Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is a rare voice of moderation in the Democrat Party who often embraces pragmatism over partisanship. So, naturally, many on the Left want to destroy her.
Left-wing members of the Arizona Democratic Party are now pushing a measure to formally censure Sinema for her moderate stances and bipartisanship, as reported by the Washington Examiner. Progressive Democrats for America State Coordinator Dan O’Neal, who signed the resolution, said “The way she is voting is really disappointing. We want Democrats to vote like Democrats and not Republicans.” The resolution itself purports to “bolster groups and individuals who fight for fundamental human rights, democracy, and rule of law,” a category which apparently, Sinema, does not fit into.
.@SenatorSinema faces censure from the progressive caucus of her own state’s Democratic Party for not being sufficiently progressive.
A coordinator for the caucus explained the resolution is meant to return Sinema to the liberal base of the party. https://t.co/wnRbPGEW58
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) September 18, 2019
Why? What makes Sinema such a threat to human rights and democracy?
Well, she voted for a few Trump administration Cabinet nominees, such as Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt — who, regardless of what you think of their beliefs, are arguably well-qualified for their positions. Oh, and Sinema bucked the party line and voted against the re-imposition of heavy-handed Title II internet regulations.
Seriously: This is what they cite as evidence of Sinema’s supposed threat to the rule of law. This is an insane stunt and proves that the Democratic Party is rapidly becoming a place where moderates are not welcome.
As a senator, Sinema has opposed President Trump’s agenda roughly 80% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight. However, like any sane person, she is fully willing to vote with the president when she thinks he’s doing something that makes sense. As previously detailed by Ryan Everson for the Washington Examiner, Sinema has voted for many qualified Trump judicial nominees, voted against the socialist Green New Deal platform, stood up for Israel, and repeatedly bucked the will of both party establishments. And she’s going to keep doing what she thinks is right, left-wing activists be damned.
Sinema told the Arizona Republic that “I am 100% focused on the needs of everyday Arizonans, and I refuse to be distracted by the pettiness and the partisanship that has invaded Washington.”
“I promised Arizonans that I would never be a part of that typical Washington chaos and drama and I’m going to continue to stay focused, just like a laser, on the stuff that actually matters to the people in their everyday lives,” she continued.
Sinema deserves credit, not condemnation, for this approach to politics and governance. But in the Democratic Party of 2019, political sanity and sobriety are rarely tolerated.
