The last few weeks have been filled with some of the worst political news since early 2022, as Russia’s last major freedom fighter Alexei Navalny was murdered, the Putin Caucus in the House looks unlikely to ever allow more aid to Ukraine, the SCOTUS seems determined to create a constitutional crisis, Alabama looks likely to classify the wasted sperm of masturbation as genocide, and Trump’s death grip on the Republican Party ossified with the announced departures of Republican senate leader Mitch McConnell and RNC head Ronna McDaniel.
Amidst all this despair, a ray of sunshine broke through with “Senator” Kyrsten Sinema announcing her retirement…from doing the bidding of every massive conglomerate in America.
For those unfamiliar with Arizona’s freshman senator–and boy, does it feel a lot longer than six years that she’s been there–Kyrsten Shitema was primarily known for her “unusual” fashions (is it too bold to call it “immature” to wear a green wig onto the senate floor?), belligerence towards other Democrats, and “economically conservative” positions that killed every piece of major legislation senate Democrats attempted in Joe Biden’s first two years. This was before the 2022 midterms cost Democrats the House, and therefore the senate was the only thing holding up progress on everything from Puerto Rico and DC statehood to Biden’s Build Back Better initiatives–specifically, it was Joe Manchin and Krysten Goddamn Sinema holding it up.
Sinema forced the Democrats to weaken legislation that allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices (why though?), blocked the party’s plan to add dental and vision benefits to traditional Medicare (no really, why though?), opposed Democrats ending the notorious carried interest loophole that benefits billionaire private equity executives (the same ones monopolizing industries from consumer goods to fast food–without you even realizing it, and using their “carried interest” money to do it), refused to consider increasing corporate taxes or a wealth tax, smugly voted down increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour with a thumbs down and a curtsy on the senate floor (the exact opposite of McCain’s courageous vote to save Obamacare), teamed up with obstructionist turd Manchin to needlessly stall talks on pretty much all of Biden’s agenda, and vehemently refused to end the filibuster. Yuck
The record she seems to be so proud of is being the most unabashedly bought-and-paid for Senator in the Democratic Party, eventually becoming so distanced from the DNC that she changed to being an “independent.” Let’s be honest and admit the only reason Sinema isn’t running again is because she’d lose, and not her weak talking points of America being “too divided” to warmly welcome her independence. Truthfully, Sinema was such an afterthought in the Ruben Gallego vs. Kari Lake race, that it’s not totally clear which candidate her leaving actually helps.
Sinema once told Mitt Romney–who seems to insinuate (correctly) that Sinema has delusions of grandeur as she repeatedly blocks her own party–that she was unconcerned about being reelected since she would be welcomed on “any board” she chose. That’s a tacit admission that Sinema was less interested in governing, and more interested in the “revolving door” that lets politicians go to work in the highest leagues of the private sector the second they leave. Point blank, that’s who she’s been working for these last six years–not the voters of Arizona.
Perhaps that was already clear when Sinema announced her intention to switch political parties immediately after the 2022 midterm elections, where Arizona voters reelected true Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, and Katie Hobbs, their first Democratic Governor since 2008. Somehow, Sinema saw her state going blue–like Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, the first for a Democratic President since Bill Clinton in 1996–and thought it was time for her to go the other direction. She was wrong then, but is finally headed in the right direction now: out the door; let’s hope it doesn’t revolve too much.