Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent, she told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an exclusive TV interview.
“I’ve registered as an Arizona independent. I know some people might be a little bit surprised by this, but actually, I think it makes a lot of sense,” Sinema said in a Thursday interview with Tapper in her Senate office. “I’ve never fit neatly into any party box. I’ve never really tried. I don’t want to,” she added....
The Democrats were already relying on 2 non-Democrats to flesh out their majority power: Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine. Like Sinema, they are independents.
While Sanders and King formally caucus with Democrats, Sinema declined to explicitly say that she would do the same. She did note, however, that she expects to keep her committee assignments – a signal that she doesn’t plan to upend the Senate composition, since Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer controls committee rosters for Democrats....
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She’s a maverick!!
YES! I'll take it as a win.
Watching Murkowski work the Ranked Choice Voting method to keep her seat when a Repub primary would've removed her, I thought of Sinema. The Dems would primary her and try to get rid of her. If AZ had RCV she too would defeat the party hardliners. But now she's basically done the same thing by moving to Indie.
Sanders and King are Democrats who maintain their independent status as a fashion choice. Sinema, like Manchin, is an actual independent who may actually conduct herself as an independent. I doubt she’ll keep her committee assignments regardless of the promises she secured from Schumer.
Sinema to Dems: Don’t tread on me.
Presidential ambitions?
Tactical move. Shades of Joe Lieberman. She likely would have faced a bruising primary challenge in 2024, and I'm pretty sure most serious GOP challengers will want to avoid a three-way race with the Arizona GOP still in serious disarray.
She started out running for office as an independent affiliated with the Greens. Then found success as a Democrat. As long as she does not caucus with GoP Schumer can rest easy.
Maybe Joe Manchin will finally suck it up and do the same.
I’m surprised incumbents don’t do this more often, at least until primaries are over. Every cycle…
What red blooded American man would pass up a Three Way with her?
Lol no. "Independemt" is just a word. You don't need bayesian probability models to predict her bi-yesian political thoughts or voting history.
There's no "i" in democrat, and that's who She'll be cockusing with.
“I’ve never fit neatly into any party box. I’ve never really tried. I don’t want to,”
She gets too hungry for dinner at eight...
If not for Trump (2016), this type of split would have happened after the 2016 election. Recall that the Occupy Wall St. and One Percenters and the Bernie Bros were breaking to the left and against Hillary, and might well have taken Hillary down.
But, the Democrats were blindsided by Trump and then united in hatred of Trump. That cycle delayed the left's split until Trump (now appears) to be irrelevant. Given the often pragmatic voting patterns of Schumer, Pelosi, and all sorts of center-left Democrats before Trump, the Party may be secretly cheering Sinema on. They know that Squad/Bernie hard left politics have limited appeal but couldn't seem to find a face-saving exit.
For the next two years, ignore "R" and "D" next to names and focus on actions over words or labels. We are in the middle of the biggest ideological realignment for at least 50 years. What it means to be a D or an R could be very different in 2024 than in 2016 or 2020.
Power move!
Good for her and AZ!
Not impressed. She's just sticking her toe in the water. She now gets to play both sides.
She must have reassured her base of supporters that this move is for the best.
We'll see. Seems just Democrat-lite.
"What red blooded American man would pass up a Three Way with her?"
Plenty. But the rest of us can fantasize at least about a hot lesbian coven get-together involving Sinema, Tulsi, Boebert, and plenty of baby oil.
Sinema's Seditious Scissors Sisters Part Deux.....hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng
Sanders, King and Manchin can now come out as bisexual. Just to keep up.
Blogger Enigma said...
If not for Trump (2016), this type of split would have happened after the 2016 election.
Recall Schumer's quip in '16 that "For every blue collar man we lose we pick up two suburban women. Quoted but never really reported. It was that the Democrats were stating what was becoming obvious, the party was abandoning the working class because the money and power lay elsewhere.
If you're not convinced of this by 2022, the recent congressional vote on the railroad abortion contract made it explicitly clear.
Meh. What’s the difference? If she thinks she’ll stay on Democratic committees, she’s planning on still voting with Democrats the majority of the time.
Man...I like her courage. And unlike Bernie Sanders, she is actually an independent thinker. But more than that, she's shown she has the courage to stand up to the media barrage, and more importantly, to the powers that be in her own party and Washington DC. She's still a woman of the Left. Of that there is no doubt. But a woman of common sense.
At least she's willing to listen and hear the other side. And she is most definitely less a sure bet for Democrats than, let's say...Susan Collins or Lisa Murkowski.
The switch after the chase into the bathroom has a vintage Howard Stern joke somewhere.
I just can’t quite put my finger on it.
She is a twunt. And she will still vote 99.9% democrat.
Oh, that's just delicious.
And...nothing changes.
She is still supporting amnesty and open borders.
I think she is just getting out of the way of the backlash in Arizona. The Republican and Democrat parties teamed up to disenfranchise thousands of voters and ran an obviously corrupt election in Maricopa county.
