The new Democratic senator irritating the left and delighting the GOP

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.


Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO

By BURGESS EVERETT

10/29/2019 05:06 AM EDT

Updated: 10/29/2019 10:04 AM EDT
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.

opposed as Democratic leader during her 2018 campaign.

Like every member of the caucus, she gets random calls from Schumer frequently enough that she can easily break into a raspy New York accent while doing a brief impression of the minority leader: “‘Sinema! What’s new?’”

But when push comes to shove on important votes, she has a warning for party honchos: Leave her alone.

“Everyone knows that I am very independent-minded,” she said. “And that it’s not super useful to try and convince me otherwise.”

Sinema isn’t especially close with either Trump or Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (neither has her phone number, she said), but she doesn’t light into them the way most Democrats do. She’s working with McConnell to whip votes for repealing Obamacare’s medical device tax and said the president “certainly” knows who she is.

And observers watching her on the Senate floor during a vote would be forgiven for thinking she’s a Republican, considering her chats with GOP senators like Majority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota.

She spends at least as much time on the Republican side of the chamber as the Democratic half and lists Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas as an ally atop the Commerce Committee’s Aviation and Space subcommittee. Cruz returned the favor by declining to lump the Arizona Democrat in with what he sees as an increasingly socialist Democratic Party.

“I said to her one time: Why aren’t you a Republican? … she said: ‘I just couldn’t be,’” Cramer recounted.


accused Sinema of saying “It’s OK to commit treason,” and Sinema said McSally was spreading "smears," there’s been no real attempt to put the past behind them.

“There hasn’t been that conversation,” Sinema said flatly.

Sinema isn’t out for revenge, either. She’s currently uncommitted in McSally’s campaign against Democrat Mark Kelly and has no plans to weigh in. She said her constituents “don’t care” about endorsements.

That neutral stance might buy her goodwill with her Republican colleagues, who are in the majority, after all. But it’s another reminder that her moderate stance doesn’t play well with all Democrats. The state Democratic Party put off a censure vote against her this year, but could revive it next year.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a progressive Democrat from Arizona, said Democrats were “a little thrown back” by her vote for Barr and warned her not to forget her state’s increasingly young, diverse voting population as she navigates the tricky politics of being from a swing state.

“She runs her own thing. It worked for her getting elected. In terms of effectiveness, we’ll see,” Grijalva said. “I would be more concerned about not reflecting where the demographics in Arizona are going. And they’re going Democratic and they’re going more progressive.”



Sinema is unmoved and might even see a censure as a badge of honor after McCain received one from the state GOP. Sinema won’t fight the effort and won’t change her positions. And if the censure resolution comes back up next year? “I don’t know. Also, don’t care.”

Sinema’s attempt to be above the political fray is central to her identity and her goal of building relationships with as many colleagues as possible.

Party leaders’ whip counts? Not her problem. Using her platform as senator to regularly promote her views to a national audience? Not interested. Skipping caucus lunches almost everyone else attends? She’ll be there when it matters for Arizona.

And missing votes on the EPA chief for an Ironman race?

“Ironman’s pretty badass. It’s awesome,” she responded when asked if she got any criticism for skipping town for New Zealand just two months into her term.

Less awesome, in her view, is the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. And with her party fixated on beating both McSally and Trump in Arizona, Sinema’s endorsement or even guidance for candidates about how to win there could be key.

But that’s not something she’s interested in, either. She even said it’s “premature” to commit to supporting her own party’s nominee at this point and indicated it could be months before she tunes into a debate.

“Eventually it would be wonderful to have a candidate that shares the values of the majority of Americans,” Sinema said cryptically. “Let’s winnow the field below like, 20 or something, and then maybe it gets easier. Like, when it’s enough for two basketball teams, it’s too much.”

Heather Caygle contributed to this report.

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Interesting, I wish more politicians did not tow the company line.

 

How is this a hit piece?

I thought she came off very well in that article.

I have no idea where you are getting this.

 

So you think giving actual facts about a person who seems to fine with how she is being portrayed as a hit piece?

That makes no sense.

Shouldn't her actual record cause left leaning to not vote for her?

So do you like the fact that she is not in line with left leaning democrats?

 

I am not picking certain words nor trying to create debate I don't think its a hit piece and your rational seems to be that the article is trying to shame her into toeing the democratic line.

I don't see it.

How is that being naive?

You are the one picking things out of context to claim it's a hit piece IMO.

 

No I don't agree and the reason to write the article is to show that all democrats are not marching in lockstep, it says more about you that you took it as a negative.

The Hill or Fox news would not write it because that would take away from their negative that all democrats are socialist.

You are right that article is not trying to get you to support its just stating facts what is wrong with that.

I too am very cynical and agree that the MSM can have a bias I just don't think they have an agenda for or against certain candidates.

 

What?

There is no question I don't agree with you about this article.

But you are entitled to your opinion I just think you are way off base about this article.

I think it was just a piece on a Senator bucking her party and she would be ok with it because Arizona is a conservative state or maybe thats just who she is.

And yes I think the article exactly captures her as the new maverick.