Yeah, wtf? What does that even mean?
In the 2018 primary, Abboud was to the left, Sinema to the center.
Sinema’s repeated criticism of of her general election opponent, in the senatorial campaign debate, was that McSally always voted with her party.
And in Sinema’s 2009 book on her political philosophy, Unite and Conquer, she barely mentions that she is a Democrat, except when highlighting how her friends are Republicans.
I agree with her that there is too much party loyalty in the U.S. Her long-time open opposition to same is a reason I would have voted for her, in the primary and general, if I was an Arizonan.
Voting the same as your party, just because they’re your party, is bad. Voting the same as your party, because you agree with what they’re voting on, which is the reason you joined that party in the first place, is good. And voting against your party, just because they’re your party, is Krysten Sinema.
They need her to NOT caucus with the GOP to be able to have control of the committees rather than having to work out a power sharing deal such as had to be in place in the current, soon to end, Congress.
My point being - at the moment Sinema has said she has no interest in screwing with the D’s majority and will vote in favor of them having majority control on the committees. By doing this Schumer will allow her to keep her committee assignments. This will allow Biden to get his appointees approved quickly, unlike in the current situation.
However, if the state party nominates a D to run against her (and particularly if the DNC approves) I anticipate Sinema could get her knickers in a knot and caucus with the GOP or at least screw with moving nominees through the Senate.
I know most people will come in and say she won’t do something like this for a multiplicity of reasons but she has shown she is only out to promote herself and keep the spotlight on her. As soon as she is rendered irrelevant I expect she is likely to try to find a way to get attention refocused on her.
ETA: And regarding Manchin, he is a Democrat through and through, although he is a pain at times. He can be counted on to work toward most of the goals Biden is likely to put forward in this Congress.
Once the organizing resolution is adopted at the start of the session, it won’t matter if she switches to caucus with the GOP. The committee ratios will be set at that point and the Republicans (still being in the minority) can’t force the Senate to revisit them.
Bully for you. I abandoned my “party loyalty” when one of the traditional parties abandoned even the fig-leaf of supporting democracy and started playing pigeon chess. Taking my country back is more important than anything it could have accomplished.
Good to know it’s binding for the session. I still believe she will find a way to keep herself in the spotlight by playing games with which side gets her vote. For that reason I see her as highly untrustworthy.
I hope that after her defeat in an election, she gets a lot of letters from folks who say that they want it on the record that they would have voted for her, but didn’t go to the polls.
Brilliant!
So well said!
It’s gauche to look down on the Senator just because she’s attracted to both Parties.
I still think she goes R. Just have a feeling this isn’t over.
Pro-gay rights AND pro-abortion rights? Anti-death penalty? I dunno - I think she’s unelectable as a Republican. Basically I don’t think she can get past a GOP primary unless she were to move to the Pacific coast/New England and even then it might be a long-shot.
Yeah, no way she goes R.
As an Independent, she believes she has the D party over a barrel. “Support me as an I, and don’t run a D against me, or I’ll split the vote and torpedo the center and give the seat to the R!”
I don’t think it works. I think the Dems believe AZ is shifting enough that they can successfully run a candidate even with Sinema gumming up the machinery. It’ll be messy and difficult, but I think that’s where the Dems are going.
But I also think Sinema recognizes this is literally the only shot she has at staying in office. As a D, she gets primaried and destroyed. As an R, she has zero chance. As an I, she tries to force the equation above, as literally the only possible way she keeps her job. It’s very unlikely to be successful, but a slim chance is better than no chance.
Well, we’ll see. Meanwhile, this happened just last night:
Party leaders announced an omnibus deal this morning, although it’ll be tight to get it passed before the end of the lame duck session. The Freedom Caucus is apoplectic, as this will take away one of their favorite tantrum tools until late next year.
AZ Dems in a tough spot, but they gotta bite the bullet and reject Sinema, even if it costs them a D seat in the next Senate. There’s just no way you give in to the threats from a turncoat like her. Even if it’s only a 1 in 5 chance that a Dem can pull a victory out, them’s the cards you’ve been dealt, so play them. If Gallego can get 35% of the vote, which a bad candidate endorsed by the Dems can do, and Sinema is polling her 10% or 5% or 15% or whatever, it’s bad policy for the stronger candidate to drop out of the race, just cowardice and dereliction of duty, and Gallego’s a fighter.
Right. Further, and perhaps more importantly, Sinema can’t win. No matter what party, or lack of party, she runs under. She’s burned too many bridges. So the Democrats should take their best shot.
No shot at all. She’s bi-hated. I doubt her family will vote for her.
She’s in the race nakedly to attract enough marginal D votes to throw the race to the Republicans, ensuring that voters of both parties have no reason to cast a ballot for her. She might be the first candidate ever to draw negative votes.
It would be supremely smart of Biden to offer her some exalted position and drop out of the race. Ambassador to France? Secretary of the Interior? Federal Judge? Something that she could rebuild her reputation with voters with? In like ten or twenty years, she might be able to run for Governor or VP on the Dem ticket–as it stands, her name is mud for elective office if she costs the Dems a Senate seat.
Is it even a given that she could get on the ballot as an independent? Most states make that pretty hard. Popular folks, like King or Sanders, can manage the petition signatures or whatever other hoops they have to jump through, but she’s not popular.