Krysten Sinema Leaves Democratic Party

[ZiprHead]

Remember why Sinema became unacceptable to the Democrats. It's because she exercised her own judgment and opposed the irresponsible $3,500,000,000,000.00 spending bill.

Bullshit. Her voters were pissed off at her because she ran on letting Medicare negotiate drug prices but changed her mind when the pharma PAC money started rolling in.

 

[lpetrich]

That's only a bit of her selling out.

“Utter betrayal”: Angry activists who helped elect Kyrsten Sinema say "she has no values" | Salon.com - July 3, 2021 6:00AM (EDT) - "Sinema once criticized the filibuster and mocked Joe Lieberman. Now she’s helping kill progressive legislation"

Sinema, a former state representative, in 2010 lamented the "false pressure" to reach a 60-vote supermajority to pass significant legislation in a video unearthed by the progressive advocacy group More Perfect Union. Sinema urged Democrats to use the budget reconciliation process to pass major bills like health care reform instead of "kowtowing to Joe Lieberman," the centrist senator who served as a roadblock to the party's major proposals despite caucusing with Democrats throughout his career.

When Lieberman briefly ran president in 2003, Sinema described him as "pathetic."

"He's a shame to Democrats," she told a reporter at the time. "I don't even know why he's running. He seems to want to get Republicans voting for him — what kind of strategy is that?"

Only to become just like Joe Lieberman, a successor rotating villain.

The shift has particularly stung for activists who helped register and turn out a record number of voters in the 2018 election, when Sinema narrowly defeated Republican Martha McSally. Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), a grassroots group that led a coalition that knocked on 2.5 million doors that year, say they've been shut out by Sinema since she was elected.

Sinema "will not take meetings with us personally," César Fierros, the group's communications manager, told Salon, adding that meetings with her team have been "incredibly dismissive" and even "combative."

Arizona voters baffled by Kyrsten Sinema: ‘She betrayed us’ | Arizona | The Guardian - Sat 6 Nov 2021 04.00 EDT - "The senator’s support for the filibuster has soured feelings among former supporters in the state"

Sinema’s switch: Betraying voters, or mirroring them? - CSMonitor.com - December 12, 2022 - "The Arizona senator’s decision to become an independent didn’t please Democrats. But she may be in step with voters, who are increasingly unhappy with the two-party system."

Her posture of being a sensible centrist has gotten her nowhere. She hasn't gotten much support from either activists or donors.

The Sinema Betrayal - from 2021 - The Betrayal - As long as Sinema chooses the filibuster, she’s not choosing us

 

[Derec]

Bullshit. Her voters were pissed off at her because she ran on letting Medicare negotiate drug prices but changed her mind when the pharma PAC money started rolling in.

Do you have evidence that this was the major point of contention rather than the Spendapalooza?
I remember a lot of hate directed at both Sinema and Manchin during that time. They even followed her into the restroom.

 

[ZiprHead]

Bullshit. Her voters were pissed off at her because she ran on letting Medicare negotiate drug prices but changed her mind when the pharma PAC money started rolling in.

Do you have evidence that this was the major point of contention rather than the Spendapalooza?

You said it was the "spendapalooza" first. You show your work first.

I remember a lot of hate directed at both Sinema and Manchin during that time. They even followed her into the restroom.

Of course. When you turn on your constituents and party for PAC money, people get pissed.

 

[lpetrich]

Kyrsten Sinema Loves to Fly Private—on the Taxpayer’s Dime

It’s hardly a secret that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) likes to fly private. It was just last April when it came out that Sinema’s campaign had spent nearly $70,000 on charter flights over the last four years.

What hasn’t been reported, however, is Sinema’s penchant for using a very different source of funding to fly private: taxpayers.

Since 2020, Sinema has spent roughly $210,000 of her U.S. Senate office budget on private charter flights for herself and her staff, according to publicly available records—a high sum on an expense most lawmakers rarely, if ever, make.

Given that senators have limited annual budgets to fund their operations, Sinema’s use of private flights also raises questions about why she is prioritizing that expense over other essential functions of her office.

Kyrsten Sinema spent more than $100K on jets, limos, luxury hotels and wine - New York Post - 2023 Apr 20

Kyrsten Sinema Stuck Taxpayers with a Massive Private Jet Tab | The New Republic - "A new report shows the Arizona senator loves private jet travel a little too much—and she’s totally okay with using taxpayer money to pay for it."

