The asshat made her move -- but it's not time to panic, says Steve Benen:
Sinema has left the Democratic Party and changed her affiliation to independent, but she’ll continue to caucus with Senate Democrats. She won’t be alone on that front: Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine are independents who’ve partnered with Democrats for many years.
The circumstances with Sinema will be a little different — she’s said she won’t attend caucus meetings, though of late, she’s generally skipped the gatherings anyway — but in her op-ed for the Republic, the senator suggested her policy positions and voting habits won’t change. She also expects to keep the same committee assignments — as chosen by Democratic leaders — that she currently enjoys.
Sinema added in an interview with Politico, “I don’t anticipate that anything will change about the Senate structure.”
In other words, as of 24 hours ago, Democrats looked forward to having what was effectively a 51-seat majority in the chamber. As of this morning, that remains largely unchanged.
This move makes us wonder if the other half of the Sinemanchin duo will likewise switch party affiliation, with basically the same (non) effect.
The other question involves Arizona politics:
To put it mildly, Sinema has not endeared herself to Democrats in her home state. Earlier this year, Data For Progress polled Arizona Democrats and found the incumbent senator trailing Gallego in a hypothetical primary match-up, 74% to 16%. That’s not a typo: She actually trailed the popular congressman by 58 points.
With this in mind, Sinema very likely realized that she had a decision to make: She could (a) retire; (b) take steps to repair the relationship with the Democratic voters who elected her in the first place; or (c) take her chances as an independent.
As a tactical matter, settling on the third option makes sense. Sinema was very likely to lose a Democratic primary, her voting record made a run as a Republican implausible, and she didn’t want to walk away from Capitol Hill altogether. Becoming an independent is a sensible strategy.
That strategy -- should she decide to run for reelection as an independent in 2024 rather than, say, join a corporate board -- would be to dare Democrats to nominate their own candidate, thereby splitting the vote and allowing a crank like Kari Lake to slip into the Senate. Better that she bails and gets the big bucks from her corporate sponsors.
(Photo: Asshat / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
