Her political origin story has Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) growing up grindingly poor. In legend, her family scratched out a subsistence existence while living in an unelectrified, plumbing-free abandoned gas station in Florida’s panhandle. In 2018, when campaigning for the US Senate in her first statewide race, Sinema waxed nostalgic for her youthful Dickensian deprivations. On the stump, she told audiences,
"My stepdad built a bunkbed for me and my sister. We separated our bunkbed from the kitchen with one of those big chalkboards on rollers. I knew that was weird. A chalkboard shouldn't be a wall. A kitchen should have running water."
As the first openly bisexual member of Congress, she celebrated the diversity of the Democratic Caucus. Back in 2013, when she first went to DC as a Representative, she spoke affectionately about her fellow Democrats. She told her constituents during a coffee meeting — back when she still spoke to them - and was a Democrat,
"I'm just really proud of the Democratic caucus. I look around in our meetings, and I think we really look like America."
The people she pals around with now do not look like America. And the constituents who saw her up close and personal then, are now kept so far away she will not be troubled by their needs. This erstwhile pro-LGBTQ, pro-planet left winger famously left the Democratic party and declared herself an independent. Independent is in itself not necessarily a bad thing — Bernie Sanders and Angus King are Independents. But they are firm in their support for Democratic policies. Sinema has turned her back on everything she once claimed to hold dear.
In an opinion piece for AZ Central, she explained her rationale. She announced that she was a politician who would listen to all voices and carve a consensus path to benefit all Arizonans because the major parties were full of zealots who did not give a shit about regular Americans. In her words,
"But if the loudest, most extreme voices continue to drive each party toward the fringes – and if party leaders stay more focused on energizing their bases than delivering for all Americans – these kinds of lasting legislative successes will become rarer."
It is self-congratulatory hogwash. We can all agree that Republicans have never been further right. But if the Democrats are equally extreme, why is Cornell West running? Spoiler alert: It is not because the Democratic party is too far to the left.
Not that it matters. Sinema ran as a Democrat. Arizonans thought they were electing a Democrat. If she wanted to change horses, honesty demanded she wait until the next election to run as an independent. Then if the voters returned her to Washington, fair enough. But she did not. And it is reasonable to assume she did not because she knew she would lose as an independent.
Say what you will about Sinema, she is no dummy. She graduated college at 18. And she has a law degree, a Ph.D., and an MBA. She can also read polls. And recent polls in Arizona have the putative Democratic nominee Rep. Ruben Gallego ahead of various potential Republicans, with Sinema in third place.
Statistically, an independent Sinema candidacy seems no more than a vanity project, and common sense demands she not run. But politicians are generally blinded by ego and often have a messianic belief that they are the best person for the job — regardless of how the voters feel about it.
I suspect Sinema thought her decision to declare as an Independent would make her attractive to both parties in DC. She was right — but only for the remaining year and change of her term. The Democrats let her committee assignments stand. And McConnell is pitching woo.
But she has a sell-by date (January 3rd, 2025). And it is unlikely that there will be any more major legislation in Biden’s first term. For political relevance, her best bet is that a Supreme Court seat falls vacant.
In the interim, Sinema has decided that the most she can do for the poor is not be one of them. She has pitched her tent in the rich folks' backyard. Arizona Central’s Ronald Hansen reports how Sinemea has shed her past.
"For many that narrative of humble roots has given way to another, more contemporary image of a senator hobnobbing with the rich and powerful — someone more comfortable sipping sangria in flashy apparel at a private gathering than meeting in public with constituents about what troubles them. Sinema hasn't officially said she is seeking reelection to the Senate since she left the Democratic Party in December to become an independent. As she considers her options, she does so knowing many of her former supporters haven't reconciled the image of who she once was to how she now comes across."
Sinema has not broken any laws. But she is the worst kind of politician — a backstabber. Contrast that with the worst of the right, Ted Cruz and Tommy Tuberville. Both are awful human beings. They are racist liars with no redeeming features. Cruz is a widely despised Cancun-bound porn addict. Tuberville is plain-clothes KKK. But they have made no secret of who they are.
Their voters got what they voted for. And to that extent, they are ‘honest’ politically. Sinema, on the other hand, is a snake in the grass.
I do not know what her plans are. Or how she envisions her future career. But Sinema is only useful to the wealthy as long as she is in a position to do something for them. And she can kiss any influence she might have had with liberal powers goodbye.
She should have been honest and switched parties. Republicans would have warmly embraced her. And would have poured millions into her re-election campaign. She would have improved her chances of retaining her Senate seat. But she did not. Perhaps she is not that smart after all.
She doesn’t want to look like “real America” 😏 thank you Pitt
Aint it the truth!! Well said!