Since 2020, Sinema has booked at least 11 private trips, with almost half of them occurring in 2023 alone. Nearly all of the flights were chartered for travel within the boundaries of Arizona, shuttling Sinema and her staff around the state on one- or two-day trips, reported the Beast.

On August 8, 2023, Sinema flew herself and four staffers from Washington to the Grand Canyon with Florida-based Monarch Air Group—which cost a whopping $50,250—for a national park law signing featuring President Joe Biden and other federal and state politicians.

...
In Sinema’s case, the Arizona lawmaker has spent more on private jets in just one year than she paid practically every member of her staff. Her flight to the Grand Canyon alone cost nearly as much as the annual income of her deputy press secretary or her military and veterans affairs representative, according to reports by the Secretary of the Senate.

Her fellow Arizona Senator Mark Kelly has spent $0.00 of taxpayers' money on such flights.

I have to marvel at how grossly corrupt that is.

 

[lpetrich]

She doesn't seem to be trying very hard to get re-elected, but the filing deadline is still 3 months away. That leads me to think: what post-politics careers might she have?

• Lobbyist
• Sitting on corporations' Boards of Directors
• University professor
• Athlete
• Fashion model

If she writes her memoirs, what will she write about her transformation from a very talkative AOC-ish progressive to a reclusive thoroughly-bought corporate lackey?

 

[lpetrich]

As Sen. Kyrsten Sinema weighs reelection, will voters care about her record? - The Washington Post - "As she pushes for another tricky bipartisan accomplishment, the deadline nears for the Arizona independent senator to decide on reelection"

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) has spent the past few months at the Capitol hashing out a politically tricky bipartisan deal with a small group of lawmakers to address the migrant crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border.

It’s the type of intricate legislative dealmaking the former Democrat has built her unusual political brand on. But in the next few weeks, Sinema must decide whether voters in her purple state care enough about her brand of politics in a polarized era to reelect her as an independent, as the window for her to gather enough signatures to land on the November ballot quickly closes.

She isn't exactly very loud about her dealmaking. If people don't know about it, they will act as if it never happened, and that KS is some self-indulgent narcissist who hides from her voters.

As Sinema and her campaign team ponder this question, the senator has blown past some of the deadlines the team set for themselves last year, including to have hired campaign staff by the end of last year. Her fundraising has been lackluster. And a key signature-gathering deadline to get on the ballot is approaching, which experts say would likely require action in the next few weeks to comfortably meet.

She might say some bull doo-doo like "I was too concerned about making deals for you, my voters, to do what is necessary to get my campaign going."

Meanwhile, Sinema’s team and some of the state’s major political donors from both sides of the aisle are working to reschedule a fundraiser in the state that had been scrapped last fall amid the threat of a federal government shutdown. Sharon Harper, a real estate developer and longtime friend of the McCain family, said she spoke last week to a Sinema representative who told her that rescheduling the fundraiser was “a top priority.”

“People want to talk to her and see her,” said Harper. “I’m hoping she’s going to run. She’s got the time to do it. … There is a timing issue here, and I’m hopeful that we’re going to hear from her,” about her future political plans, Harper said.

 

[lpetrich]

Sinema’s fundraising plummets as reelection decision deadline nears - POLITICO - "The Arizona independent is raising less and less each quarter."

The independent Arizona senator raised just $595,000 in the final three months of 2023, according to a report filed by her campaign with the Federal Election Commission late Tuesday. That is less than one-fifth of the total that her main Democratic challenger, Rep. Ruben Gallego, said his campaign raised during the same period. Her likely Republican challenger, Kari Lake, reported raising $2 million.

KS herself spent $749,000 in that time. "(Contribution refunds alone took out more than 10% of her fundraising haul.)" She has $11 million in her campaign account.

“Kyrsten remains laser focused on continuing her work making a meaningful impact in the lives of Arizonans across the state - not on campaign politics,” a spokesperson for her campaign said in a statement. “She has the resources to keep delivering lasting results for Arizona.”

But she won't be able to continuing doing that if she's not re-elected. So is she setting herself up for what I'd proposed earlier?

Her high-water mark came in the first three months of 2023 when she posted $2.1 million. That fell 22 percent in the second quarter. Then her third-quarter number was only 50 percent of her second-quarter haul. And the new filing shows a 30 percent drop from her third-quarter to fourth-quarter totals.

Sinema’s struggle to fundraise wasn’t for lack of trying, her expenditures suggest. The campaign spent more than $124,000 on fundraising consulting and event and travel costs associated with fundraising, the filing showed. She also spent more than $141,000 on digital advertising, which is typically used to attract donors. A spokesperson declined to provide details on the digital spending but said it was not focused directly on fundraising.

