This probably just ruined Joe Biden’s breakfast.
After riding high with a big win in Georgia, Biden and Chuck Schumer were probably feeling pretty good heading into 2023.
That is until this Senator made an unexpected announcement that has left Democrats fuming.
Kyrsten Sinema leaves Democrat Party, becomes independent
Just days removed from the Georgia runoff election, Arizona U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced that she is leaving the Democrat Party and registering as a political independent.
In an interview with Jake Tapper over at CNN, Sinema said, “I’ve never fit neatly into any party box. I’ve never really tried.”
She has now become the third Senator to formally become an “Independent,” the other two being Socialist Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.
Both Sanders and King still caucus with the Senate Democrats, but Sinema has declined to say if she would do the same.
Despised by Democrats and Republicans alike
Sinema has done much in her time in the U.S. Senate to catch the ire of the far-left-wing of the Democrat Party.
Back in January she joined with Joe Manchin and Republicans in rejecting an attempt by Chuck Schumer to weaken the filibuster, the 60-vote threshold needed to cut off debate on legislation in the U.S. Senate.
Democrats were trying to gut the filibuster to pass a long-cherished “voting rights” bill that would have given broad new powers to the federal government over our elections.
Without having the needed 60 votes to bring the bill forward, Democrats looked to nuke the filibuster, but Manchin and Sinema stood in their way.
Two pro-abortion groups, Emily’s List and NARAL, pulled their support of Sinema for her refusal to support the changes to the filibuster.
It’s not that she has all of a sudden become a Right to Life advocate, but that she refused to go along with the Senate Democrats’ attempt to destroy the Senate’s rules.
Early in her career she seemed more willing to either evade or change the Senate’s filibuster rules, but of late, Sinema has consistently opposed any efforts to weaken the filibuster, even on legislative matters that she supports such as abortion and voting rights.
Another Tulsi?
So, what is Sinema’s big plan with leaving the Democrat Party and becoming an Independent?
Is she on the verge of becoming another Tulsi who since leaving office has gone on a crusade against woke ideology?
I wouldn’t be too sure of that.
Sinema, even with her more moderate streak on some economic and budgetary issues, as well as Senate rules, she is still very much a liberal.
But who knows.
She’s shown a willingness to tell her base to pound sand on the filibuster, perhaps she is signaling to the far-left that she’s not playing nice with them on other issues.
Another factor is that she is the U.S. Senator of Arizona that, while trending blue, is still a pretty conservative state.
Though it boggles the mind how such a conservative state can elect liberal Republicans like John McCain and Jeff Flake, who were replaced by Democrats Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema.
Either way, Sinema’s leaving the Democrat Party makes things just a bit more interesting in Washington, D.C., so grab some popcorn and enjoy the show.
US Political Daily will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
