Sinema's Supremely Stupid Stunt
On Friday's Actually Disgraceful Act
Anyone who has ever read my work knows I unironically believe Joe Manchin is a super valuable member of the Democratic Senate caucus. It's going to be tough, but I'm not going to get too mad at Joe Manchin. I understand that there is no other road to winning a Senate seat in West Virginia, so there is almost no limit to what I'll put up with from him.
Kyrsten Simena, though? Nah, I'm done. Fuck this bullshit. We don't need Sinema ro win a Senate seat in Arizona in 2024, and if she is going to be gleefully pulling a John McCain tribute act while voting to keep (disproportionately Black and Hispanic) Americans poorer than they need to be, then get primaried. We don't need her, and she can either get with the program or get a plane back to Arizona in 3 years.
…
Everyone is going to remember Manchin holding up Senate business for the slightest of tweaks to the COVID relief bill, but Sinema's bullshit was substantially more damaging. Manchin does what he does partially out of a belief that moderation is important, but also out of deference for his conservative state. Absolutely none of that justifies Sinema making a complete ass out of herself.
She treated the prospects of giving workers a raise with the contempt that I reserve for dumb people who tell me that Roger Wicker telling reporters that Manchin was done negotiating with Schumer or Biden means that the negotiations were over. Sinema was a clueless idiot at best or a heartless asshole at the worst, and while you can make an argument that the vote wasn't going to pass anyways, there's nothing that makes you put the spotlight on yourself as you do something that both contradicts your previous statements and hurts your constituents.
Remember, John McCain did the dramatic thumbs down to ensure that millions of Americans would keep their health insurance, as the decisive vote. He was always going to be the story of that day, and he voted in a way that was in step with his voters' wishes. Sinema? She just decided to shit on the wishes of her voters for no good reason. It is shameful that she did.
If you want to make the argument that we need her vote in the Senate, why could Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock vote for the wage rise? Their state is just as marginal as hers, and hell, the Reverend is up for re-election two years sooner! This isn't about politics, this is about Sinema thinking a wage rise is a convenient thing to campaign on when you want to, but not to actually achieve. Lying as a political strategy is sometimes a necessity, but advocating for a specific policy, and then gleefully abandoning it as soon as we get unified government is a new level of shittiness. These sorts of things are the things that make people believe the Democratic Party is no better for working people than Republicans. And while they're broadly wrong, this is really stupid politics to give them this ammunition.
Sinema is not necessary to winning statewide, especially given the tirefire that is the Arizona GOP. If Sinema is the nominee, Democrats will win in Arizona. If I were to be the nominee, we'd win. This level of weakness and sophistry is not needed to win this blue trending state, and acting like it is is mendacious. Primary Sinema, and you can replace an annoying Democratic vote with a reliable one. Joe Manchin is a Senate majority unto himself, and she is a slightly above average candidate. We only need to tolerate useless centrism from one of those two people. Primary Sinema in 2024.