(Headline) Sinema's an independent because both Democrats and Republicans don't like her
[That is true. I loathe her; I know Arizona D’s loathe her. Only 37% of AZ D’s and 41% of Indies approve of the job she’s doing.]
(sub lede) The Arizona senator may consider herself a maverick, but she’s really a political player out of her depth and in search of a constituency.
(article) …For Sinema, it seems it’s always been self over party over country.
[I exchanged with my (second) ex-wife on Sinema when the news broke. “This bisexual, triathlete, tri-political person does not know who she is,” I wrote, adding, “I’m sure you didn’t like my “bisexual, triathlete, tri-political” [I predicted she would turn R eventually.] swipe at Sinema but I think in this case it informs her. She sees herself as unique, a switch-hitter in every way who will do anything for the unicorn.” My ex replied that she didn’t mind. Sinema switched only after the Georgia results became clear--to preserve her power as one of two Ds who could thwart Biden. She voted with Biden 93% of the time (!) and saved her "Nos" for the moments when the lights were brightest. When there is no political there there with you, it becomes all about you.]
…
Sinema shows no sign of understanding that McCain’s political independence was the product of a savvy and calculating political mind, let alone having one herself.
[I agree that she is out of her depth as a strategic thinker. I honestly think she is confused about who she is.]
…
Sinema’s fickleness hasn’t earned her the coveted title of maverick; political observers are more likely to describe Sinema as “mercurial” with “unclear” policy goals. Writing in The New York Times, columnist Michelle Goldberg pointedly asked “What’s Wrong With Kyrsten Sinema?”…
[Yes, I read that Goldberg column. Goldberg has read Sinema’s 2009 book and her Dec. 9 column, to me, makes Sinema even weirder:
…a vaguely New Age ethos that prized inner tranquillity. One chapter was called “Letting Go of the Bear and Picking Up the Buddha,” with the bear representing fear and anger. “Picking up the Buddha (becoming a super centered political actor) makes you a stronger, more effective you,” she wrote. “To be your most fabulous political self, you’ll need to learn to recognize the bear and learn to let go of it in your work.” Oh my God.]Even Sinema’s own allies reportedly struggle to understand her political strategy and core beliefs.
[Okay, so when nobody likes you and the people who work for you don’t understand who the fuck you are: you are really, most sincerely fucked.]
…
That’s quite the political and ideological collapse for a former member of the Green Party who had once proudly cheerleaded for a host of liberal causes. Now Sinema, who once called raising big-donor campaign cash “bribery,” is an eager recipient of corporate money. In 2021, Sinema took in a personal record fundraising haul thanks in large part to huge donations from pharmaceutical companies and financial interests. But all the Big Pharma money in America won’t be enough to save Sinema from her own unpopularity…
…Without any clear idea of what Sinema believes or whose interests she serves, it seems that voters no longer trust her. And Sinema’s net favorability of -20 with Democrats isn’t an outlier: She posts an almost identical -18 with Republicans, -10 with independents, according to data posted by FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver.
