SURPRISE PARTY: You’ll believe what Kyrsten Sinema just did
Kyrsten Sinema, one of two Democratic Senators best known for voting against progressive interests, has made an announcement that is unsurprising but still disappointing: she’s leaving the Democratic Party.
Sinema, who has been censured by her party for standing against the ending of the Senate filibuster and was roundly criticized for voting against progressive policies in other instances, such as for a federal minimum wage increase, says she doesn’t “fit neatly into any party box,” and that it just makes sense for her to leave the “partisan structure.
She explained that she doesn’t believe Arizonans care whether an idea is favored by liberals or conservatives, and that they’d prefer for their elected officials to focus less on partisanship, and more on working together to make the best decisions for their constituents.
She also fell back on a tired “both-sides” argument, claiming that both Democrats and Republicans are “catering to the fringes,” although she didn’t quite go so far as to explain what ‘fringes’ she thinks the left is supporting while the Republican Party continues to be the party of insurrection.
In an AZCentral op-ed, Sinema argued:
Americans are told that we have only two choices – Democrat or Republican – and that we must subscribe wholesale to policy views the parties hold, views that have been pulled further and further toward the extremes. Most Arizonans believe this is a false choice, and when I ran for the U.S. House and the Senate, I promised Arizonans something different.
She says that she campaigned on a promise to Arizonans that she wouldn’t get caught up in name-calling, political drama, or party pressure.
Apparently “drama” in her definition does not include antics like showing up to a minimum wage vote with cake, then performing a curtsy-esque thumbs down on the legislation. (Video below.)
This is a real video of an actual senator (Kyrsten Sinema) voting no on a $15 minimum wage pic.twitter.com/ATAqcWmTqs
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) March 5, 2021
Sinema timed her announcement as her (former) party celebrated Senator Raphael Warnock’s win in Georgia’s runoff election, which had given Democrats a slightly increased majority, with 51-49 control of the Senate.
The ’51’ includes two other Independents, Bernie Sanders and Angus King, who caucus with Democrats.
Sinema also released a video announcement, as seen below, calling the move a “natural extension of [her] service” and “a reflection of who [she’s] always been.”
In a natural extension of my service since I was first elected to Congress, I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington and formally registering as an Arizona Independent. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/jUQHAeuxym
— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) December 9, 2022
“I’m gonna be the same person I’ve always been…nothing is gonna change for me,” she concluded.
