Throwing Democrats for a loop, 45-year-old Sen. Krysten Sinema (D-Az.) arrived in the U.S. Senate Jan. 3, 2019 confounding her party for not voting like sheep for most prearranged Democrat causes. Sinema upended 79-year-old President Joe Biden’s domestic spending agenda, opposing his $1.75 trillion Build Back Better [BBB] plan, giving al least $650 billion to deal with climate change. But irking Democrats more than anything else, Sinema refused to join other Democrats to get rid of the filibuster, the age-old Senate rule allowing the opposing party to scuttle once-sided legislation. Sinema has joined up with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), voting like a moderate Republicans to oppose Biden’s domestic agenda. Sinema agrees with Manchin that Biden’s big spending programs have already fueled the worst inflation in 40-years, looking to put brakes on Biden’s big spending binge.
Democrats blame Sinema and Manchin for letting the filibuster continue to throw monkey wrench into the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Getting rid of the filibuster was essential to Democrats bullying their way into passing the legislation with a simple majority, not the 60 votes needed for most legislation. Manchin and Sinema do not support killing he filibuster to impose legislation, much like the Democrat played in 2010 when former President Barack Obama passed the Affordable Care Act over 100% Republican opposition. “The American people deserve to see their senators go on record and whether they will support these bills or oppose them,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, before the failed vote. “Indeed, that may the only way to make progress on this issue for now for the public to see where each of us in this chamber stands,” Schumer said.
Sinema and Manchin have resisted the peer pressure inside the Democrat Party coming from progressives who push to get the John Lewis Voting Rights Act passed, largely to appease the African American community. Passing the Voting Rights Act would guarantee universal mail-in ballots into the foreseeable future. Republicans argue that the 2020 election results were skewed toward Democrats because of the 20% registration advantage, something enhanced by universal mail-in voting. Ending the filibuster “would deepen our divisions and risk repeated radical reversals in federal policy,” Sinema said, voting to uphold the filibuster. Today, the Arizona Democrat Party [ADP] censured Sinema for failing to vote along party lines. Sinema made clear that she’s moved more into the independent category, voting sometimes with Republicans where it makes sense to her.
Censuring Sinema shows the Democrat Party has plans to put money into an opposing candidate to Sinema, all because she wanted to preserve the filibuster and keep the Senate voting tradition intact. “While we take no pleasure in this announcement, the ADP Executive Board has decided to formally censure Senator Sinema as a result of her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy.” Republicans think passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act would forever compromise U.S. federal elections, imposing universal mail-in ballots on voting. Arizona’s Democrat Party punished Sinema for voting her conscience, not interfering with “democracy.” If 50% of the public thinks that the Lewis Voting Rights Act would taint U.S. elections, then Sinema did the right thing opposing it. Arizona’s Democrat Party told Sinema that she can’t vote her conscience, only what the Party thinks.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) agreed wholeheartedly with censuring Sinema for failing to kill the filibuster to pass the Lewis Voting Rights Act. “That was a terrible, terrible vote, and I think what the Arizona Democrat Party did was exactly right,” said Sanders. Sanders, calls himself an independent, but votes Democrat 100% of the time. Punishing Sinema for voting her conscience violates a long history of elected leaders defying party lines on important votes, when they think it’s right. Sanders knows that Democrats have a Senate Majority, only because of Vice President Kamala Harris breaks a tiebreaker, leaving Biden’s national agenda in jeopardy, especially with Manchin and Sinema voting their conscience. With Sen. Ben Ray Luhan (D-N.M.) suffering a stroke Feb. 1, Democrats can’t pass any new legislation without Manchin and Sinema on the same page.
Censuring Sinema shows the desperation in the Democrat Party to continue to pass Biden’s BBB plan and other priorities. Senators have a right or a duty to vote their conscience on particular issues. Whatever the pressure from progressives led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sanders and others, no Senator should be censured for voting their conscience. If the Democrat Party wants to get rid of Sinema or Manchin, they should put up and pay for alternative candidates, not abuse the censure for voting one’s conscience. Censure is legitimately reserved for egregious acts of malfeasance, not for differences in political philosophy. Schumer may support alternative candidates to get Sinema or Manching voted out of office but censure must be reserved for elected officials that violate the rules, engage in egregious behavior, not simply voting their conscience.