She has spent similar amounts on security, which seems odd.

But the Arizona senator’s campaign notably spent very little on payroll, with just over $7,700 paid in total to four staffers. That suggests Sinema has not started to staff up like a major Senate campaign would likely need to in an election year.

She left the Democratic Party in December 2022, and her fundraising has been dwindling over the last year. Has she concluded that she does not have much support?

 

[blastula]

Sinema's flight cost voters $50,000. It's strongest signal yet she isn't running for reelection.

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has sent a strong signal that she's not running for reelection. Just look to the sky.

news.yahoo.com

While other members of Congress are cramming into the cattle car with the rest of us, Sinema is a frequent high-flyer – yukking it up on Gulfstreams and Cessnas and such.

Sinema’s liberal use of our cash to fly in style is not illegal. She gets roughly $4 million a year to spend on office needs, including staff salaries, transportation and supplies.

It is, however, idiotic for a supposed public servant to pamper herself on the public’s dime.

That is, if she really has any interest in being reelected.

 

[Derec]

While other members of Congress are cramming into the cattle car with the rest of us, Sinema is a frequent high-flyer – yukking it up on Gulfstreams and Cessnas and such.

Other members of Congress travel by cattle car? [citation needed]
The only former member of Congress that I know routinely took the train was Biden. And even he preferred to take the people car, not the cattle car.

It is, however, idiotic for a supposed public servant to pamper herself on the public’s dime.

Remind me again how much this hideous dress cost?

Not to mention her bougie DC apartment with a garbage disposal.

That is, if she really has any interest in being reelected.

It looks more and more that she will not run again. That's too bad. Either one of the other two options will increase polarization of the Senate.

 

[lpetrich]

Sinema doesn't care about Senate race. She's busy flying on your dime - "Though we say we want leaders to work across the aisle and get things done, we really don’t. Democrats despise her. Republicans only tolerate her. My guess is she knows she's one and done."

"Especially if that which would be her triumph, border compromise, is DOA courtesy of DJT." - Donald Trump has told his fellow Republicans to vote against a border deal, because such a deal would help Joe Biden against him.

More likely, Sinema will finish out her term, then cash in with Big Pharma or some private equity firm. Former senators, especially those who leave on their own terms, can pretty much write their own tickets to millionaire land where jets are a dime a dozen.

So why not get started early?

The Daily Beast reports that Sinema has flown privately 11 times since 2020 on the taxpayers’ dime, including five times over the past year.

While Mark Kelly has done 0 such flights.

Sinema’s spokesman, Hannah Hurley, said traveling by private plane gives Sinema more time to connect with Arizonans in every corner of the state.

Given how reclusive she is, that's a bullshit excuse.

All that connecting, however, comes with a cost … to us.

One of Sinema’s trips – an August hop from Washington, D.C., to the Grand Canyon for Sinema and four of her staffers – cost us $50,000. This, so that Sinema could stand front and center at the ceremony where President Joe Biden formalized the creation of a new national monument, Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni.

According to Google, you can fly from Washington to the Grand Canyon for about $500.

But then, if you’re not running for reelection, really, why should you?

 

[lpetrich]

Romney is tough on Trump in new book, and throws Sinema under the bus - 2023 Oct 16 - "Sen. Mitt Romney says Sen. Kyrsten Sinema told him she doesn't care if she loses the election because she 'saved the Senate' and can get 'on any board I want to.'"

Biography of him: Romney: A Reckoning - Harvard Book Store - 2023-10-24

Back to the article.

In his book, Romney says Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has “no warmth at all,” though the senator says the governor’s smarter than former President Donald Trump.

Of Trump Romney says, “I think he’s not smart. I mean, really not smart.”

Are our political leaders too old? Romney models graceful exit for Biden, Trump, McConnell, Pelosi

He calls former House Speaker Newt Gingrich “a smug know-it-all.” Calls Republican Sen. Ted Cruz “frightening, scary, a demagogue.”

RdS is likely not only smarter, but more disciplined than DT.

The article notes
Mitt Romney's Dunks on 'Trump Republicans' Featured on MSNBC

“Ron DeSantis: ‘There is just no warmth at all.’ That’s one of the nicer quotes,” Wagner began.

“Newt Gingrich: ‘A smug know-it-all, smarmy and too pleased with himself.’”

