Though Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema is not a Republican, she’s shown an independent streak during her time in the Senate, letting Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer know on more than one occasion that she will play by her own rules and not necessarily her party’s when it comes to making policy decisions for the people of her state.
Along with marching to the beat of her own drum in our nation’s capital, Sinema doesn’t appear to care one bit about what perpetually angry “woke” leftist activists on social media are ranting about on any given day.
Her propensity to go against her party’s wishes was perhaps never more evident than on Friday when Sinema voted “no” on socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders’ $15 minimum wage amendment to the COVID relief bill along with six other Democratic senators. one Independent senator, and all 50 Republican senators.
In her statement explaining her decision, Sinema gave a process argument, noting that in the past she had supported minimum wage increases in her state and that she would welcome debate in the Senate on raising the minimum wage as long as it wasn’t part of the Wuhan coronavirus relief bill:
“I understand what it is like to face tough choices while working to meet your family’s most basic needs. I also know the difference better wages can make, which is why I helped lead Arizona’s effort to pass an indexed minimum wage in 2006, and strongly supported the voter-approved state minimum wage increase in 2016. No person who works full time should live in poverty. Senators in both parties have shown support for raising the federal minimum wage and the Senate should hold an open debate and amendment process on raising the minimum wage, separate from the COVID-focused reconciliation bill. I will keep working with colleagues in both parties to ensure Americans can access good-paying jobs, quality education, and skills training to build more economically secure lives for themselves and their families.”
But while enraged leftists took to the Twitter machine to blast all Democratic senators who voted “no,” their vitriol towards Sinema was particularly nasty, and a big reason for this can be found in the video clip that circulated of the dramatic way she cast her vote on the Senate floor. Watch:
Her actions drew comparisons to the late Republican Senator John McCain’s purposely suspenseful thumbs down vote on the “skinny repeal” of Obamacare back in July 2017. But unlike how the left reacted with exuberance over Sen. McCain’s “no” vote, the exact opposite was the case with Sinema’s minimum wage vote. They were livid. In fact, the anger on display was reminiscent of how Trump was often treated by Democrats.
Here are a few examples:
Some promoted the idea of primarying Sinema:
Others proclaimed Sinema was just being an obedient stooge to Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell:
In one of the more hilarious post-no-vote reactions, the Huffington Post reported that a spokesperson told them it was “sexist” to make a female politician’s body language the story, a response that did not amuse so-called feminists:
Naturally, conservatives had a field day with the left’s various meltdowns:
If Democrats try to primary her, that could potentially be self-defeating considering middle-of-the-roaders like Sinema are the type of senators Arizona typically sends to Washington, D.C.
If she gets primaried out in favor of a radical Democrat, that could leave an opening for a conservative/moderate Republican to slide in and take one of Arizona’s two Senate seats back. While I’m not one to interrupt a Democrat while they’re making a mistake, I will say that all the frustrated lefties who are talking about ending Sinema’s career might want to be very careful what they wish for here.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY