Why couldn't Jeff Flake take to the floor of the Senate when Obama was President to make such statements of outrage and duty?

When Obama said his objectives were to redistribute wealth and fundamentally change the country, why didn't Jeff Flake stand up then?

When Obama lied to the American people about the purpose and details of Obamacare, why didn't Jeff Flake stand up then?

When Obama lied to the American people about Benghazi, why didn't Jeff flake stand up then?

When Obama used his administration and the compliant media to cover up scandal after scandal, authoritarian rules and regulations and unconstitutional legislation, why didn't Jeff Flake stand up then?

Look at this list of what he did vote for during the Obama years.

The Republican Party has been incompetent for over 20 years, and the bodies being left by the road now, Flake, Corker, McCain, Murkowski, Collins and others, are examples of that incompetence. It is embarrassing to be called out for that incompetence, so he is blaming others, not himself.

When Obama was president, all Flake had to do was show up as a Republican. He didn't have to do anything. Now he has to make the tough decisions he was sent there by his constituents to make, and he quits.

While Democrats look for a message and a leader, Republicans battle over victory. A necessary upheaval in our politics that occurs every couple of generations.

More from the Wall Street Journal.

Sen. Flake’s remarks and war of words between the president and Sen. Corker spotlight a widening crack among Republicans.

The fault lines within the Republican Party cracked further on Tuesday as feuding between President Donald Trump and senators intensified within the U.S. Capitol, and anti-establishment activists claimed political momentum outside of it. Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, in a speech where he announced he wouldn’t seek re-election, sharply criticized Mr. Trump, declaring himself unwilling to follow the lead of a president whose behavior in office is “not normal” and “dangerous to a democracy.”

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker engaged in another war of words with Mr. Trump and said he regretted his support for Mr. Trump’s White House campaign.

The criticism highlighted an escalating battle for control of the party between its elected leaders and activists, including former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who has pledged to wage “war” on GOP incumbents. Conservative activists seeking to replace Mr. Flake with a White House ally hailed his decision to forgo a second Senate term as a victory. Mr. Corker, who has spoken about using his perch as a Senate committee chairman to target the president’s policies, announced last month that he wouldn’t seek a third term.

The outsiders say they feel momentum is with them for now. “Our movement will defeat you in primaries, or force you to retire,” Mr. Bannon said in an interview. “The days of establishment Republicans who oppose the people’s ‘America First’ agenda are numbered.” Just last month, former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, a Bannon-backed candidate, scored a primary upset against incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, who was backed by much of the party’s establishment including Mr. Trump. There are risks, though, to going after incumbents. In 2010, Republicans had hopes to retake control of the Senate. But the activist wing nominated some of their own candidates for seats in Nevada and Delaware only to see the Democrats win in the fall election.

More From The Wall Street Journal (subscription required):