“‘Rick Santorum: ‘Sanctimonious, severe and strange.’”

“Rick Perry: ‘Republicans must realize that we have to have someone who can complete a sentence.’”

“Ted Cruz: ‘Frightening, scary, a demagogue.’”

“[Mike] Huckabee: ‘A huckster, a caricature of a for-profit preacher.’”

“Bobby Jindal: ‘A twit.’”

“John Kasich: ‘Lack of thoughtfulness, lack of attentiveness, ego — no wonder he and Chris Christie spark.’”

BJ a twit? That reminds me of when he slammed volcano monitoring as frivolous, wasteful government spending. I thought: is hurricane monitoring also frivolous, wasteful government spending?

 

[lpetrich]

Mitt Romney on Kyrsten Sinema:

According to Romney, Sinema told him she wasn’t concerned about getting reelected because she could “do anything” once she’s out of office and feels that what she’s done in the Senate is “good enough.”

She’s quoted as saying, “I don’t care. I can go on any board I want to. I can be a college president. I can do anything.”

???

Along with such things as being an athlete or a fashion model, another thing that she might do is run a winery - a couple years ago, she interned at one.

Romney says Sinema told him, “I saved the Senate filibuster by myself. I saved the Senate by myself. That’s good enough for me.”

I think that she should be ashamed of herself, defending that Taste-of-Armageddon "filibuster". It makes obstructionism too easy.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema: 'Romney' book off mark on my reelection words

Hannah Hurley, a Sinema spokesperson, said Sinema was relating that her decisions are based on what Sinema views as appropriate policy, not political fallout.

Hurley said the comments are not at odds with Sinema’s longstanding views.

“Private conversations are easily misconstrued and mistaken during the game of telephone,” Hurley said.

“When asked about whether she was concerned that her stance on the filibuster could endanger her reelection chances, Kyrsten stated what she has stated for years now; she is not worried about winning the next election, and instead she is laser focused on her ability and the Senate’s ability to deliver lasting results for our country.”

Back to the Mitt Romney article.

Easily misconstrued and mistaken.

I guess that’s possible.

Still, I’ve got a feeling I know which version of the exchange most of Sinema’s constituents will believe.

 

[lpetrich]

Kyrsten Sinema spent campaign funds on car, London and Paris

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) went on a spending spree last quarter despite a dismal fundraising haul, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Between October 1, 2023 and December 31, Sinema shelled out $796,565 on posh hotels, a new car, and even concert tickets — and $265,521 went to her security costs alone.

Sinema spent nearly $200,000 more than the $594,816 she raised.

Of the money she spent on security, $77,000 went to a new Chevrolet and $1,523 went to event tickets for her security guards — including $490 at Red Rocks Amphitheater — a popular event venue in Colorado.

Sinema purchased the tickets on a day when no concert was held, obscuring what event she went to or plans to attend. The car was described as “van,” also making it impossible to determine the level of luxury involved.

After more details of her extravagant spending,

Nevertheless, Sinema is full-steam ahead when it comes to fundraising — she is circulating a “save the date for a weekend with Senator Kyrsten Sinema” to potential donors, according to an invitation reviewed by The Post. The “suggested giving levels” for the March event asks donors to give $5,000 to Sinema’s campaign and $5,000 to Sinema’s PAC.

Even as she courts donors, she has failed to hold a single public event for her constituents over the last year, sources note.

Do her donors know about her extravagant spending?

 

[lpetrich]

One Clue That Kyrsten Sinema Is Retiring: Her Weird Spending - "Kyrsten Sinema is spending more than $100,000 a month on personal security, barely raising money, and shelling out for first-class plane tickets—after railing against first class."

Once upon a time, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) crusaded against politicians cashing in on perks of their office.

In 2018, as a U.S. House member and Senate candidate, Sinema co-wrote a bill seeking to crack down on lawmaker use of public funds for “first class air travel,” among other luxuries.

“Arizonans are sick and tired of seeing Washington bureaucrats use their hard-earned tax dollars for personal gain,” Sinema said in a constituent email from July 2018, citing “private luxury travel” specifically.

Now, as Sinema reportedly considers whether to run for another term in 2024, it’s hard to overstate the degree to which she has become a caricature of the type of politician she once bashed.

Then noting her extravagant spending, like over $100,000 a month to security company TOA group LLC, a company whose sole officer is Vrindavan Gabbard Bellord, Tulsi Gabbard’s sister.

