Short version at *related=https://videosift.com/video/Senator-Jeff-Flakes-Retirement-Speech-Short-Version
*quality speech

Senator Jeff Flake's Retirement Speech-Short Version has been added as a related post - related requested by newtboy.

Such a great speech. We need more politicians like this. Too bad they're all being driven out of town by their own parties. *quality

Boosting this quality contribution up in the Hot Listing - declared quality by deedub81.

Thanks.

It's a good speech. Not sure I'd call it "eloquent" though... for someone who basically makes their living arguing, he's not a great public speaker.

Also, this is his retirement speech?
If you truly believe what you're saying, don't retire; do something about it!

Switch sides, or work to combat the worst excesses of your own party.

Point taken, but eloquence is relative, and compared to the normal level of discourse in congress, this guy could be Lincoln. ;-)

I totally agree, it's a travesty that only Republicans who aren't running again can admit their emperor is totally nude, but gratifying to know it only takes 2 to block Trump's upcoming moves to be president for life and to sell Alaska back to Russia for $10 million.

In an interview he addresses why he's retiring, opposed to staying.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2017/10/24/why-senator-jeff-flake-says-he-wont-run-drops-out-race-trump-gop-politics/795497001/

Good speech but to lay this at the feet of the POTUS is BS.

This debasing of discourse of our government leaders have been slipping for years.

Republicans have been cowards for decades. This is why they constantly loose. Current POTUS is not a politician with a lawyer background, held by the standards of decorum set by that profession. Trump is a NYC citizen who doesn't take crap and willing to fight back, which he does. Sorry that he does not fit the political mold of smooth talk lying out both sides of their mouth. Trump just the same bullshit artist as any politician just not as smooth.

No, he certainly doesn't meet the standards of decorum for a lawyer...or a civilized person of any profession.
Trump is a baby that sees any non compliment as an attack he should meet with frothing insanity and rage (mostly impotent rage, but rage still).
True, he doesn't smoothly lie out of both sides of his mouth, but only because he can do nothing smoothly. He absolutely lies out of both sides of his mouth, I've never heard him make a full statement on any topic ever without inserting some lie, usually about himself being godlike, but often something made up about the person he's mad at.

But you know this well, Dimitri. It's why you and your president, Putin, helped him into office, hoping it would destroy the country with his and your divisive nonsense. No one here questions that, you haven't hidden it well....you pinko bastard.

pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko pinko ---------That's funny.

The Hillary /DNC/ Muller/ DOJ/ Urium Ship is sinking .. Whose colluding with Russia??? You are so on the wrong side of this ..

It wouln't be funny even if you weren't working directly for Putin and against America, just sad that you would do his bidding for free.

Working with Russia in your official capacity as Secretary of State to create international treaties, even bad ones....that is not collusion, it's diplomacy.
Working with Russia to reform American policy before you're in office...that's subversive collusion, and admitted to by Trump's cabinet.

Who's colluding with Russia? Apparently at least Manafort while he ran the Trump campaign according to the indictment....oh, and Flynn who's eventually admitted (when his lies were proven false after the tapes surfaced) that he illegally made multiple policy change agreements in December with Russia contradicting the government's positions, like a promise to remove sanctions, which is a crime called subversion and could be/is treason.

Edit: Before you try to trot out the DNC partially paying for the 'Trump dossier' as some form of collusion, remember it was conceived and created by the RNC and only later sold to Clinton's camp after Trump took the nomination, and it's not even nearly as bad as what Jared thought he was going to buy directly from the Russian government in his meeting that he falsely claimed was about adoption until the email surfaced proving that was another lie.