he blamed President Donald Trump for today’s political woes.

Many speculated Flake gave up because his previous Trump criticism had hurt him in Arizona polls.

Ingraham said many people said Flake gave a historic speech.

“It’s pure polarization,” said Sabato. “If you like Trump, you thought it was one of the worst speeches ever. If you hate Trump, you thought [Flake] should be out on Mount Rushmore.”

He noted that many people said Flake should be in “Profiles in Courage.”

“It wasn’t giving speeches — it was actions that made a difference,” said Sabato. “If he ran and lost, then you could say, ‘He fought the good fight.'”

(photo credit, homepage image: Jeff Flake, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore; Jeff Flake, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore)