This Democratic Senator Won't Commit to Voting for Her Party in 2020

[babylonsister]

Oct. 29, 2019
This Democratic Senator Won’t Commit to Voting for Her Party in 2020
By Eric Levitz


Kyrsten Sinema’s career trajectory is as odd as it is impressive. The Arizona Democrat began her life in politics as the kind of Naderite who decries capitalism as rule by “the Almighty Dollar,” and Ronald Reagan as an “Osama lover.” As an activist, Sinema didn’t just protest the war in Iraq but opposed the invasion of Afghanistan with such vehemence she once suggested she had no personal objection to an American traveling overseas to fight for the Taliban. Years later, as the self-proclaimed “most liberal member of the Arizona State Legislature,” she argued that it was “bullshit” for women who stay at home, “leeching off their husbands,” to identify as feminist. At a time when the Christian right was at the zenith of its cultural power, Sinema proudly identified as a bisexual atheist in a red state.

A little over a decade later, Sinema managed to overcome her record as a far-left edgelord — which had included multiple video recordings of her calling Arizona “crazy” in front of crowds of coastal liberals — as well as the stigma associated with her atheism and sexual orientation to defeat a female Air Force veteran in a 2018 Senate election, thereby becoming the first Democrat to represent Arizona in the upper chamber since 1995.

Sinema pulled off this improbable feat by, among other things, rebranding herself as the most moderate member of the Democratic House caucus. Still, some left-leaning Democrats held out hope that once Sinema was safely ensconced in the Senate, some of her old Green self would peek through the “Blue Dog” façade. After all, Sinema won’t have to face Arizona voters until 2024, at which point, demographic trends could plausibly erase the GOP’s advantage in the state. Even today, Arizona looks only a shade redder than Wisconsin — whose Democratic senator, Tammy Baldwin, just won reelection as a proud supporter of single payer and worker co-determination. Meanwhile, the Grand Canyon State is less pro-Trump than Ohio, where Sherrod Brown won reelection in 2018 as a labor liberal who feels no obligation to serve as a rubber stamp for Trump’s cabinet and judicial nominees.

But Sinema has charted a different course. Instead of emulating progressives like Brown and Baldwin from light-red states, she has named West Virginia’s Joe Manchin as her role model (a Democrat who answers to an electorate that went for Trump by 40 points). Sinema was one of only three Democrats to vote for Bill Barr’s confirmation as attorney general. When virtually every other Democrat voted “present” on the Green New Deal resolution, Sinema crossed party lines to register her opposition to the very concept of a pro-labor, climate-centric industrial policy. Earlier this month, she voted against restoring Obama-era regulations on coal pollution. In all of these cases, no Democratic senator from a remotely purple state voted as Sinema did. Montana’s Jon Tester, whose state backed Trump by 20 points in 2016, toed the party line on all of these votes.

Which is to say: Sinema has decided to err on the side of being needlessly reactionary. She doesn’t even plan to endorse her party’s nominee for Arizona’s other Senate seat in 2020 — and won’t commit to voting for a Democrat against Donald Trump next year, either....

more...

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/10/kyrsten-sinema-trump-2020-democratic-senate-agenda.html?fbclid=IwAR1pWfGsdrR4Q30j9IVMAgtLpIPAgWAKJqqCoHjhcrrZQFAQEKhQW9zEmgU

[JonLP24]

1. I live in her former Congressional district

I'm not shocked. She was friends with Russell Pearce (sponsor of SB1070).

[Me.]

2. Thank You For Helping Barr Destroy Justice In This Country Senator Sinema

And if you vote for the traitor what does that say about you?

[sweetloukillbot]

21. 51 Republicans voted for Barr

Her vote made no difference whatsoever.

[Me.]

24. At Some Point Voting Your Conscience Does Count

and every vote counts in one way or another...in this case it tells against her...especially now that we are learning so much more about him and the entire procedure

[Aaron Pereira]

3. I'd vote for her any day over any Republican.

Too bad she's not willing to do the same for us.

[Turin_C3PO]

4. So I take it

that we can’t count on her to vote to convict Trump. SMH.

[sweetloukillbot]

6. If there 66 votes, she'll be the 67th.

If there are 51, I suspect she'll abstain or vote no.

