Kyrsten Sinema and the Democratic Party

Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced her decision to leave the Democratic Party in a carefully orchestrated media campaign featuring a profile, an op-ed, and a video touting herself as an “independent voice.” Beyond the lofty language, what this really reflects is the fact that it would be a challenge for her to win in a Democratic primary.

Outright switching parties didn’t make much sense. Sinema is still effectively a Democrat. She backed President Biden’s $1.9 trillion left-wing spending spree that helped fuel inflation, and his climate and Obamacare-expansion bill, and is radically pro-abortion. Overall, she has voted against her party just 3 percent of the time. She just hasn’t been willing to go whole hog in embracing radical actions to advance progressivism. Most notably, she has opposed ideas such as blowing up the filibuster and packing the courts, and her objections created roadblocks that contributed to the death of Biden’s $3.5 trillion progressive wish list branded as Build Back Better. That has made her a hate figure among the progressive activists who control the Democratic Party, who even took to following her into a bathroom to harass her.

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Philip Klein

Philip Klein is the editor of National Review Online.

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Kyrsten Sinema

Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced her decision to leave the Democratic Party in a carefully orchestrated media campaign featuring a profile, an op-ed, and a video touting herself as an “independent voice.” Beyond the lofty language, what this really reflects is the fact that it would be a challenge for her to win in a Democratic primary.

Outright switching parties didn’t make much sense. Sinema is still effectively a Democrat. She backed President Biden’s $1.9 trillion left-wing spending spree that helped fuel inflation, and his climate and Obamacare-expansion bill, and is radically pro-abortion. Overall, she has voted against her party just 3 percent of the time. She just hasn’t been willing to go whole hog in embracing radical actions to advance progressivism. Most notably, she has opposed ideas such as blowing up the filibuster and packing the courts, and her objections created roadblocks that contributed to the death of Biden’s $3.5 trillion progressive wish list branded as Build Back Better. That has made her a hate figure among the progressive activists who control the Democratic Party, who even took to following her into a bathroom to harass her.