With Congressional approval rates frequently hovering in the low teens and discontent with our Federal Government in general, American voters have been ready to "throw the bums out" for a while. To some degree, as a result of that discontent, the U.S. now has the ultimate outsider in the Oval Office now in the person of Donald Trump. Partisanship in Washington is rampant, and while we have 535 Congressional members, we seem to only have two policies to choose from: the hard right Republican way, and the hard left Democratic way. And the only guiding principle either Party seems to have is that if the opposing Party is in favor of an issue, then their Party will be against the issue. It's no wonder nothing gets accomplished in Washington. And when the President sends angry tweets criticizing members of both political Parties, coming together and working together to find creative solutions to the Nations problems only become all the more unlikely.
And this is the background to Arizona Senator Jeff Flake's book "Conscience of a Conservative". While most political books have a probability of being liked by at least one-half of the country, depending upon which side of the political spectrum one finds oneself, Flake's book has the potential of finding favor with a higher percentage of voters. I say that given that the President's overall approval ratings have generally been in the 40% range, and since the book is critical of President Trump, perhaps the remaining 60% of people with look at it favorably.
Clearly though, the staunchest of Trump supporters and the hardest of hard core conservative ideologues are unlikely to be buying, reading, or enjoying this book.

And as Senator Flake is frequently critical of President Trump, the President has likewise been critical of Senator Flake, especially since Flake failed to provide total support for Trump during the primaries and afterwords. Trump has already spoken out publicly against the Senator, even though both are Republicans, and has gone so far to offer verbal and financial support to Flake's G.O.P. primary opponent.

Given the diminishing prospects of getting re-elected to his Senate seat, this this book may be Flake's last chance to answer his critics, especially the President. Nonetheless, the book is not simply a rant against his critics, although he does often criticize the President and selected Republican leaders. But over and above all that, what Flake does try to do in this relatively short book is to provide an explanation of his own Conservative values and principles, and how important it is for him to be guided by his principles, and not be guided by policies which enhance re-election chances. He provides his reasoning as to why politicians must be willing to hear all sides of an argument, work with others (even those of the opposing Party), and to work for the common good. In that regard, it's a very different type of political book. ( )

The author states that the Republican Party has drifted so far off its conservative roots, he wants to bring it back, and along with that, to infuse ethics again, and true representation of the voter's wishes.

Jeff has an organized approach, showing how in the past Republicans led their constituents and the country in an ethical manner, aiming for bipartisan action on issues. He gives many example from both distant past, and up through the George Bush era. Then he contrasts that past with the 2016 through June 2017 actions of Republicans. He concludes by repeating his wishes that the elected Republicans honor their constituents wishes and behave ethically, while trying to address important issues in a bipartisan way.

I recommend the book, regardless of the reader's political leanings. ( )