The Arizona Democratic Party today unanimously voted to censure Senator Kyrsten Sinema for refusing to set aside the filibuster earlier this week to ensure passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
This follows Emily's List and NARAL announcing they would no longer fundraise on behalf of Sinema while Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego is openly musing about challenging her in the 2024 Arizona Democratic Senate primary.
Of course, Sinema has previously alienated fellow Democrats for her opposition to increasing the federal minimum wage and her refusal to support President Biden's Build Back Better plan.
In view of these facts one wonders if this will prompt Sinema to formally defect from the Democrats and either sit as an Independent or formally join the Republicans to give the GOP back control of the Senate.
To do so would make Sinema a kingmaker. If the GOP retakes control of the Senate in the November mid-terms, she is just another Democrat in a minority party with far less power and even less standing within her own party. If Sinema remains a Democrat she would just bide her time until she announces she won't run for re-election knowing full well she won't be nominated again. She would do so with the hope that a Republican President (namely Donald Trump) will give her a cabinet position or a major diplomatic post. But Sinema might not necessarily be high on Trump's nice list.
I'm not saying the Arizona Democratic Party, Emily's List, NARAL and Congressman Gallego are wrong and unjustified in their actions. But their actions have potentially enormous long term political ratifications. The long and the short of it is Sinema now has enormous incentive to hand control of the Senate back to Mitch McConnell.
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