[sweetloukillbot]

5. Sinema knows how to play politics in a Red State

She didn't beat McSally by much. She has to appeal to Conservative voters. I don't think she's been the swing vote for Republicans ever, but she has voted with them when it was obvious they would win. She works hard to make herself teflon against attacks from the right, but I absolutely do not believe she is a closet Republican. She was a strong liberal voice in a safe blue district, now that she's in a red state, she's voting more moderate.

In other words she's a politician.

Politics are different in red states, but everyone seems to act like Arizona is a closet bastion of liberalism. It isn't. The suburbs and rural AZ are DEEP red. There are some big pockets of Blue, but the most of the state is very red. I wouldn't expect Mark Kelly to be a strong liberal voice either, especially since his wife was just as moderate as Sinema is.

That said, if we win the Senate and she keeps voting with Republicans and costs us votes, I will absolutely revise my opinion.

[JonLP24]

8. Not really

I live in her district which is a district Clinton won and her replacement is more liberal and was in favor for impeachment based on the Mueller report alone (Sinema wasn't in favor). Plus she was painted as this wild liberal in ugly campaign ads multiple times so she is more conservative than she has to be. There was small difference between McSally & Sinema in ideology scorecards.

As far as being a "strong liberal voice"

#159 0.72 Sen. Martha McSally [R-AZ]
#160 0.72 Rep. Jim Jordan [R-OH4]
#161 0.71 Rep. Michael Conaway [R-TX11]
#162 0.71 Rep. Erik Paulsen [R-MN3, 2009-2018]
#163 0.71 Rep. Tom Rice [R-SC7]
#164 0.71 Rep. Warren Davidson [R-OH8]
#165 0.71 Rep. Jack Bergman [R-MI1]
#166 0.71 Rep. Collin Peterson [D-MN7]
#167 0.71 Rep. Steve Knight [R-CA25, 2015-2018]
#168 0.71 Rep. Frank Lucas [R-OK3]
#169 0.70 Rep. Dave Trott [R-MI11, 2015-2018]
#170 0.70 Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers [R-WA5]
#171 0.70 Rep. Steve Womack [R-AR3]
#172 0.70 Rep. John Carter [R-TX31]
#173 0.70 Rep. Adam Kinzinger [R-IL16]
#174 0.70 Rep. James Comer [R-KY1]
#175 0.70 Rep. Don Young [R-AK0]
#176 0.70 Rep. Karen Handel [R-GA6, 2017-2018]
#177 0.70 Rep. Adrian Smith [R-NE3]
#178 0.70 Rep. John Faso [R-NY19, 2017-2018]
#179 0.70 Rep. Mia Love [R-UT4, 2015-2018]
#180 0.70 Rep. John Shimkus [R-IL15]
#181 0.70 Sen. Kyrsten Sinema [D-AZ]
#182 0.69 Rep. Peter Roskam [R-IL6, 2007-2018]
#183 0.68 Rep. Kevin Brady [R-TX8]
#184 0.68 Rep. Steve Russell [R-OK5, 2015-2018]
#185 0.68 Rep. Liz Cheney [R-WY0]
