'Just below pond scum'

Yesterday, Public Policy Polling noted that Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), on the heels of his support for a Republican filibuster on gun reforms, has become the nation's least popular senator. The new figures point to Flake having a dismal 32% approval rating.

Asked about his poor standing, Flake initially blamed PPP, questioning the pollster's accuracy, despite its impressive track record. Today, the Arizona senator took a different line.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) has an interesting take on a recent poll by Democratic Public Policy Polling that showed his approval rating imploding after his recent vote against expanded background checks for gun purchases: It's probably right.

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"Nothing like waking up to a poll saying you're the nation's least popular senator," Flake wrote on his Facebook page late Monday night. "Given the public's dim view of Congress in general, that probably puts me somewhere just below pond scum."

"Now, notwithstanding the polling firm's leftist bent, I would assume that my poll numbers have indeed taken a southerly turn since my vote against the Manchin-Toomey background check proposal," Flake added. "It was a popular amendment, and I voted against it."

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He also, incidentally, misled a grieving mother who lost her son in the Aurora slayings about how he intended to vote.

Still, today's posture from Flake is a departure, not just from what he said yesterday, but also from the Republican line about the politics of gun reforms.