Leaders such as Flake need to stay and fight the good fight. The Republican Party needs more principled conservatives walking the halls of Congress, not fewer.

Flake stood for something, and he should continue doing exactly that. Surrendering to a potential defeat in 2018 is not the example that he should set. In this political environment, quitting is the definition of being selfish.

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And while we are at it, I see the people who criticize those serving in the Trump administration as being enablers of the president. After all, Trump needs minding. I think a lot of people serving in this administration are guardians of the galaxy. Thank God they are there. If the rational, level-headed thinkers are discouraged and quit, the void will be filled by less competent, less committed individuals who will only encourage the president’s worst instincts.

Flake is wrong; in Congress, the choices aren’t to either be complicit or quit. There is the option of staying, being intellectually honest and trusting the voters that you have always said you trusted.

I hope Flake’s shortsighted choice of quitting doesn’t have a snowballing effect within the Republican Party. But the liberal media will treat Flake like a hero — and this is only the beginning of the retirement season. Let’s remember, the mainstream media wants nothing less than to see the destruction of the Republican Party.

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Oh and by the way, the anti-Republican media will celebrate Flake’s retirement as a triumph for Stephen K. Bannon. But Bannon seems just to be following Lee Atwater’s first rule of politics: be for what is going to happen. Bannon didn’t create or launch the candidacy of Moore any more than he did that of Donald Trump. And he didn’t create or launch the candidacy of Ward in Arizona. He is just following the polls and supporting whoever looks like a winner. He is a classic opportunist. Bannon is no kingmaker.