#186 0.68 Rep. Gary Palmer [R-AL6]
#187 0.68 Rep. Joe Barton [R-TX6, 1985-2018]
#188 0.68 Rep. Debbie Lesko [R-AZ8]
#189 0.68 Rep. Christopher “Chris” Smith [R-NJ4]
#190 0.68 Rep. Brian Mast [R-FL18]
#191 0.68 Rep. Martha Roby [R-AL2]
#192 0.67 Rep. Trey Hollingsworth [R-IN9]
#193 0.67 Rep. Raúl Labrador [R-ID1, 2011-2018]
#194 0.67 Rep. Mimi Walters [R-CA45, 2015-2018]
#195 0.67 Rep. Will Hurd [R-TX23]
#196 0.67 Rep. Garret Graves [R-LA6]
#197 0.66 Rep. Jeff Denham [R-CA10, 2013-2018]
#198 0.66 Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler [R-WA3]
#199 0.66 Rep. John Katko [R-NY24]
#200 0.66 Rep. Bill Shuster [R-PA9, 2001-2018]
#201 0.66 Rep. Fred Upton [R-MI6]
#202 0.66 Rep. Peter “Pete” King [R-NY2]
#203 0.66 Rep. Darrell Issa [R-CA49, 2003-2018]
#204 0.66 Rep. John Curtis [R-UT3]
#205 0.66 Rep. Daniel Donovan [R-NY11, 2015-2018]
#206 0.65 Rep. Jason Lewis [R-MN2, 2017-2018]
#207 0.65 Rep. Tom MacArthur [R-NJ3, 2015-2018]
#208 0.65 Rep. Ryan Costello [R-PA6, 2015-2018]
#209 0.65 Rep. Dana Rohrabacher [R-CA48, 2013-2018]
#210 0.65 Rep. Leonard Lance [R-NJ7, 2009-2018]
#211 0.65 Rep. Devin Nunes [R-CA22]
#212 0.65 Rep. Kay Granger [R-TX12]
#213 0.65 Rep. Mac Thornberry [R-TX13]
#214 0.64 Rep. Greg Walden [R-OR2]
#215 0.64 Rep. Marshall “Mark” Sanford [R-SC1, 2013-2018]
#216 0.64 Rep. Virginia Foxx [R-NC5]
#217 0.64 Rep. Edward “Ed” Royce [R-CA39, 2013-2018]
#218 0.63 Rep. Thomas Massie [R-KY4]
#219 0.63 Rep. Henry Cuellar [D-TX28]
#220 0.63 Rep. Aumua Amata [R-AS0]
#221 0.63 Rep. Vern Buchanan [R-FL16]
#222 0.62 Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart [R-FL25]
#223 0.62 Rep. Michael “Mike” Simpson [R-ID2]
#224 0.62 Rep. Steve Scalise [R-LA1]
#225 0.61 Rep. Trey Gowdy [R-SC4, 2011-2018]
#226 0.61 Rep. Frank LoBiondo [R-NJ2, 1995-2018]
#227 0.61 Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers [R-KY5]
#228 0.60 Rep. Tom Reed [R-NY23]
#229 0.60 Commish. Jenniffer González-Colón [R-PR0]
#230 0.60 Rep. Scott Taylor [R-VA2, 2017-2018]
#231 0.59 Rep. Patrick McHenry [R-NC10]
#232 0.59 Rep. Rob Woodall [R-GA7]
#233 0.59 Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen [R-NJ11, 1995-2018]
#234 0.59 Rep. David Reichert [R-WA8, 2005-2018]
#235 0.57 Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R-FL27, 2013-2018]
#236 0.57 Rep. Ron Kind [D-WI3]
#237 0.56 Rep. Josh Gottheimer [D-NJ5]
#238 0.55 Rep. Michael Cloud [R-TX27]
#239 0.53 Rep. Justin Amash [I-MI3]
#240 0.53 Rep. Vicente Gonzalez [D-TX15]
#241 0.52 Rep. Kurt Schrader [D-OR5]
#242 0.52 Rep. Jim Costa [D-CA16]
#243 0.50 Rep. Kevin McCarthy [R-CA23]
#244 0.49 Rep. Tom O’Halleran [D-AZ1]
