(UPDATED) Kyrsten Sinema Might have Just Made the Democrats Dreams to Pass Infrastructure and Budget Reconciliation Much Harder

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No sooner after Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema conveyed that a deal had been struck on a Senate bipartisan infrastructure deal, she might have thrown the whole process of passing that bill and the Democratic Budget Reconciliation legislation into doubt by stating that she would not support the agreed-upon amount of $3.5 trillion on the likely Democrat only measure.

In a statement to the Arizona Republic, Senator Sinema stated that while she supported many of the proposals in the legislation:

“I have also made clear that while I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion — and in the coming months, I will work in good faith to develop this legislation with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona’s economy and help Arizona’s everyday families get ahead.” 

What bad timing. Talk about killing the mood.

To be fair to Sinema, despite a reported agreement among the Democrats (apparently not,) both Senators Joe Manchin and Jon Tester were not enthusiastic about the $3.5 trillion price tag either.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Sinema’s political instincts have been called into question this year. During the American Rescue Plan votes (which she did vote for the final package,) she caused a progressive backlash against her when she knelt during her vote against a minimum wage increase. Then she apparently signaled people to f off while having drinks at a local location in April. She has also been routinely chastised for not supporting reforming or doing away with the filibuster to secure voting rights protection and expansion legislation.

It does not take a political genius to come to the conclusion that the senior Arizona Senator’s current moves, despite anything she has delivered to the Grand Canyon State, will not appeal to her party’s base if she decides to run for reelection in 2024.

Right now, her statement has made Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer’s job harder in rallying united Democratic support for both the infrastructure and Democratic Reconciliation Bills.

House Progressives like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Mondaire Jones did not waste time pouncing on Sinema’s comments. Ocasio-Cortez tweeted:

Jones also tweeted:

A potential sign of how bad Senator Sinema may or may not have botched things is if Senate Majority Schumer is forced to put off the start of debate on the infrastructure bill if Democrats in the upper chamber do not give him the necessary votes to move forward.

Hopefully, Democrats will take a collective deep breath, agree to publicly keep everyone’s mouths and tweets shut, and move forward on these vital pieces of legislation for the country and the American People.

Hopefully.

UPDATE: All 50 Senate Democrats voted with 17 Senate Republicans to start a debate on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. This is a very good and positive development.

 

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12 thoughts on “(UPDATED) Kyrsten Sinema Might have Just Made the Democrats Dreams to Pass Infrastructure and Budget Reconciliation Much Harder”

  2. So, McConnell is offering some lukewarm support for the so-called bipartisan infrastructure bill (which is more like a concept).

    From Politico:
    “The Senate minority leader stayed quiet for weeks but finally tipped his hand on Wednesday afternoon on the floor to a bipartisan group of colleagues, according to senators and aides. He told them he would support moving ahead on the bill, provided that the legislation coming to a final vote was their agreement — not something written by Senate Democrats.”

    “It was the first inkling, among even McConnell’s closest allies, that the Kentucky Republican would support one of President Joe Biden’s top priorities: a bipartisan effort to plow $550 billion in new spending to roads, bridges, public transit and broadband.”

    So. What is McConnell up to? This would not be in alignment with his saying that it’s his job to stop Biden.

    My first guess is that McConnell figures if he has to give Biden something then better it be infrastructure than voting rights. For the time being, he might see some advantage in supporting an illusion of bipartisanship. It gives the idiot twins, Sinema and Manchin something to fall back on as they do their best to derail most of Biden’s agenda and run down the clock for the GOP.

    Has anyone told Sinema that if the GOP takes back the Senate in 2022 she will be dog meat?

  5. Politico reports, “When Chuck Schumer announced earlier this month that he might keep the Senate in session into August — delaying a previously scheduled recess in order to shepherd the two gigantic bills through the chamber — Sinema told the majority leader that she was not sticking around to vote.” “She had prior vacation plans, she said, and wasn’t about to let the infrastructure or reconciliation bills get in the way.”

