Despite the fact that many Republicans have gotten behind President Donald Trump since he’s taken office, some conservative lawmakers in Congress, such as Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), have doggedly remained his opponent. Sen. Flake appears to largely oppose Trump because he considers him to be a recklessly incompetent buffoon who threatens the stability of the entire world. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like he will be in Congress much longer. This is because, earlier today, Flake turned his back on the GOP and abruptly announced that he won’t be seeking re-election in 2018.

Shortly after making the announcement, Flake took to the Senate floor and provided additional details about his decision to resign from Congress. “I rise today to address a matter that has been much on my mind, at a moment when it seems that our democracy is more defined by our discord and our dysfunction than it is by our values and our principles,” he began.

Before continuing on with his point, Flake briefly spoke about the fact that their time in office is not permanent and noted that people sometimes “must risk their careers in favor of their principles.” By saying this, Flake is suggesting that his decision to leave office has to do with him standing up for his principles.

He also mentioned that his decision to leave has to do with the “state of our disunion,” the “disrepair and destructiveness of our politics,” the “indecency of our discourse,” the “coarseness of our leadership,” and the “compromise of our moral authority,” which are all things that Trump is allegedly responsible for. Additionally, Flake noted that he was filled with regret for supposedly being complicit “in this alarming and dangerous state of affairs,” meaning that he feels partially responsible for the problems that he’s complaining about.

Flake then proceeded to rail against normalizing the “present coarseness of our national dialogue.” Specifically, he stated, “we must never regard as ‘normal’ the regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms and ideals. We must never meekly accept the daily sundering of our country – the personal attacks, the threats against principles, freedoms, and institutions, the flagrant disregard for truth or decency, the reckless provocations, most often for the pettiest and most personal reasons, reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with the fortunes of the people that we have all been elected to serve.”

To clarify, he added, “none of these appalling features of our current politics should ever be regarded as normal. We must never allow ourselves to lapse into thinking that this is just the way things are now. If we simply become inured to this condition, thinking that this is just politics as usual, then heaven help us.”

While on the Senate floor, Flake also made sure to explicitly bash Trump. “We must stop pretending that the degradation of our politics and the conduct of some in our executive branch are normal. They are not normal,” proclaimed Flake.

“If I have been critical, it not because I relish criticizing the behavior of the president of the United States. If I have been critical, it is because I believe that it is my obligation to do so, as a matter of duty and conscience,” he continued, adding, “the notion that one should stay silent as the norms and values that keep America strong are undermined and as the alliances and agreements that ensure the stability of the entire world are routinely threatened by the level of thought that goes into 140 characters…is a-historic and, I believe, profoundly misguided.”

In addition to attacking Trump, Flake also condemned the entire Republican Party. “It is clear at this moment that a traditional conservative who believes in limited government and free markets, who is devoted to free trade, and who is pro-immigration, has a narrower and narrower path to nomination in the Republican party – the party that for so long has defined itself by belief in those things,” criticized Flake.

“It is also clear to me for the moment we have given in or given up on those core principles in favor of the more viscerally satisfying anger and resentment,” he added, noting, “to be clear, the anger and resentment that the people feel at the royal mess we have created are justified. But anger and resentment are not a governing philosophy.”

Before concluding, Flake read a quote from Lincoln’s first inaugural prayer, which stated: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” Apparently, the meaning of the quote, which talked about coming together as allies, was completely lost on Flake, who just spent his entire speech attacking Trump and his fellow colleagues.

Given how vocal Sen. Flake has been speaking out against President Trump and the rest of the Republican Party, his resignation from office is obviously excellent news. Hopefully, come election time, Arizona’s residents elect someone into office who is actually committed to making America great again.