#245 0.48 Rep. John Delaney [D-MD6, 2013-2018]
#246 0.47 Rep. Troy Balderson [R-OH12]
#247 0.46 Rep. Kevin Hern [R-OK1]
#248 0.46 Rep. David Loebsack [D-IA2]
#249 0.46 Rep. Paul Ryan [R-WI1, 1999-2018]
#250 0.46 Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1, 2007-2018]
#251 0.45 Rep. A. Dutch Ruppersberger [D-MD2]
#252 0.45 Rep. Gene Green [D-TX29, 1993-2018]
#253 0.45 Rep. Sanford Bishop [D-GA2]
#254 0.45 Rep. Brenda Jones [D-MI13, 2018-2018]
#255 0.45 Rep. Daniel Lipinski [D-IL3]
#256 0.45 Rep. Stephanie Murphy [D-FL7]
#257 0.45 Rep. Bradley Schneider [D-IL10]
#258 0.44 Rep. Ami Bera [D-CA7]
#259 0.44 Rep. Jim Cooper [D-TN5]
#260 0.44 Rep. Brad Sherman [D-CA30]
#261 0.43 Rep. Terri Sewell [D-AL7]
#262 0.43 Rep. David Scott [D-GA13]
#263 0.43 Rep. Ann Kuster [D-NH2]
#264 0.42 Rep. Derek Kilmer [D-WA6]
#265 0.42 Rep. Susan Wild [D-PA7]
#266 0.42 Rep. Thomas Suozzi [D-NY3]
#267 0.42 Rep. Conor Lamb [D-PA17]
#268 0.42 Rep. Cheri Bustos [D-IL17]
#269 0.42 Rep. Mary Scanlon [D-PA5]
#270 0.42 Rep. Peter Visclosky [D-IN1]
#271 0.41 Rep. Raul Ruiz [D-CA36]
#272 0.41 Rep. Filemon Vela [D-TX34]
#273 0.41 Rep. Mike Thompson [D-CA5]
#274 0.40 Rep. Luis Correa [D-CA46]
#275 0.40 Rep. Richard Neal [D-MA1]
#276 0.40 Sen. Jacky Rosen [D-NV]
#277 0.40 Rep. James Himes [D-CT4]
#278 0.39 Rep. Michael “Mike” Doyle [D-PA18]
#279 0.39 Rep. John Larson [D-CT1]
#280 0.39 Rep. Robert Brady [D-PA1, 1998-2018]
#281 0.39 Rep. Joe Courtney [D-CT2]
#282 0.39 Rep. Denny Heck [D-WA10]
#283 0.38 Rep. Nancy Pelosi [D-CA12]
#284 0.38 Rep. Kathleen Rice [D-NY4]
#285 0.38 Rep. Peter DeFazio [D-OR4]
#286 0.38 Rep. Steny Hoyer [D-MD5]
#287 0.38 Rep. Joseph Morelle [D-NY25]
#288 0.37 Rep. Ed Perlmutter [D-CO7]
#289 0.37 Rep. Richard Nolan [D-MN8, 2013-2018]
#290 0.37 Rep. Scott Peters [D-CA52]
#291 0.37 Rep. Elizabeth Esty [D-CT5, 2013-2018]
#292 0.36 Rep. Emanuel Cleaver [D-MO5]
#293 0.36 Rep. Madeleine Bordallo [D-GU0, 2003-2018]
#294 0.36 Rep. Bill Pascrell [D-NJ9]
#295 0.36 Rep. Suzan DelBene [D-WA1]
#296 0.36 Rep. Beto O’Rourke [D-TX16, 2013-2018]
#297 0.35 Rep. Joyce Beatty [D-OH3]
#298 0.35 Rep. Ben Luján [D-NM3]
#299 0.35 Rep. Seth Moulton [D-MA6]
#300 0.35 Rep. Jared Polis [D-CO2, 2009-2018]
#301 0.35 Rep. Joaquin Castro [D-TX20]
#302 0.35 Rep. Brendan Boyle [D-PA2]
#303 0.35 Rep. Bill Foster [D-IL11]
#304 0.34 Rep. Donald Norcross [D-NJ1]
#305 0.34 Rep. Marc Veasey [D-TX33]
#306 0.34 Rep. Lois Frankel [D-FL21]
#307 0.34 Rep. Tulsi Gabbard [D-HI2]
#308 0.34 Rep. Gerald Connolly [D-VA11]
#309 0.34 Rep. Tony Cárdenas [D-CA29]
#310 0.34 Rep. David Price [D-NC4]
#311 0.34 Rep. Charlie Crist [D-FL13]
