Flake booed at festival after joking, 'Feel free to join me in an elevator anytime'

[RandySF]

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) was booed Saturday after he appeared to poke fun at his confrontation with an alleged victim of sexual assault the day before as he tried to enter an elevator.

Flake joined Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) onstage at the Global Citizens Festival to support bipartisan leadership on foreign aid, according to MSNBC.

While delivering remarks at the festival, Flake discussed how their personal relationship helped make the “politics of compromise that prevailed” on Friday.

The Arizona Republican was referring to the deal he secured with the Senate Judiciary Committee to delay a floor vote on the nomination for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court for the FBI to investigate the sexual assault allegations against him.




https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/409108-flake-booed-at-festival-after-joking-feel-free-to-join-me-in-an

[Pachamama]

1. Not a joking matter Jeff Flake....

Not funny at all....

[TEB]

2. To bad they didn't beat his magat ass

[raccoon]

3. Glad they booed him. Nt

[Cha]

4. Good! And Vote!

[Hortensis]

5. How sad and a bit scary. But this trumpsterishly foolish audience

not only does not represent the typical liberal but does not represent America.

When we read these dark things, we need to remember that America elected Barack Obama president twice. America followed that by electing a Democrat to be our first woman president and to continue the return to national health and prosperity that he started.

Those majority voters would never boo the bipartisan cooperation that rescued a senate teetering on the edge of an abyss just two days ago.

[JI7]

6. i believe those who booed were liberals for joking about such a serious matter

[Hortensis]

7. I can't deny that there are of course some very stupid liberals,

we come in the full human range, but that seems like quite a stretch. Although I have to admit ignorance is rampant everywhere and that this has to be at least partially an expression of ignorance, at least liberals are not the ones particularly prone to mindless partisan hostility. However, it is pretty common among others who make up the political left, and I suspect those made up most of the foolish ones.

No one with the brains and decency to appreciate the part Flake played, and to reject the kind of mindless partisan hostility some revel in, would choose to misunderstand him.

[thucythucy]

11. Flake has announced since then that he'll vote for Kavenaugh

"unless they produce something else." Flake said, essentially, he's a conservative, Kavenaugh is a conservative, so an attempted rape is no big deal.

So the woman in the elevator was right after all. In his mind, an attempted rape counts for nothing.

Talk about "mindless partisan hostility." In this case, hostility toward women and survivors everywhere.

[Hortensis]

13. You don't understand what Flake and the rest of

that bipartisan group were doing. It is separate from his vote and, for the Repubs among them at least, not about either helping or hurting Kavanaugh himself. That can be fixed if you care to. It really was a big deal, and they are admired by informed and principled, and grateful, people for that specific action.

And that's also separate from how we feel about this conservative voting to put a person like Kavanaugh on SCOTUS. You and I are together on that. However, although I hope it'll turn out otherwise, this statement is not a surprise. He's always been one of the libertarian economic extremists who've risen in power with the birth of the centi-/billionaire classes, and Kavanaugh will try to dismantle our "welfare state" and regulatory interference with business.

Also, btw, will/would any other person on the long and short lists created to serve those classes that Kavanaugh was picked from.

[druidity33]

8. You obviously know nothing about the Global Citizens Festivals...

otherwise you would know the crowd consists almost entirely of activist youth. You don't buy a ticket (although you can), you win chances to get one by calling Senators or Congresspeople. Also you weren't there. You didn't hear exactly what Flake said and how he said it. You didn't hear the crowd's response either... how many people were really booing?

As far as bipartisan cooperation from Flake, that remains to be seen. He could've just voted no or said he wouldn't support such a controversial candidate for a lifetime appointment...

[Hortensis]

10. Yes, I did strongly suspect only a few booed because that's

the usual, also that negativism will always be pumped up by the media. (Where are all the articles reporting that people cheered?) You're right that my wording omitted that huge point, my bad.

Nothing your're describing has changed since I first started going to these things in the 1960s, Druidity, including the type of people who come out. Moods of different gatherings change, but basically it's all as expected. Only time will show which of these foolish booers will mature and become increasingly knowledgeable and at least somewhat wiser over the decades and which will tragically still be the same fools at 60 and 70.

As for bipartisan cooperation, what happened two days ago was huge. It's important to realize that that bipartisan action was to rescue the confirmation process itself from destruction by Republicans, to allow it to perform its function of providing information the committee needs for make its decision, and to avoid a collapse of confidence in the people. It was not about defeating this nomination, and how Flake votes will not change that.

[VOX]

9. Seeing the video and hearing Flake's & Coons' remarks in context...

It doesn’t seem at all like Flake’s attempt at humor was a jab at the women who confronted him in the elevator. If anything, it seems to acknowledge (again, in an admittedly awkward speechwriter’s quip) that incident did have a positive effect on him. The boos sounded more like groans or the “ooooohh” that crowds let fly with when a topical joke is made. There is some audible laughter immediately following the groan.
The remarks, in context:
Coons: “It was our personal relationship that made the compromise that prevailed yesterday possible.”
Flake: “So we’re here to support bipartisan leadership on foreign aid.
Coons: “We need the rest of the world to see democracy working here at home.”
Flake: “Thanks to all of you global citizens who have contacted us this year, you have texted, you have called, you have touched our hearts. Keep calling.”
Coons: "There are people's voices we need to hear from around the world, and here in our own country, so keep reaching out, because we hear you and we need to keep hearing from you."
Flake: “So feel free to join me in an elevator anytime.”
Coons: “We are standing here united for foreign aid.
Flake: “We’re standing here united for democracy.”
Coons: "We're standing here for gender equality."
Flake: “And so are you.” [referencing the crowd]
Coons & Flake: “Thank you, goodnight.”

[thucythucy]

12. All those lovely words

and yet he said he's still a yes vote on confirmation.

So in the end we still get a drunk frat boy possible rapist wannabee as a Supreme Court justice, who will be able to affect the lives of millions of women.

Pardon me if I don't gush over his "courage" and "bipartisanship."

He gave us one week of respite, and then a life time of reactionary misogynist rulings.

Boo.