According to Federal Election Commission filings made public this week, for instance, Sinema’s personal political action committee—the “Getting Stuff Done PAC”—spent over $5,800 on first-class airfare for the senator in the second half of 2023.

Unusually, the PAC paid nearly $4,000 in airfare in August not to an airline, but to the big tobacco conglomerate Altria. It also paid $1,800 in airfare to FedEx Corporation Travel. Both expenses note they were used for “first-class airfare at fair market value.”

In effect, paying to ride these companies' corporate jets.

 

[starwater]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/05/politics/kyrsten-sinema-announces-retirement/index.html

She just announced retirement.

 

[Copernicus]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/05/politics/kyrsten-sinema-announces-retirement/index.html

She just announced retirement.

Yes, this is more helpful to Kari Lake than Ruben Gallego. It takes away a safe haven for those who feel compelled to vote for someone but refuse to vote for a Democrat. Democrats already had a better alternative to Kari Lake and Kyrsten Sinema.

 

[lpetrich]

Titled link: Kyrsten Sinema announces she is retiring from the Senate | CNN Politics

In announcing her decision not to seek reelection, Sinema said, “I believe in my approach, but it’s not what America wants right now.”

What did she expect?

She formally left the Democratic Party in 2022 to register as a political independent, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper at the time, “I’ve never fit neatly into any party box. I’ve never really tried. I don’t want to.”

“Removing myself from the partisan structure – not only is it true to who I am and how I operate, I also think it’ll provide a place of belonging for many folks across the state and the country, who also are tired of the partisanship,” she said in that interview.

Almost as if she fell for all the self-styled centrist commentators who seem to think that some Center Party would get nearly all the voter and reduce the Democratic and Republican Parties to minor parties.

Most recently, Sinema served as a key negotiator, along with Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, for a major bipartisan border deal that was intended to be paired with a foreign aid package with assistance for Ukraine and Israel.

Senate Republicans initially demanded that any foreign aid package be passed along with border measures, but ultimately turned against the border deal and blocked it amid harsh criticism of the package from former President Donald Trump. The Senate went on to pass a foreign aid package with aid for Ukraine and Israel without border provisions, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he does not plan to bring the bill to the floor and many House Republicans oppose further aid for Ukraine.

So she failed as a centrist conciliator. The Republicans rejected the kind of border deal that they claimed to want, all to make President Biden look like a bad leader.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/05/politics/kyrsten-sinema-announces-retirement/index.html

She just announced retirement.

Yes, this is more helpful to Kari Lake than Ruben Gallego. It takes away a safe haven for those who feel compelled to vote for someone but refuse to vote for a Democrat. Democrats already had a better alternative to Kari Lake and Kyrsten Sinema.

It could work both ways. With her out now, the Democrats know their path. If Kari Lake is the GOP nominee, she'll have a hard time winning, she already lost to Hobbs. If the GOP got someone who isn't sold on alt-right fascism, they'd likely win by 5+ pts (possibly more). But Lake is a hollow fascist and AZ doesn't seem sold on her. And in a Presidential election year, it'll be harder for Lake to pull off a win in a purple AZ. In fact, I'd say Kari Lake is one of the Democrats best shots at holding the Senate. With the Alabama IVF ruling (and a potential abortion referendum in Florida, if the state doesn't stop it) that puts Texas and Florida on the ballot and within reach. Allowing for the dead certain loss of WV, and possibly OH (but again, this is a Presidential year, which might insulate Brown). Heck, the Dems could possibly extend their majority. And when they take the House, that'd be the trifecta (not filibuster proof).

 

[Copernicus]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/05/politics/kyrsten-sinema-announces-retirement/index.html

She just announced retirement.

Yes, this is more helpful to Kari Lake than Ruben Gallego. It takes away a safe haven for those who feel compelled to vote for someone but refuse to vote for a Democrat. Democrats already had a better alternative to Kari Lake and Kyrsten Sinema.

It could work both ways. With her out now, the Democrats know their path. If Kari Lake is the GOP nominee, she'll have a hard time winning, she already lost to Hobbs. If the GOP got someone who isn't sold on alt-right fascism, they'd likely win by 5+ pts (possibly more). But Lake is a hollow fascist and AZ doesn't seem sold on her. And in a Presidential election year, it'll be harder for Lake to pull off a win in a purple AZ.

That may be, but Synema was apparently splitting the Republican vote worse than the Democratic vote. Gallego was already running ahead of Lake, so this will likely narrow the gap between Gallego and Lake. I don't think that Gallego will lose to her, however.