#312 0.34 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi [D-IL8]
#313 0.34 Rep. Tim Ryan [D-OH13]
#314 0.33 Rep. Jimmy Panetta [D-CA20]
#315 0.33 Rep. Al Lawson [D-FL5]
#316 0.33 Rep. James “Jim” Clyburn [D-SC6]
#317 0.33 Rep. Theodore Deutch [D-FL22]
#318 0.33 Rep. Julia Brownley [D-CA26]
#319 0.33 Rep. Gregorio Sablan [D-MP0]
#320 0.33 Rep. Matthew Cartwright [D-PA8]
#321 0.33 Rep. Brian Higgins [D-NY26]
#322 0.33 Rep. Lloyd Doggett [D-TX35]
#323 0.32 Rep. Sander Levin [D-MI9, 2013-2018]
#324 0.32 Rep. George “G.K.” Butterfield [D-NC1]
#325 0.32 Rep. Joseph Kennedy [D-MA4]
#326 0.32 Rep. Lacy Clay [D-MO1]
#327 0.32 Rep. Eric Swalwell [D-CA15]
#328 0.32 Rep. Pete Aguilar [D-CA31]
#329 0.31 Rep. Stacey Plaskett [D-VI0]
#330 0.31 Rep. Cedric Richmond [D-LA2]
#331 0.31 Rep. Diana DeGette [D-CO1]
#332 0.31 Rep. Doris Matsui [D-CA6]
#333 0.31 Rep. Bennie Thompson [D-MS2]
#334 0.31 Rep. William Keating [D-MA9]
#335 0.31 Rep. Val Demings [D-FL10]
#336 0.31 Rep. Joseph “Joe” Crowley [D-NY14, 2013-2018]
#337 0.31 Rep. Adam Schiff [D-CA28]
#338 0.31 Rep. Daniel Kildee [D-MI5]
#339 0.31 Rep. Ruben Kihuen [D-NV4, 2017-2018]
#340 0.31 Rep. Sean Maloney [D-NY18]
#341 0.30 Rep. Nita Lowey [D-NY17]
#342 0.30 Rep. Susan Davis [D-CA53]
#343 0.30 Rep. Peter Welch [D-VT0]
#344 0.30 Rep. John Yarmuth [D-KY3]
#345 0.30 Rep. John Sarbanes [D-MD3]
#346 0.30 Rep. Norma Torres [D-CA35]
#347 0.30 Rep. Bobby Rush [D-IL1]
#348 0.30 Rep. Grace Meng [D-NY6]
#349 0.30 Rep. Albio Sires [D-NJ8]
#350 0.30 Rep. Linda Sánchez [D-CA38]
#351 0.30 Rep. Dina Titus [D-NV1]
#352 0.29 Rep. Eliot Engel [D-NY16]
#353 0.29 Rep. Anna Eshoo [D-CA18]
#354 0.29 Rep. John Garamendi [D-CA3]
#355 0.29 Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester [D-DE0]
#356 0.29 Rep. Eddie Johnson [D-TX30]
#357 0.29 Rep. Rick Larsen [D-WA2]
#358 0.28 Rep. Salud Carbajal [D-CA24]
#359 0.28 Rep. Marcia Fudge [D-OH11]
#360 0.28 Rep. Jimmy Gomez [D-CA34]
#361 0.28 Rep. Robin Kelly [D-IL2]
#362 0.28 Rep. Colleen Hanabusa [D-HI1, 2016-2018]
#363 0.28 Rep. Juan Vargas [D-CA51]
#364 0.28 Rep. Stephen Lynch [D-MA8]
#365 0.28 Rep. Chellie Pingree [D-ME1]
#366 0.28 Rep. James “Jim” Langevin [D-RI2]
#367 0.28 Rep. Kathy Castor [D-FL14]
#368 0.27 Rep. Alma Adams [D-NC12]
#369 0.27 Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D-OH9]
#370 0.27 Rep. Niki Tsongas [D-MA3, 2013-2018]
#371 0.27 Rep. Donald McEachin [D-VA4]
#372 0.27 Rep. Anthony Brown [D-MD4]
#373 0.27 Rep. Debbie Dingell [D-MI12]
#374 0.26 Rep. Ruben Gallego [D-AZ7]
#375 0.26 Rep. Danny Davis [D-IL7]
#376 0.26 Rep. Henry “Hank” Johnson [D-GA4]
