Conscience of a Conservative

A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle

By: Jeff Flake

Narrated by: Milton Jeffers, Jeff Flake - preface

In a bold act of conscience, Republican Senator Jeff Flake takes his party to task for embracing nationalism, populism, xenophobia, and the anomalous Trump presidency. The book is an urgent call for a return to bedrock conservative principle and a cry to once again put country before party.

Dear Listener,

I am a conservative.

I believe that there are limits to what government can and should do, that there are some problems that government cannot solve, and that human initiative is best when left unfettered, free from government interference or coercion. I believe that these ideas, tested by time, offer the most freedom and best outcomes in the lives of the most people.

But today, the American conservative movement has lost its way. Given the state of our politics, it is no exaggeration to say that this is an urgent matter.

The Republican party used to play to a broader audience, one that demanded that we accomplish something. But in this era of dysfunction, our primary accomplishment has been constructing the argument that we're not to blame. We have decided that it is better to build and maintain a majority by using the levers of power rather than the art of persuasion and the battle of ideas. We've decided that putting party over country is okay. There are many on both sides of the aisle who think this a good model on which to build a political career - destroying, not building.

And all the while, our country burns, our institutions are undermined, and our values are compromised. We have become so estranged from our principles that we no longer know what principle is.

America is not just a collection of transactions. America is also a collection of ideas and values. And these are our values. These are our principles. They are not subject to change, owing to political fashion or cult of personality. I believe that we desperately need to get back to the rigorous, fact-based arguments that made us conservatives in the first place. We need to realize that the stakes are simply too high to remain silent and fall in line.

That is why I have written this book and am taking this stand.

- Jeff Flake

©2017 Jeff Flake (P)2017 Random House Audio

Conservative without the crazy

Tired of hyper-partisan politics & ready for bi-partisan governance? Read this. It will give background & solace.

Makes me proud to be from Arizona

This straight talk and reality check from a fellow conservative is a timely and desperately needed breath of fresh air, and one for which I have been yearning in this disorienting season of Alice in Wonderland American politics where honor and truth and virtue and principle have all been inverted, and the opposite of these tolerated, accepted and even promulgated by too many of America's leaders who know better. This work is the first clarion call to America to return to her first and best principles. It makes me proud to be represented by Arizona's senators - two courageous standouts in America's government today.

A call to arms

Senator Flakes books is a call to all those whose vision of conservatism is not rooted in anger or fear; but instead based on a belief in individual liberty and a limited government.

Excellent!

Should be mandatory reading for the left and right, but especially for those who blindly fall in step with Donald Trump.

A message for every American!

The courageous spirit to stand for what is right and true is still alive. Thank you Jeff for your decency and determination to stand for what IS right.

Good read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I will recommend to my friends. I am not a republican and do not share the very conservative views of Senator Flake, but he is to be admired. His vision for a better political future is refreshing.

If more congressional leaders felt this way...

Jeff Flake's take on what ails Washington is spot on. If he really believes the things he wrote, I'd vote for him for president. The problem is that only retiring or fired Washington insiders have the courage to tell it like it is...or like it should be. If you want the truth, check with someone on their way out, not someone currently on the inside. I will give Flake credit for being one of the few to appear to stand up to our current authoritarian president. I don't agree with Flake's position on many things, but his expressed desire to compromise where possible and, at the very least, hear the voices of dissenters without labeling them traitors or evil or stupid is refreshing. It's encouraging to hear someone (the ONLY one?) from the Republican Party express an interest in civility and seeking solutions through cooperation rather than simply demonizing the other side.

Courageous and insightful

As a committed liberal, I came to this book seeking to learn the mind of my enemy; I left with a better understanding of modern conservative thought and a grudging, if tentative, respect for Mr. Flake and the "honorable opponents" of his party. By rights, The Conscience of a Conservative should serve as a beacon in this time of darkness, illuminating the path and guiding the lost back to its light. Too bad that's not what's going to happen. Instead, Mr. Flake will be shouted down and villified and his arguments dismissed as soft, unpatriotic, and contemptible. Such are the wages of sin.

Spot on, on nearly everything

In a crazy political time, Senator Flake recalibrates conservatism to something palatable by both parties.

Conscience of a Conservative

A lightning bolt of a book! Draws me Natick to my roots in spite of the miserable state of the GOP in particular and Congress in general.