Sinematic angst

She is a corporate Democrat who has, in fact, along with Sen. Manchin sabotaged enormously important legislation.

Bernie Sanders.

My, my.

Worth noting, Sanders isn't a Democrat either.   Kyrsten Sinema, by going independent, is taking the position that he has always occupied.  An independent who caucuses with the Democrats.  Sanders ran as a Democrat in recent Presidential elections, but he isn't one.

The reaction to this has been interesting.  Democrats in Washington, who had just been stating how great it was that they had won in Georgia in part because they no longer really had to pay attention to Sinema and Manchin, who have used their positions to extract bargains, are now backtracking noting that this really doesn't change anything. And by and large, it probably doesn't.  Sinema and Manchin retain their positions of influence for the very reason that their positions don't track with the rest of the Democratic Party.

Outside of D.C., and with people like Sanders, Sinema is under attack for being disinenguine.  But is she? She was already under attack for going her own way on things.  She still is.

By all accounts, Sinema is a really unique Senator.  She was originally a member of the Green Party, not the Democratic Party, which makes her a real outsider.  She's apparently highly introverted in a field where you wouldn't expect that, and in terms of "caucusing" with the Democrats, she really doesn't.  She apparently doesn't show up, and she doesn't socialize with other Senators.  

Right now its popular to say that Sinema is sure to go down in defeat in the next Arizona primary. This might be right, but she's had a remarkably successful career in Arizona politics so far, so the "nobody likes her" can't be true.  Undoubtedly the most photogenic Senator in American history, she has only recently drawn Democratic ire in her home state and for taking positions on bills that seem to have corporate interest at heart.  For that reason, pundits like Robert Reich can't stand her.  Prior to that, however, she was noted for her support of Obamacare at the state level, and for being the first bisexual Senator in U.S. history, something that caused the liberals that now hate her to then love her.

Sinema's independence actually isn't new, and to a huge degree she's a mystery in a very public field.  Her early life's story is disputed and the version of it she gives isn't universally supported.  The accuracy of it hasn't been cleared up and there hasn't been a need to. She was a member of the LDS church and attended BYU, but dropped out of the Mormon faith after that and has left her personal beliefs pretty much wholly unknown.  She has been married and divorced, but next to nothing is known about her ex-husband, Blake Dain, and she's refused to say anything.  As a politician, she's never voted consistently along party lines and refused an effort ot remove an Arizona legislative figure, noting that "she loved him."

Being attacked by Bernie Sanders goes a long ways, frankly, in crediting her.  In her speech she noted that most Arizonans are independents and frankly a huge percentage of Americans are.  It's now the case that independents often figure as the second-largest political group in a state, and that's likely the case in Wyoming.  A look at party politics explains why.  In one state, Alaska, the voting system has been altered to omit the party role, and in at least one other state, Nebraska, that's always been the case. 

Sinema has received the disdain of her own party in her home state for holding up bills that the Democrats wanted passed based on positions that seemed to favor corporate interests.  Arizona's Democrats censured her, just as Wyoming's Republican's censured Liz Cheney.  Now Sinema has dumped the Democrats in a state where their fortunes are waning.

Sinema may be ahead of the curve.