Phoenix
US Senator Kyrsten Sinema is increasingly isolated from some of her party’s most influential officials and donors after playing a key role in the failure of voting rights legislation that many see as essential to preserving democracy.
Arizona Democratic Party leaders voted Saturday to censure Sen. Sinema, citing “her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy,” that is, her refusal to agree to her fellow Democrats to change a rule of the Senate so they could overcome Republican Opposition to Voting Rights Bill: While the rebuke is symbolic, it is surprising given that just three years ago, Sinema was heralded for bringing the Senate seat back into the Democratic fold for the first time in a generation.
The donors threaten to leave. Several groups are already raising money for an eventual primary challenger, though it won’t be on the ballot until 2024. Young activists are staging a second hunger strike to draw attention to Sinema’s vote.
The moves offer a preview of the lingering opposition Sinema is likely to face within her own party in the two years before she appears on the ballot. The independent streak that has given him tremendous influence over the agenda in Washington has angered many Democrats at home who are trying to prevent his re-election.
“Any reservoir of goodwill that I had is gone,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat who could challenge Sinema from the left.
Sinema’s defenders say that no one who has watched her over the past decade should be surprised by her position. He often defied his party in the House, ran an aggressively moderate campaign for the Senate, and has never wavered in his support for the filibuster defense.
“During three terms in the US House of Representatives, and now in the Senate, Kyrsten always promised Arizonans that she would be an independent voice for the state, not for any political party,” said Hannah Hurley, Sinema spokesman, in a statement before censorship. vote. “She has given herself to Arizonans and has always been honest about where she stands.”
Hurley repeated his comments in response to censorship.
Sinema’s influence is fueled by the Senate’s 50-50 split, which essentially gives any senator the ability to override legislation, an option Sinema has repeatedly exercised.
But he faces a political dynamic unlike the other Senate moderate thwarting Democratic ambitions, Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Representing a state that former President Donald Trump carried by nearly 39 percentage points in 2020, Manchin is unlikely to face a progressive challenger who would gain ground.
In Arizona, however, Democrats are on the rise. Joe Biden was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since 1996, and the party is eager to build on that success. That makes it harder for a Democrat to simply ignore the left here, particularly in a primary election.
Sinema supports the Democrats’ enfranchisement legislation, but strongly opposes its passage by changing or eliminating the Senate’s filibuster rule, which effectively requires 60 out of 100 votes to pass a majority of the legislation. On Wednesday night, he joined Manchin and all Republicans in opposing a one-time rule change so the bill could pass with a simple majority.
Laphonza Butler, president of Emily’s List, a major fundraising group for Democratic women who support abortion rights, said in a statement that Sinema’s vote “means she stands alone in the upcoming election.” He said the group would not support his re-election. if she doesn’t support a way forward for voting rights legislation.
Primary Sinema Project, which is raising money for an eventual main challenge, said it has raised more than $300,000 from nearly 12,000 donors.
“We are literally doing everything we physically can in terms of risking our bodies and trying to advocate for this action because the consequences (of inaction) are so much worse than starving or going to jail or both,” Shana said. Gallagher, one of about three dozen youths on a hunger strike to protest Sinema and Manchin. Gallagher is a co-founder of Un-PAC, launched last year to organize youth for the passage of voting rights laws.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont whose mobilization and fundraising skills are virtually unmatched on the left, suggested he would support the main challengers from Sinema and Manchin.
Sinema says filibuster forces bipartisanship on Capitol Hill and ensures that the millions of Americans represented by the minority party have a voice. Repealing it would lead to abrupt changes in the legislation depending on the party in power, he says.
“When one party only needs to negotiate with itself, politics will be inextricably pushed from the middle to the extremes,” he said in a speech last week, his most comprehensive explanation of his views on the issue.
Taking on the left bolsters her standing among independent women deciding close races in Arizona, said Brian Murray, a Republican consultant in Phoenix and former executive director of the Arizona GOP. Sinema has displayed the “maverick” sensibilities that made the late Republican Sen. John McCain Arizona’s favorite son, and with his appeal to independents, “he’s going to be almost impossible to beat,” he said.
“Bernie Sanders is attacking a senator from Arizona?” Murray said. “I would say, ‘Hey, thanks. You’re helping me get re-elected.’”
Even Republican Gov. Doug Ducey gave Sinema “credit for upholding and protecting a Senate rule that she believes in.”
“I’m glad he’s trying to bring people together,” Ducey told reporters. Sinema was one of Ducey’s fiercest critics of 2020, relentlessly criticizing his light-hearted response to the pandemic.
Sinema’s struggle with the left has overshadowed the 2022 re-election bid of Mark Kelly, the other Democratic senator from Arizona, who will try to retain the seat he won in a special election.
With Sinema hogging most of the attention, Kelly managed to avoid taking a filibuster position during her 2020 campaign and her first year in office. Hours before he was due to vote on Wednesday, Kelly spoke in favor of a single solution to pass the voting rights bill.
A statement Saturday from the executive board of the Arizona Democratic Party noted that a larger group of party leaders had passed a resolution in the fall outlining possible action against Sinema “should she decide to protect filibuster and obstruct legislation.” on the right to vote.
The censorship has no practical consequences, but it shows the frustration of key Democratic activists. Whether the party withdraws its support for Sinema’s 2024 bid will depend on the leaders chosen after the 2022 midterm elections.
The state party tolerates disagreement, but safeguarding voter rights is too important, said Raquel Terán, a state senator and party president. On that issue, Sinema “has fallen short,” he said.
“She has an incredible ability to work across the hall,” Terán said. “Let’s see that skill put to work for voting rights.”
www.csmonitor.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism