Last week, Sen. Jeff Flake sparked controversy with the release of his book, “Conscience of a Conservative.” This week, Flake earned the scorn of the son of the author of the 1960 book of the same name, Brent Bozell III.
Bozell’s father ghost-wrote “Conscience of a Conservative” for Barry Goldwater, a conservative icon that Flake claims is one of his role models. Flake claimed that he and the venerated Goldwater wrote their books in response to a feeling that their party had “lost its way.”
“Jeff flake is not a conservative, nor does he have a conscience,” said Bozell in a statement released this week. “On behalf of my late father and my family, I am denouncing Senator Jeff Flake ad his new book, dishonestly titled, “Conscience of a Conservative.” Bozell’s statement continued:
“Since entering the Senate in 2013, Jeff Flake has, time and again, proven he is part of the indulgent hypocrisy in Washington. While he waxes poetically about conservative principles, his Conservative Review Liberty score is an abysmal 53%, also known as ”F”. In 2013, I watched first-hand as Flake refused to sign a letter pledging to defund ObamaCare, among his many Betrayals to conservatism. Jeff Flake is neither a conservative nor does he have a conscience.
“As every conservative leader knows, my father, Brent Bozell, Jr. ghost-wrote “Conscience of a Conservative” for Barry Goldwater. While the Goldwater Institute may own the rights to the books’ title, neither the organization nor Senator Flake have the right to unjustifiably trade on my father’s work. “Conscience of a Conservative” is the greatest selling polemic in history, and Senator Flake is trading on its reputation to shamelessly promote himself and disguise his own conservative deficiencies. My father would be appalled to see this fraud as the author of the so called “sequel,” which it most certainly is not.
“The media needs to know, when reporting on Senator Flake and his “book” that the author is a deceiver out for personal and financial gain. I also call on my conservative brethren to denounce this impostor, who dishonorably claims to speak for conservatism, in the strongest possible terms.