Holding public office is a privilege — “but it’s not worth sacrificing who you are,” writes Jeff Flake, a former U.S. senator and representative from Arizona, in a guest essay published Sunday in The New York Times.
Flake, also a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and BYU alumnus, is currently serving as board chairman for World Trade Center Utah.
In the essay, titled “In Today’s G.O.P., Voting Your Conscience Is Disqualifying,” Flake writes about the decision by Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., to not seek reelection.
“I admire Senator Tillis for choosing not to betray his convictions just to secure another term,” writes Flake. “But his departure is a loss for the nation, the Senate and the Republican Party — indeed, for conservatism — which desperately need more voices willing to stand on principle rather than bend to one man’s will.”
The question facing Republicans still in the Senate is what to do about it, he writes.
“Is it better to stand your ground from within, refusing to bend even under intense primary pressure, knowing you may lose your seat but help restore a standard of principled dissent? Or to break openly with your party and run as an independent, showing voters there is another way to serve? Or, as some of us have done, to step aside entirely, yet continue pressing for the values of decency, truth and constitutional balance from outside the chamber?
“A good case can be made for each of these paths. None offer certainty. But doing nothing — simply going along to get along — guarantees the fever won’t break anytime soon.”
Read Flake’s full essay here.