    So she’s not using the August recess for district work. Don’t expect to see her hold any town halls, because she really does not care what you think.

    “POLITICO Playbook: Sinema’s vacation plans, Manchin gets booed and megadonor drama”, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2021/07/30/sinemas-vacation-plans-manchin-gets-booed-and-megadonor-drama-493787?nname=playbook&nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nrid=0000014e-f0ed-dd93-ad7f-f8edad790000&nlid=630318

  6. Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman (D) on Wednesday publicly criticized Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) for voicing opposition to a $3.5 trillion price tag of Senate Democrats’ Budget Reconciliation bill. “Fetterman slams Sinema over infrastructure: ‘Democrats need to vote like Democrats'”, https://thehill.com/homenews/news/565385-fetterman-slams-sinema-over-infrastructure-democrats-need-to-vote-like

    “In unprecedented times like these, Democrats need to vote like Democrats,” Fetterman, a U.S. Senate candidate, said in a statement. “We have the majority, we have the presidency, we have the House, we have the Senate – so let’s act like it and finally deliver Biden’s agenda to the American people.”

    Fetterman is running for the Senate.

  7. Not the endorsement any Democrat should want: “I was certainly pleased. She is very courageous.” — Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by NBC News (when asked for his reaction to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s statement pushing back against the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation proposal.) Yeah, enabling the obstruction of the “Grim Reaper of Democracy” is “courageous.” It is appeasement of evil.

    • Jonathan Swan reports at Axios, “Mitch’s Sinema secret,” https://www.axios.com/mcconnell-urges-public-support-sinema-private-conversations-cca5188d-6415-400b-b827-eb3c6ef435db.html

      Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is urging his fellow Republicans to buck up Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — a Democrat, sources familiar with the conversations tell Axios.

      Republicans view Sinema and her moderate Democratic colleague Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia as their last line of defense against sweeping progressive laws — ranging from a $3.5 trillion social welfare bill to potentially irreversible structural changes like eliminating the filibuster and adding new states to the union.

      McConnell is urging support for Sinema in private conversations, telling those with relationships with her that now is the time to speak up on her behalf.

      During a June 23 appearance on Fox News Radio’s Guy Benson Show, the minority leader said he admired Sinema and Manchin for their “courage in defending the Senate as an institution.”

      And on Wednesday, McConnell told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow that Sinema was “very courageous” for saying she can’t support a Democratic reconciliation package costing $3.5 trillion.

      –

      So Kyrsten Sinema is the stalking horse that the “Grim Reaper of Democracy” rides upon?

  8. “From what we have heard, having seen no text, this bill is going to be status quo, 1950s policy with a little tiny add-on. If it’s what I think it is, I will be opposed.” — House Transportation Committee chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), quoted by the New York Times, threatening to vote against the bipartisan infrastructure deal.

    • DeFazio follows up on CNN: https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1420846199691751429?s=20

      Rep. Pete DeFazio (D-OR), chairman of House Transportation and Infrastructure, trashed Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill in a CNN interview and said it needs to be “substantially changed.”

      Said DeFazio: “This was written by three people who have no knowledge of or expertise in transportation infrastructure.”

      He was referring to Sean. Rob Portman (R-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Susan Collins (R-ME).

  9. Speaker Pelosi has been very clear that the bipartisan and reconciliation bills move together. So it’s time for Schumer to forget the August recess and get to work on passing both bills and sending them over to the House.

    Maybe an August recess made sense before the invention of air conditioning, but it makes no sense now.

  10. Wow.

    Well, I guess anyone who thought Sinema might have accomplished something got a quick wake up call.

    She’s gotten all “my way or the highway,” in competition with Joe Manchin for who is going to rule the Senate.

    Her power trip is escalating and in a bad way. I just hope we don’t end up with nothing because of her.

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