Kyrsten Sinema's Democratic exodus is her latest attention-seeking stunt. It won't save her

[Lasher]

Liberals have long hated Senator Kyrsten Sinema ever since she voted against overriding the Senate Parliamentarian to add a minimum wage increase to the American Rescue Plan. She has further antagonized them through her support for the filibuster, even when it means protecting voting or abortion rights. She angered them even more this summer when she voted for an amendment that almost killed the Inflation Reduction Act.

It appears that no matter the occasion, Ms Sinema enjoys sticking out and making herself the topic of attention while simultaneously avoiding the press and, as a profile in the 19th News last year pointed out, feels little need to explain herself (one Latino activist I talked to last year said that in 2018, she interacted little with the grassroots). She wants people to talk about her without actually talking to the masses, whom she likely thinks as unsophisticated.

At the same time, even her biggest critics cannot deny that she’s passed plenty of legislation, namely the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the first major piece of gun legislation in almost three decades and the aforementioned same-sex marriage bill. That’s why her latest decision to defect from the Democratic Party to become an independent makes zero political sense except to bring attention to herself, but it will not save her politically.

This week should have been a sufficient week for Ms Sinema to feel like she had gotten her day in the sun. The House passed her legislation to codify same-sex marriage that she brokered with Republican and Democratic senators. Earlier this week, she floated a potential immigration deal with Senator Thom Tillis.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/voices-kyrsten-sinema-democratic-exodus-150638383.html

[Turbineguy]

1. There's plenty of time to find a Democratic candidate in 2024

[Igel]

3. Meaning a 3-way split for the general election.

Interesting to see the odds on how that pans out.

[Frasier Balzov]

12. Really depends on the quality of the candidate.

Mark Kelly does demonstrate the possibility of electing someone with a little more party loyalty.

[onetexan]

14. This ☝️

[CentralMass]

2. It won't do much for us either.

[onecaliberal]

4. It's her final fuck you to those who elected her. She's a fraud and a liar and now she will ensure

A recon gets that seat. Considering it’s Arizona probably an election denying pile of shit.

[delisen]

10. If we can't build on what Arizona has accomplished

and elect a second Democratic senator in Arizona, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

[onecaliberal]

11. Gallegos is a strong Dem so we will see.

[rwheeler31]

5. What cushy job could the President appoint her to,that she would take?

The new governor could install a Democrat before the next election.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Newsweek just mentioned that she has voted with Biden more...

than Bernie has. Both her votes and Bernie's are often gratuitous when the outcome is assumed, so no one should put too much into it.

What is important, though is her rationale that our present system sucks. We are beholden to an idea that we must follow a pack. The actual importance of a bill jas become irrelevant, just whether it is Democratic or Republican. This is not legislation, it is pack rule and leads to some really horrible things.

[OnDoutside]

7. I wonder if this is just her strategy to try get reelected rather than

her bullshit complaints about the system ? Utterly cynical but that's her.

[emulatorloo]

9. I just don't understand her endgame at all. Maybe you are on to something.

[OnDoutside]

13. Interesting that Alex Wagner followed up with the fact that she can't

be primaried by Gallego now so this puts the Democratic party in a tough spot because a 3 way contest will definitely hand the seat to the GOP,. That said, if her numbers are still as bad in a year's time, would she look for a soft landing somewhere else?

[delisen]

8. Sinema is not seeking attention for sake of attention

Sinema seems to be using power and acting in her own self interest, not unlike Sen Manchin.

Apparently a lot of democrats and progressives were taken in by her and helped her win the Arizona senate seat. She may be duplicitous, self-serving, dishonest and a conniving politician but I don’t see her as mainly an attention-seeker.

I am reminded of how many Democrats got taken in by the former attorney Michael Avenatti. Many Dems were willing to support him in a run for the presidency. Clearly they did not know him as he is now doing 14 years.

[Martin68]

15. Good point. Much like Trump, she has settled on the idea that the more attention you get, positive

or negative, you are more likely to get elected. Sadly, they both have had success with that.