Everyone sees what the Uniparty is and she doesn't want to be in front of what is coming.
If McConnell were Shumer, he would already have Manchin flipped. Except the Democrats have thousands of places to land politicians in cushy sinecures, and lots of publishing houses to ink fat book deals for those who play ball, and Republicans simply don't.
With Democrats now running Arizona, Sinema was rightly concerned about her ability to win the Democrat primary in 2024.
The Republican Party in AZ is in disarray between the McCainites and the populist conservatives that were endorsed by Trump. The Democrat Party will overplay their hand as we start to realize what leftists they are.
It was a smart move by Sinema.
Temujin said...
At least she's willing to listen and hear the other side. And she is most definitely less a sure bet for Democrats than, let's say...Susan Collins or Lisa Murkowski.
There is a group of about 15 Republican senators that Mitch McConnell can have take turns betraying the republican voters.
Thom Tillis is just taking his turn like McCain did when he voted to keep Obama Care. Tim Scott, Romney, Burr, Collins, Portman, Sasse, Murkowski, Thune, Toomey and others are all solid votes for the Uniparty. They only have to have 1 or 2 of them show their true colors at a time right now to get the uniparty agenda passed.
tim in vermont said...
If McConnell were Shumer, he would already have Manchin flipped. Except the Democrats have thousands of places to land politicians in cushy sinecures, and lots of publishing houses to ink fat book deals for those who play ball, and Republicans simply don't.
McConnell is Schumer.
They are both on the same team and both have the same goals.
Once you get past the side shows of abortion and gay marriage that really don't matter the uniparty has one goal: Serving their corporate oligarch donors.
The uniparty doesn't even care about abortion and gay marriage. They don't really care about the grooming in schools. The school groomers are just BLM with a different set of buildings to burn down.
The goal of the uniparty is to destroy the 1% of disruptive entrepreneurs that are rich and the working class that works for them and keep power in the hands of the .0001% Oligarchs, their technocratic wage slaves/laptop class, and the dependent poor.
Wow. early morning commenters. I think Sinema wants to nail down the McCain vote, signalling that her vote on issues is somewhat unpredictable. Kari Lake made a huge mistake in criticizing St. McCain (does anyone remember the Straight Talk Express, or all the phobias on wheels?), while running for statewide office in Arizona.
the democrat party as it stands now is led but a puppet and a crook. The democrat party is an embarrassment.
If man-baby would leave - the GOP could be the party of adults. Not that the woke Gen z want that.
Fun fun fun!
If she truly wants to blunt the influence of the extremes she would team with Manchin under the pledge that they will vote no on any motion, bill, or appointment that does not have at least on supporter from both parties.
1. The bathroom stunt was the Democrats chasing her out of their party.
2. She is on record opposing moves like eliminating the filibuster.
3. This returns Joe Manchin to the swinging Dem seat, making him the key party vote for Schumer’s lowlier schemes.
This is a meaningless charade. She will still vote with the Democrats 99% of the time, and 100% of the time on Senate organizing.
Independent? Hardly. But definitely a cunning stunt.
She's truly bi-partisan.
Achilles: "There is a group of about 15 Republican senators that Mitch McConnell can have take turns betraying the republican voters."
Yes. Those republicans who take turn betraying the base are precisely the folks HBTPFH calls "the adults".
Note the desperation the GOPe-ers display when longing for the days of unrestricted and unlimited GOPe-er betrayal of the republican base. That's because, as Schumer has said, the GOPe-ers and democraticals share the same vision for the republican party....and that vision has no place for actual conservative governance.
HBTPFH is a like a baby bird waiting in the nest for Mama McConnell to drop the next betrayal down his screaming throat.
This makes Manchin the most powerful man in the Senate.
But I am disappointed that she went the 'Independent' route.
Very wishy-washy...
Agree with Tim - It's wishful thinking that Manchin will leave the D-grifting cash cow.
She didn't leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left her. (Ok, that is cliche but someone had to say it.)
I agree with Synema on very little, but she is one Democrat I would vote for were it an option for me.
Women will get full support if they parrot the talking points of the part of "diversity". Vary from it and they will get the misogynistic (and in her case, homophomic) wrath of the same people for having thought for themselves. She knows that and acts anyway.
Howard said...
Presidential ambitions?
No, I think she sees the economic damage coming from Democrat policies to date. She can keep her skirts cleaner when all goes to shit in 2024.
I think she is just getting out of the way of the backlash in Arizona. The Republican and Democrat parties teamed up to disenfranchise thousands of voters and ran an obviously corrupt election in Maricopa county.
This is another factor. I dread what "Governor Hobbs" will be doing.
Kari Lake made a huge mistake in criticizing St. McCain (does anyone remember the Straight Talk Express, or all the phobias on wheels?), while running for statewide office in Arizona.
Yes, I agree. Too bad but that was an unforced error.
"Kyrsten Sinema just left the Democratic Party."
Leaving not leaving.
