Is Sen. Kyrsten Sinema experiencing an identity crisis or playing a high-stakes game of political musical chairs?
Politics :
Last week, Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona shocked the political world by announcing that she is leaving the Democratic Party to become an Independent. Her decision to switch from Democrat to Independent comes after she’d previously switched from the Green Party to the Democrats. Her decision also comes immediately on the heels of Senate Democrats obtaining a 51-seat majority after Sen. Raphael Warnock won re-election in Georgia.
“In catering to the fringes, neither party has demonstrated much tolerance for diversity of thought. Bipartisan compromise is seen as a rarely acceptable last resort, rather than the best way to achieve lasting progress,” Sinema said in a statement. “Payback against the opposition party has replaced thoughtful legislating.
“I promised I would never bend to party pressure, and I would stay focused on solving problems and getting things done for everyday Arizonans,” she continued. “When politicians are more focused on denying the opposition party a victory than they are on improving Americans’ lives, the people who lose are everyday Americans.”
Hmmm… {pause for violin music}
Is Krysten Sinema genuinely fed up with divisive Washington politics and switching parties to seriously better serve her constituents in Arizona? Or, is Sinema up to something more sinister and showing us all in real time that there’s something rotten in Denmark?
If you guessed the latter, you’d be correct!
Since Krysten Sinema was first elected to the US Senate in 2018, Democrats have bent over backward to cater to her every need just to assure she’d continue voting along with the rest of her party on important legislation. In fact, Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia were once considered the most powerful members of the Senate chamber — since a bill’s passage or failure frequently depended on them.
However, all that changed last week when Sen. Warnock won re-election and handed Democrats 1 additional vote in the upper legislative body. His win effectively cut Sinema’s power off at the knees and made her vote just as ordinary as anyone else’s.
Craving power and attention, Sinema announced her exit from the Democratic Party. Or, in other words, she realized she was no longer the center of attention so she took her marbles and went home.
Of course, Kyrsten Sinema is no fool. She made sure to continue to caucus with the Democrats — a move which will permit her to retain her as chair of her committees. She also shrewdly set herself up to avoid a primary election challenger in 2024. Instead, she will go directly to the general election and run in a 3-way race against a Republican candidate and whoever the Democrats choose to challenge her.
Interestingly, the political world has seen completely through Kyrsten Sinema and her scammy ways and is speaking out openly and repeatedly against her.
“Congratulations to Sen. Sinema, who can finally pursue her policy passions and represent the vital interests she cares about, like [herself],” tweeted Ohio-based attorney Jesse Taylor.
“Kyrsten Sinema, translated: Well this won’t be any fun at all now so I need to find some other thing that will make Me Me Me seem important,” wrote Kentucky-based columnist Teri Carter.
“Sinema is blatantly power-hungry,” said radio executive Chris Lavoie. “When I lived in Tempe, she ran as a Green. Now she wants to convince Arizonans and the rest of the country that she’s a quirky maverick. She is none of that. Her vacillation shows that @SenatorSinema has no core values.”
“Kyrsten Sinema is a predictable self-absorbed a-hole,” said activist John Hunigan. “No one is surprised she’s no longer a Dem. This has always been about self-promotion and $ for her.”
“Dems win a clear majority in the Senate and Sinema’s reaction is to leave the party to continue taking hostages for big pharma,” said communications specialist Michael Starr Hopkins. “Sinema isn’t just a fraud, she’s what stupid people think an ‘independent looks like.’ I stand by everything I’ve ever said about her.”
Ouch!
Interestingly, Sinema’s political party switcheroo won’t change the balance of power of the new Senate. Democrats will still hold 50 seats. Sinema will caucus with the Democrats and if she votes with them, their majority will remain at 51. If she doesn’t vote with them, Vice-President Kamala Harris will still have the authority to break any tie vote. Additionally, Democrats will no longer need to equally “power-share” committees with the GOP. Instead, they will now control all committee chairmanships and will have the ability to easily pass bills, confirmations, and more.
So, to put it bluntly, Sinema’s political musical chairs act has done absolutely nothing to change power within the US Senate. If anything, it’s only put the spotlight on her, given her an extra 15 minutes of fame in the news cycle, and handed her a bit of the attention she apparently so desperately craves.
Or, in the words of The Daily Kos: “Nothing Sinema does can take away Democrats’ Senate majority—she’s just an isolated weirdo!”
OK WASSUP! discusses Politics:
Kyrsten Sinema dragged over party change.
Sinema and Manchin have always been a piece of work. They both need attention and have been soaking it up. I hear now Manchin talking about maybe doing what Sinema did and becoming a independent. They really do want power over trying to something for people.