Integrity in Politics: Thoughts of a Native Arizonan on Sinema

[lees1975]

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2022/12/integrity-in-politics-thoughts-of.html

Kyrsten Sinema was elected by Arizona voters, with the full support of the Arizona Democratic party, along with considerable financial backing of the Democratic National Committee. After decades of political frustration in one of the most politically backward states in the country, Democrats won a Senate seat in a statewide election, laying a foundation for the eventual victory that the party experienced in 2020, with Joe Biden being only the second Democrat to carry the state since Harry S. Truman in 1948. With Mark Kelly subsequently winning Arizona's other Senate seat, Democrats in Arizona finally had some gains to celebrate.

No doubt, Sinema has been a disappointment to those who elected her, especially since Democrats got control of Congress in 2018, and then the Senate in 2020. Her history in the state legislature and as a politician would indicate that she was a progressive, or at the very least, a left-leaning moderate, coming from membership in the Green Party, self-identified as a "Prada socialist," and from some leadership among Democrats in a Republican dominated Arizona legislature. A native of my own hometown, Tucson, which is a Democratic stronghold in Arizona and has been for decades, it is difficult to consider any scenario that would transform someone whose own personal freedom as the second LGBTQ female to be elected to the Senate, from a progressive background to a centrist independent. Regardless, to make that switch while still in office lacks integrity and is a betrayal of those who voted for her and supported her election.

[2naSalit]

1. And she should be...

reminded of that every single day until she leaves office.

[Harker]

2. Yes. And thereafter. n/t

[2naSalit]

3. She said in her video...

That she was doing what is "...best for Arizona." Well, the best thing she could do for Aeizona is resign, right fucking now.

[Mister Ed]

4. To me, this is the big takeaway from the editorial:

I seriously doubt Sinema will take votes away from the Democratic senate nominee. I know enough about Arizona politics to know that she's done. Republicans aren't going to support her. A strong candidate with a solid campaign will win this seat back for Democrats in 2024.  

[lees1975]

5. Ruben Gallego started putting together a Senate campaign this week

and is already raising money. This is a guy who won his re-election bid in a district mostly in Maricopa County with over 75% of the vote. A veteran, and a representative with a reputation for being down to earth and up close to his constituents is quite a contrast to Sinema. I think she pulled out because the polling numbers, mainly her approval, showed she was going to be soundly defeated in the Democratic primary. But running as an independent isn't going to be easy in a state where an almost equal percentage of Democrats and Republicans, 56% and 57% respectively, despise her.

The Latino vote in Arizona breaks for Democrats at a higher percentage than in almost any other state except California and New Mexico and it has increased substantially as a percentage of Arizona's electorate, but is still under-represented in the electorate. A candidate like Gallego would light those numbers up. Dems got over 150,000 new voters, mostly Latino, to register and vote in Maricopa County alone to defeat Joe Arpaio a few years back, and there's more than a 20% gap between the percentage of Latino population in Arizona, and the percentage of Latinos registered to vote. Sinema, who keeps her distance from constituents and doesn't generate a lot of enthusiasm among her shrinking base, won't put enough of a dent in Democratic enthusiasm to help the GOP or win herself.