Senator Kyrsten Sinema is distinctly her own person and can be relied upon to produce some interesting quotes. She is one of those moderates who, like Joe Manchin, went independent after the Democratic Party dragged their Overton Window so far to the left that it would have made Leon Trotsky dizzy; she isn’t easily swayed on most political matters but doesn’t mind speaking out when asked a question; agree with her or not, she’s always forthright.
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Now she’s leaving the Senate, and in some parting remarks, she has some blunt words for her critics.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) on Friday dismissed recent scrutiny from her Democratic colleagues as the Arizona lawmaker prepares for the end of her first and only term in the upper chamber.
Sinema, who opted against running for reelection earlier this year, faced her latest wave of pushback from the left after she and Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) blocked the renomination of Lauren McFerran to the National Labor Relations Board, which opened the door for Republican control of the board under President-elect Trump.
In an exit interview with Semafor published Friday, Sinema waved away the pushback, saying she didn’t “give a s‑‑‑.”
You can like someone’s style while not agreeing with their politics. That would be the case here. Sinema has grit:
“I know some people think I’m, like, this enigma or whatever, but I don’t think that’s true at all,” Sinema told Semafor. “I think, maybe, this is a place where sometimes people say things that they don’t mean. I am not one of those people … I think I’m highly predictable.”
Both Sinema and Manchin began their terms as Democrats but left the party after facing widespread anger from the party for putting up roadblocks to some liberal priorities under President Biden, in part by staunchly backing the Senate filibuster.
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The best thing Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema may have done in either of their political careers was standing up for the filibuster, and we should all draw a lesson from that. While this could be changed by amending the Senate rules – it’s not in the Constitution and there is no statute protecting the filibuster – it nevertheless suits an important purpose. It’s the last remaining vestige of the Senate’s original role as a “cooling saucer” to calm the passions of public sentiment. Making a super-majority requirement to serve as a bottleneck is vital to keep things from being downright capricious, which we can’t afford.
See Related: Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin Leave Joe Biden One Last Parting Gift, and Democrats Are Livid
On the subject of the election just passed, Sen. Sinema was a little less forthcoming:
Ruben Gallego (D), a retired Marine and longtime U.S. House representative, will move into Sinema’s Senate seat after he beat Republican candidate Kari Lake. Sinema was reluctant to talk about what kind of senator she thinks Gallego will be during her Semafor interview.
She also declined to say whom she voted for in the presidential election.
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I won’t speculate on that last question. As for her reluctance to discuss her replacement, or to discuss her vote (which isn’t anyone’s business in any case), it may make one harbor a sneaking suspicion that she isn’t completely done with politics yet.
See related: Finally, We Have an Answer. Ruben Gallego Wins the Arizona US Senate Seat.
