Is a compliment character assassination? It is, if a lousy human being issues the compliment

Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

From Business Insider -

Mitch McConnell calls Kyrsten Sinema the 'most effective first-term senator' he's seen and praises her defense of the filibuster

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday heaped praise on Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, saying she's the "most effective first-term senator" he's seen during his 37 years in the upper chamber.

Sinema delivered a speech on "The Future of Political Discourse and the Importance of Bipartisanship" at the University of Louisville's McConnell Center, named after the senior Kentucky senator, who introduced Sinema at the event.

"I've only known Kyrsten for four years, but she is, in my view — and I've told her this — the most effective first-term senator I've seen in my time in the Senate," the Republican leader said. "She is, today, what we have too few of in the Democratic Party: a genuine moderate, and a dealmaker."

One might think Sinema rebuffed the compliment.

In such a case, one might think wrong.

From The Count, via Yahoo! -

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ): "But despite our apparent differences, Senator McConnell and I have forged a friendship."

While speaking at an event held by the McConnell Center, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona, spoke about her unlikely friendship with Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky. Although Senator Cinema is a registered Democrat, she is one of the few Democrats who is not always aligned with the Democratic party.

SINEMA: “But despite our apparent differences, Senator McConnell and I have forged a friendship. One that is rooted in our commonalities, including are pragmatic approach to legislating, our respect for the Senate as an institution, our love for our home states, and a dogged determination on behalf of our constituents. You know, in today's partisan Washington, it might shock some that a Democratic senator would consider the Republican leader of the Senate, her friend, but back home in Arizona, we don't view life through a partisan lens. Arizonans understand that while we may not agree on every issue, we do share the same values.”

My guess is that she hopes the Senate remains at 50 Ds and 50Rs so she and Joe Manchin remain relevant.

If the Rs gain control, she'll switch sides, unless she would be the Rs 60th vote.