Democrats have never been so triggered by other Democrats as they are over Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, and it’s glorious.
New – Sinema backlash intensifies on left
– Gallego won't rule out primary. "Voters in Arizona are upset with her."
– AZ Dem Grijalva says she has a "responsibility" to divulge views
– Others fume. "We live under the tyranny of Kyrsten Sinema," Torres sayshttps://t.co/1AuS2yYQLD— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 21, 2021
Jayapal at a loss on Sinema's opposition to tax hikes on corporations and high-earners. "This is probably the most popular part of the whole package, is the tax pieces of it, and it's hard to understand." She met with Sinema recently but learned little about her views.
w/@arogDC— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 21, 2021
Here’s more from CNN:
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is at the zenith of her influence in Washington, with the ability to dramatically reshape — or derail — President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda simply by threatening to point her thumb down.
But how she has handled her growing power in the 50-50 Senate has also cost her something else: support from the left in Arizona, with progressives warning she is now at risk of becoming a political pariah and is potentially vulnerable in a 2024 Democratic primary battle.
“I think the sentiment that I’m hearing out there, voters in Arizona are upset with her, especially Democratic voters,” Rep. Ruben Gallego, a fellow Arizona Democrat, told CNN on Wednesday. “I think they support the President’s agenda, and they hope that she will, in the end, support the President’s agenda, pass reconciliation — the Build Back Better agenda.”
Gallego, who has been frequently mentioned as a potential primary challenger against her in 2024, pointedly did not rule out a run against Sinema.
“For me, all I care about is what happens between now and 2022,” Gallego said. “Those questions wait, wait.”
The criticism on the left is rampant not only back home but also in the halls of the US Capitol, as Sinema has stood firm against Democratic calls to gut the Senate’s filibuster to pass voting rights legislation and joined other moderates in voting against a minimum wage hike earlier this year.
Sinema is not the only Democrat who has infuriated the left. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has refused to go along with many Democratic priorities — such as generous paid family and medical leave policies, aggressive targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — opening him to constant criticism from liberals in Congress and activists across the country.
Yet Sinema’s handling of the situation is markedly different. For months, she has operated in near secrecy, privately holding conversations with the White House about her concerns. She has provided little information to fellow Democrats, other than Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, whereas Manchin has engaged directly with lawmakers and even spent Tuesday at a caucus lunch fielding a barrage of questions and hearing concerns from his Democratic colleagues. Sinema skipped the lunch, meeting with White House officials instead.
“There is a sense in which we no longer live in a democracy; we live under the tyranny of Kyrsten Sinema,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres, a progressive New York freshman. “I welcome the ideological diversity of the party. I can live with dissent. My colleagues and I have trouble living with what we perceive to be erraticism. The perception of erraticism is brought on by a lack of communication and clarity for where she stands.”
A spokesman for Sinema declined to comment. But aides have noted that she has been clear about her positions with Schumer and Biden since August.
“While we do not negotiate through the press — because Sen. Sinema respects the integrity of those direct negotiations — she continues to engage directly in good-faith discussions with both President Biden and Sen. Schumer to find common ground,” spokesman John LaBombard said in a statement last month.
I never would have predicted that the highlight of the Biden years would be the intransigence of Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin on Joe Biden’s horrendous socialist agenda. And it is amazing to watch Democrats in both houses lose their minds trying to deal with these two Senators who aren’t up for reelection until 2024.