#377 0.26 Rep. Mike Quigley [D-IL5]
#378 0.25 Rep. Paul Tonko [D-NY20]
#379 0.25 Rep. Carol Shea-Porter [D-NH1, 2017-2018]
#380 0.25 Rep. Gregory Meeks [D-NY5]
#381 0.25 Rep. Al Green [D-TX9]
#382 0.25 Rep. Ted Lieu [D-CA33]
#383 0.24 Rep. Michael Capuano [D-MA7, 2013-2018]
#384 0.24 Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D-CA19]
#385 0.24 Rep. Donald Beyer [D-VA8]
#386 0.24 Rep. Jackie Speier [D-CA14]
#387 0.24 Rep. Suzanne Bonamici [D-OR1]
#388 0.24 Rep. Brenda Lawrence [D-MI14]
#389 0.23 Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz [D-FL23]
#390 0.22 Rep. Earl Blumenauer [D-OR3]
#391 0.22 Rep. David Cicilline [D-RI1]
#392 0.22 Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard [D-CA40]
#393 0.22 Rep. Grace Napolitano [D-CA32]
#394 0.22 Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY12]
#395 0.22 Rep. Karen Bass [D-CA37]
#396 0.22 Rep. Frank Pallone [D-NJ6]
#397 0.22 Rep. Hakeem Jeffries [D-NY8]
#398 0.22 Rep. Jerry McNerney [D-CA9]
#399 0.22 Rep. Maxine Waters [D-CA43]
#400 0.21 Rep. Alan Lowenthal [D-CA47]
#401 0.21 Rep. Rosa DeLauro [D-CT3]
#402 0.21 Rep. Donald Payne [D-NJ10]
#403 0.21 Rep. Katherine Clark [D-MA5]
#404 0.20 Rep. John Lewis [D-GA5]
#405 0.20 Rep. Elijah Cummings [D-MD7, 1996-2019]
#406 0.20 Rep. Judy Chu [D-CA27]
#407 0.20 Rep. Robert “Bobby” Scott [D-VA3]
#408 0.20 Rep. Steve Cohen [D-TN9]
#409 0.20 Rep. Darren Soto [D-FL9]
#410 0.19 Rep. Adam Smith [D-WA9]
#411 0.19 Rep. André Carson [D-IN7]
#412 0.19 Rep. Frederica Wilson [D-FL24]
#413 0.19 Rep. Mark Pocan [D-WI2]
#414 0.19 Rep. Ro Khanna [D-CA17]
#415 0.18 Rep. Betty McCollum [D-MN4]
#416 0.18 Rep. Adriano Espaillat [D-NY13]
#417 0.18 Rep. Jared Huffman [D-CA2]
#418 0.18 Rep. Nydia Velázquez [D-NY7]
#419 0.18 Rep. Mark Takano [D-CA41]
#420 0.17 Rep. Dwight Evans [D-PA3]
#421 0.17 Rep. Alcee Hastings [D-FL20]
#422 0.16 Rep. Mark DeSaulnier [D-CA11]
#423 0.16 Rep. Nanette Barragán [D-CA44]
#424 0.15 Rep. Luis Gutiérrez [D-IL4, 1993-2018]
#425 0.15 Rep. Keith Ellison [D-MN5, 2007-2018]
#426 0.15 Rep. José Serrano [D-NY15]
#427 0.15 Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee [D-TX18]
#428 0.15 Rep. Jerrold Nadler [D-NY10]
#429 0.14 Rep. James “Jim” McGovern [D-MA2]
#430 0.13 Rep. Jamie Raskin [D-MD8]
#431 0.12 Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman [D-NJ12]
#432 0.12 Rep. Yvette Clarke [D-NY9]
#433 0.11 Rep. Gwen Moore [D-WI4]
#434 0.11 Rep. Pramila Jayapal [D-WA7]
#435 0.10 Rep. Janice “Jan” Schakowsky [D-IL9]
#436 0.06 Rep. Raúl Grijalva [D-AZ3]
#437 0.01 Rep. Barbara Lee [D-CA13]
#438 0.00 Rep. Eleanor Norton [D-DC0]

