It’s time for Jeff Flake to bid farewell to the GOP

U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake has always been his own man — someone who will not let others tell him what to do. His independence is a major reason why I voted for him, and it’s why I’ll continue to vote for other independentminded candidates for office, regardless of their party affiliation.

Yet even as Flake has remained true to Arizona’s conservative values, the Republican Party has walked away from those ideals. Because of that, Flake should make his independence official by running for the U.S. Senate in 2018 as an independent.

The pundits say that would be political suicide. But if 2016 proved anything, it is that we should stop listening to the pundits and start listening to the voters. Instead of doubling down on blind partisanship, elected officials should speak from the heart and put the public interest ahead of party demands.

As soon as Flake arrived in Washington as a young congressman, he made a name for himself as a voice of independence. He routinely stood up not only to House leadership, but also to President George W. Bush, voting against major initiatives, such as Medicare Part D, because they were fiscally irresponsible.

Voters, especially the nearly 1.3 million Arizonans who were registered as independents as of last month, are increasingly interested in rewarding this kind of independence. That figure, 1.3 million, is only 20,000 fewer than Arizona’s registered Republicans.

But independence is hardly tolerated these days within the Republican Party. President Donald Trump is trying to purge Flake from the party. His political operation is actively seeking a primary challenger for Flake. They want to replace him with someone who will be loyal to the president, not to Arizona voters or conservative principles.

The Republican Party that Flake joined, the party of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, has faded into memory. Republicans who consistently championed limited government, individual liberty, states’ rights and basic human decency are finding themselves marginalized, even publicly ridiculed, not by Democrats, but by members of their own party.

Arizona’s voters, no doubt, recognize that blind partisanship is a big problem. And the proof is in the numbers.

In the 2000 general election, Republicans made up 43 percent of Arizona’s electorate, Democrats made up 38 percent, and “other” made up 17.6 percent. The latest figures, updated last month, show Republicans with 34.6 percent, Democrats with 30.2 percent and “other” with 34 percent.

In 17 years, the two major parties have each lost roughly 8 percentage points, while the percentage of independents nearly doubled.

As an independent, untethered to either party, Flake could be even more influential in Washington –– as both parties would be forced to aggressively court his vote. That would be good for Arizona.

In fact, if Flake were to join forces with the Centrist Project and its effort to elect a slate of independent candidates in 2018, he could become one of the most powerful senators in the closely divided Senate.

Ultimately, Flake could forge common ground between Democrats and Republicans, and he’d be better positioned to help Washington make progress on our most pressing problems. That is what our country needs.

Do it for Arizona, Sen. Flake. Do it for America.

Christopher Leone is a founding member of the Centrist Project, a national grass-roots organization dedicated to organizing, recruiting and electing independent candidates for public office. He is a resident of Scottsdale and a candidate for state Senate in District 23. Email him at chrisbleone @gmail.com; on Twitter, @cbleone.