What I think a lot of people don’t realize, outside AZ, is that the Dem Party brand has become quite toxic in the minds of much of the populace here. They just blatantly, in our faces, openly disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of Republicans this last election. The entire top tier of our government was fraudulently elected, and then the vermin taking the governorship certified it as the outgoing Secretary of State. It was a coup, of the type we don’t expect to see in this country. This way, Sinema can position herself as not one of them.
Scott Adams suggests rather strongly today that Kyrsten Sinema‘s election to the Senate from AZ was another electoral fraud.
Actually, the Democratic Party left her.
Just as it did with Joe Manchin.
If she thinks she’ll stay on Democratic committees, she’s planning on still voting with Democrats the majority of the time.
If a few Democrats start voting "mostly" with the party line, the Dems can't pass much at all.
Their entire legislative house of cards rests on everyone doing exactly what Schumer demands, along with a few Republicans crossing over from time to time for "bipartisanship".
Sinema will keep her Committees because otherwise she flips the Senate back to 50/50.
This is why it was important for her to wait until Warnock was elected, lest she endure the wrath from flipping the whole body to McConnell.
Shouting Thomas said...
Scott Adams suggests rather strongly today that Kyrsten Sinema‘s election to the Senate from AZ was another electoral fraud.
It should be pretty obvious at this point that the Uniparty Republicans and Democrats are teamed up to mail in whatever ballots it takes to make sure uniparty members get elected.
Tomorrow CNN will report that Romney now identifies as a Democrat, pronouns him/Dem/them.
Michael K said...
Kari Lake made a huge mistake in criticizing St. McCain (does anyone remember the Straight Talk Express, or all the phobias on wheels?), while running for statewide office in Arizona.
Yes, I agree. Too bad but that was an unforced error.
I disagree.
The McCain faction in Arizona doesn't have many voters. It has a bunch of corrupt shitheads that hate Arizona Republican Voters.
There is no working with traitors. They do not want what Republican voters want. They are only in elected office to subvert the will of Republican voters.
The McCain wing in Arizona was working with Hobbs long before Lake correctly pointed out what the real problem is.
None of this changes until at least one political party opposes the corruption of our elections and government.
The Republican Party does not oppose corruption until the McCain/Romney/McConnell/Bush wing of the party is removed root and branch.
I don't think dems put up a fight for the king and sanders seats. Just accept them. I what suppose what they do here might depend here on how she votes next session. I think she hopes being an idventified independent gives her some cover for independent votes. 50-49 works for Schumer on not having to power share, I assume. But still seems weird she does not say she will caucus with Dems unless she has no fear of a Democrat running in 24.
AMDG said...
If she truly wants to blunt the influence of the extremes she would team with Manchin under the pledge that they will vote no on any motion, bill, or appointment that does not have at least on supporter from both parties.
This is not going to work unless you want what McConnell and Schumer want. Combined they both have more than 50 senators to get anything the Uniparty wants done done.
That means:
1. amnesty
2. open borders
3. metric fucktons of us taxpayer dollars going to Ukraine while FEMA turns down aid for Florida
4. corporate/government alliances to censor americans
5. free trade with china, Mexico and whatever other countries the oligarchs have operations in
6. heavy regulation on American manufacturing
7. 107,000 new IRS agents to go after Trump supporters
This is an abbreviated list.
Pure personal political survival.
The progressives were going to go all-out to primary her. By jumping rather than being pushed, she's denying them the chance, instead guaranteeing she'll be on the November 2024 ballot.
The choice for Democrats (particularly the state and national party decision-makers) in 2024 thus becomes very simple: Unite behind Sinema, or see the D vote split and at least six years of a Republican senator.
Her nickname is now Switching Sinema.
If she votes too much with GoP it could be GoP votes she peeled off on 24.
I wonder if Chuck Schumer will be sending $10M+ in democrat donor funds to Sinema to attack other democraticals in the same way Turncoat Mitch McConnell gave Murkowski $10M+ to attack republicans.
Since the democraticals are not nearly as stupid and backstabbing as Mitch, and don't actually despise their own base voters the way Mitch despises his, I'm guessing "no".
This is essentially meaningless in terms of Congress, nothing is changed. She will caucus with the Democrats, vote with the Democrats and side on their side of the Committee room. This is to keep her from a primary fight, that’s all it is.
Cipher Sinema.
The usual suspects will predictably welcome a phony like her, and with open arms. She joins her fellow phonies.
If she had any values, independence or even rationality she could point to a stance she took that was hindered by party affiliation. But of course she can’t. Every position she’s taken since being elected has been taken to enrich herself, and that’s why she took the opposite positions when running.
hpudding: "Cipher Sinema.
The usual suspects will predictably welcome a phony like her, and with open arms."
The "usual suspect" independent Senators? That would be Bernie Sanders.
I'm really liking her, and didn't expect to.
I'm really liking her, and didn't expect to.
I'm really liking her, and didn't expect to.
I'm really liking her, and didn't expect to.
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