In a recent appearance at the World Economic Forum, Out bisexual Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) said her “dear friend” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is “now in an unenviable position” after having to “keep conceding” to the GOP’s “radical right” in order to get elected as speaker.
It took a whopping 15 rounds of voting for McCarthy to get elected. After the MAGA riot at the U.S. Capitol, McCarthy refused to sanction or deal with his members who stoked the insurrection and during the vote. Now, they turned their fire on him. To get elected, McCarthy had to make several concessions and deals with far-right representatives.
According to The Hill, Sinema criticized the Republicans who forced McCarthy’s hand and stated the situation “will make it very difficult for us to meet our obligation when the debt limit fight comes up later this year.”
But Sinema did not reserve her criticism for the far right. She also slammed Democrats for failing to understand why she repeatedly helped block their ability to pass filibuster reform – which made it impossible for the Senate to pass key voting rights legislation, among other things.
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“One could posit that the push by one political party to eliminate an important guardrail in an institution in our country may have been premature or overreaching in order to get the short-term victories they wanted,” she said.
Sinema compared the Democrats’ desire for filibuster reform and the far-right’s demands on McCarthy – saying that they both reflect “the pull that you see political parties giving in order to get everything they want.”
And yet, Sinema, herself, has been called “the most detested politician in the country.”
Since taking office, Sinema has disappointed many with her continuous efforts to block Biden’s agenda. In addition to refusing to support filibuster reform, she also would not get on board with his Build Back Better plan.
She also recently voiced her belief that the Senate should reinstate the 60-vote threshold to confirm executive and judicial nominees, an opinion that MSNBC correspondent Lawrence O’Donnell subsequently ripped to shreds, accusing her of “follow[ing] the indefensible with the crazy” in her explanation.
And after she left the Democratic party late last year and registered as an Independent, a new poll showed that most Arizona voters disapprove of her and that she is one of “America’s most unpopular senators.”
The survey from the market research firm Morning Consult found that majorities of registered Democratic, Republican, and independent voters in Arizona all disapprove of Sinema.
Although Sinema hasn’t yet announced a re-election bid for 2024, Arizona Democratic Reps. Ruben Gallego and Greg Stanton are both expected to run for the state’s U.S. Senate seat. If she also runs, she’ll likely face a three-way contest alongside a Democrat and a Republican in the general election.
Her unpopularity makes her a longshot re-election candidate, but she could peel off enough votes to help ensure that an anti-LGBTQ+ Republican ends up in the Senate, something that would make her even less liked by Democrats than she already is.
