I was pointed to most of this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.
Being a Massachusetts guy, I would most liken Kyrsten Sinema to Billy Bulger, another pol who seemed to become a Democrat only because it was the shortest path to power, not because of any affinity for Democratic ideals.
Hey! This is nice; I could have said she was shamelessly auditioning for the 2024 or 2028 Republican presidential ticket.
From the Arizona Republic -
Sinema doesn't support Democrats' $3.5T bill, clinches bipartisan infrastructure deal
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema does not support Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget plan that aims to deliver major components of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda that Democrats hope to pass after moving a separate bipartisan infrastructure deal that Sinema negotiated.
Sinema, D-Ariz., told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday she had reviewed the Senate Budget Committee’s spending framework and has told Senate leadership and Biden that she supports many of its goals, including job growth and American competitiveness.
Needless to say, some members of the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party expressed their disagreement with her position -
Of course, her positions are situational. To whit: her current defense of the Republican-friendly filibuster.
From Business Insider -
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema slammed 'false pressure' to reach a filibuster-proof 60 votes in unearthed 2010 video
In comments to supporters 11 years ago, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, criticized the "false pressure" to reach a 60-vote supermajority to pass legislation, a 2010 video unearthed by the progressive media organization More Perfect Union showed.
Sinema, an Arizona state representative at the time, told the audience that she supported Democrats using reconciliation to pass major legislation, including healthcare reform, with just 51 votes. She also criticized Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut who caucused with the Democratic Party, and Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, for being too moderate.
Sinema's action made Mitch McConnell happy -
Making Mitch happy probably is not in the job description of any (allegedly) Democratic senator.
Sinema may have displayed some power today, but she didn't make any friends; we'll see what that means when/if she's up for reelection.
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