Vermont Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders has accused his former colleague Kyrsten Sinema of helping to «sabotage» some of the party’s key policies in the upper chamber, days after she announced she was leaving the party to join as an independent, jeopardizing their weak majority in the Senate.
«She has her reasons (…) I think Democrats are not so enthusiastic about someone who helps sabotage some of the most important laws that protect the interests of working families and voting rights,» he has said.
«I think it has to do with his political aspirations for the future in Arizona, but for us, I think, nothing much has changed in terms of the functioning of the U.S. Senate,» Sanders said in a dialogue for CNN.
Sinema announced this weekend that she was leaving the formation, which means that the Democrats will now have 48 seats, plus three independents — Sanders himself, Angus King and her — to the Republicans’ 49. «Nothing will change in terms of my values or my behavior,» said the senator from Arizona.
However, the Democratic Party is aware that in the last two years they have had to make sure that Sinema complied with the party’s voting discipline on almost any bill in order for it to have any chance of being approved, since in the previous legislature there was a tie in the upper chamber.
Thus, since 2013, the year she entered the House of Representatives, and through 2020, Sinema has voted against her party’s proposals more than almost any other member of Congress. His average support is 69 percent, well behind the 90 percent of the average Democrat.
«I’ve registered as an independent from Arizona. I know some people may be a little surprised by this, but I actually think it makes a lot of sense. I’ve never been a perfect fit for any party,» announced Sinema, who otherwise has not confirmed that he is running for re-election for his seat in 2024.
«Removing myself from the party structure, not only is it true to who I am and how I operate, I also believe it will provide a space for many people across the state and country who are also tired of partisanship,» she argued.
However, there are many who believe that Sinema would have switched to the independent side of the Senate because of the difficulty of winning a Democratic primary due to her low popularity ratings, as Arizona Representatives Ruben Gallego and Greg Stanton, emerged as potential challengers.
Asked if he will support a hypothetical Democratic candidate against Sinema, Sanders, although he has asked to wait to know who will be the proposal that emerges from Arizona, said that he will bet on those progressives and «people with guts» to confront «the powerful interests» of some.