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/report-cards/2018/house/ideology

She sees Joe Manchin as her idol and West Virgina is much more red than Arizona & also more anti Trump than Ohio.

[sweetloukillbot]

9. I lived in her district until about 6 months ago

She was my state rep in 00s in a deep blue district. She won the seat in the House (in a purple district) thanks to a Libertarian splitting the vote. Since then she’s racked right and been successful at getting re-elected.

[JonLP24]

10. She won multiple times and like I said Stanton is more liberal and he won the district

One of those times her campaign did send mailers to convince people to vote for the Libertarian not sure how much of an effect that had.

She also got there because of my votes as well and I voted for her in her first primary over the Obama & Bill Clinton endorsed candidate thinking she would be more liberal also the "prada socialist" stuff. It seems she has no convictions. Either way I should be able to have a right as someone who voted for her multiple times to call her out on her Republican policies.

[sweetloukillbot]

14. The district has tilted blue - it was not formed that way

It was a new district in 2012 and was designed as a swing district, and had a Libertarian not split the vote, she would have lost easily. Since then she dominated the district, and part of that has been that she's been able to sell herself as a moderate.
I've followed her since she was in the State house and a host on the local Air America. I remember her taking Ed Schultz to task over people displaced by Katrina.

And again, if her vote is needed, she votes with the Dems, if it won't make a difference, she votes to protect her right flank.

It's politics.

Take her to task for not being willing to stick her neck out, but implying she's going to vote for Trump is extremely dishonest.

[JonLP24]

17. I didn't say anything about her voting for Trump

I will continue to focus on her policies.

Also it has been a Democratic district ever since Independent redistricting. Obama, Hillary Clinton, & Greg Stanton have won here. I will stick with she is more conservative than she has to be.

[sweetloukillbot]

20. Fair enough

The article and a lot of the commentary I've seen surrounding it has glommed onto "she's not supporting any of the candidates" which I read as "yet" because she snarked about there being too many. However, many seem to take that as "She's supporting Trump" which I call B/S on.

In her district, after her second legislative victory, she probably could've tacked left. But would she have won a tight senate race then? I'm not so sure, because McSally would have had a lot more grist for advertising than the 20-year-old "Arizona Sucks" stuff she ran with. And I suspect she was looking to replace McCain even back then. She's definitely ambitious.

Her record can't be attacked from the right - I agree it can from the left though.

And frankly, after living here for 40 years I'm skeptical that Warren, Bernie or even Biden can flip the state. I'm not saying it's impossible, but Bill Clinton is the only Democrat who has won here since Truman. Hillary came closest, but that was as much due to Libertarians shearing votes of Trump. I suspect that will happen again in 2020, whether it's enough for a Democratic plurality I'm not so sure.

And don't get me wrong, I'd love to see her leading from the left - but I just don't think the realpolitik in the state allows that.

[JonLP24]

22. I don't have a crystal ball myself so I can't speculate

If I'm reading the article correctly I'd hope she would at least endorse the candidate for Senate. I worry in 2024 she could depress turnout or 3rd parties will get more votes.

[Garrett78]

15. The article addresses that argument.

[brush]

7. God! Just what we need when AZ is leaning blue. Kelly, the ex-astronaut and Dem candidate...

for the other AZ senate seat is leading and now she decides she can't commit to the Dem nominee. WTFucking hell?

Please, God, what have we done to deserve this?

[Garrett78]

16. Now, now, you'll be accused of purity testing.

[brush]

19. She can't guarantee she'll support our presidential candidate? Please.

[JonLP24]

11. The new Democratic senator irritating the left and delighting the GOP

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is threatening party unity at a crucial moment. She doesn't care.

She rarely goes to party lunches and skipped Senate votes to run the Ironman. She endorsed a primary challenger against one of her own colleagues and hobnobs with Republicans at least as much as she does with her own caucus.

Kyrsten Sinema doesn’t really fit in with her fellow Senate Democrats. Don’t even ask her whether she watches the Democratic presidential debates.

“I’m not missing anything. I prefer happiness,” Sinema declares in a 25-minute interview, a rare extended conversation with an outlet not based in Arizona. “Look how happy I am.”

(snip)

And she is criticizing senators in both parties for “highly partisan” statements on impeachment and is declining to endorse the House impeachment inquiry: “That’s not my job, that’s not my role.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/29/kyrsten-sinema-arizona-democrats-060187

[Cha]

13. Too bad she doesn't want our

country and planet to be as "happy" as she is.

[Me.]

23. THe Key Will Be

if she expects supports and cash from the Dems

[Cha]

27. Excellent point, Me..

but I would think Dems being who we are would still want to support a dem over a traitor.

Too bad she's not a Team player for the patriots.

[marlakay]

12. I don't know her at all but she has some Republicans

Liking her. Meghan on the view was talking real nice about her yesterday.

[JonLP24]

18. Yes she does

I end up arguing with Republicans more often on social media over Krysten Sinema policies. This is one example.

Link to tweet

[UTUSN]

25. Huh?

[Kurt V.]

26. She's no friend of democrats. Period

[ritapria]

28. It is very sad that she's joined "The Manchin Caucus"

By 2024 (her re-election year) , Arizona will be a purple state ..