Tag: Sinema

Senator Sinema, Has Heads Shaking

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OPINION:
Senator Sinema, Has Heads Shaking

Kyrsten Sinema is taking lots of money from big pharma

OPINION:

Senator Sinema, Has Heads Shaking

Are There Moles Within The Democratic Party?

By William Jones

A Minority of Two

Senator Kyrsten Sinema has emerged as one of the two biggest roadblocks to President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan.  She left D. C.  recently for a fundraising trip to Europe. Sinema’s trip came amid ongoing negotiations over the bill and was a slap in the face to Democrats. Senators Sinema and Joe Manchin, are the lone Democratic senate holdouts blocking the President’s proposal. These two holding out against the majority of their party, is a big deal.

Just Tell Us What You Want

Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, recently criticized Sinema. Sanders just wants to know what she would support. Other senators have similarly accused Sinema of stonewalling her own party, refusing to define a position. President Biden is said to be “exasperated” after hours of talks with her. He and others have complained that Sinema doesn’t “move” from her position in negotiations and show so little respect, she often fails to  “return calls from the White House.”

Looking Across The Pond

Lawmakers are barred from raising money from foreign sources. However,  members of Congress occasionally travel overseas to solicit donations from Americans living abroad. Those overseas donors tend to be affluent and well-connected. Ms. Sinema’s office declined to tell reporters how long she would be abroad. They also declined to disclose what countries she was visiting, or how the trip was being paid for. No further information was provided regarding additional fund-raising for her campaign.

Big Pharma

Aside from looking for off shore money the Arizona senator has been soaking up donations from the pharmaceutical industry and other corporate groups who want to kill key parts of the bill. I am here to report she has continued to make time to meet with those donors.

$5,800 Per Seat

Last month, Sinema held a fundraiser with five business groups that oppose President Biden’s bill, charging attendees up to $5,800 to attend a 45-minute event. Earlier this month, Sinema left Washington to go to Arizona, where she attended a ritzy donor “retreat” at a high-end resort and spa, with no small donors in sight.

Refuses to Meet Constituents

Sinema’s refusal to engage elected members of her own party has extended to her constituents. Numerous constituents have complained that Sinema will not meet with them, either in her office or at a town hall. She has steadfastly refused to hold a single town hall since her election. Multiple groups within the sate of Arizona have already launched efforts to raise money in support of a Democratic primary challenger in 2024.

Hecklers Chase Sinema

Tensions have continued to rise between Sinema and her own constituents.  Arizona protesters repeatedly confronted the senator at several locations this month. Some even heckled her during a class presentation at Arizona State University and  then followed  her into a campus restroom. The Intercept reported that Sinema teaches an ASU class on fundraising, including topics like “how to cultivate large individual donors,” “opportunistic fundraising” and “corporate giving.” The topics alone leave little doubt as to her priorities.

Mounting Pressure Campaign

Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the ‘moderate’ Arizona Democrat who has objected to the size and scope of President Biden’s sweeping legislative agenda, has been trailed all over the country by progressive activists in an effort to intensify public pressure on her.  Besides the bathroom incident, activists have followed her onto an airplane and even to the Boston Marathon.

Deeply Disappointing

The United States Senate is split 50 Democratic senators and 50 Republican senators. V.P. Harris is then available to provide the tie breaking vote. Democrats need every Democrat to stand united to pass any bill. These facts have greatly empowered both Mr. Manchin and Ms. Sinema as the party’s vocal holdouts. Ms. Sinema has pushed for the House to adopt a separate, bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill while the larger budget package is being negotiated. She called the delay in voting on the infrastructure package “inexcusable” and “deeply disappointing” in early October.

Conclusion

Kyrsten Sinema is on rocky ground with her electorate. Angry constituents are confronting her, she is pissing off the crowd in the White House, and she has angered nearly all of her fellow senate Democrats. Sometimes there isn’t enough money to save your reputation.  Sinema was sent to the Senate to work for her constituents not the drug companies. Wake up Senator Sinema. The country is begging for what is in this bill, do your part to make it happen.

 References

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/us/politics/kyrsten-sinema-fundraising-europe.html

https://www.salon.com/2021/10/14/kyrsten-sinema-ditches-senate-negotiations-for-fundraising-trip-to-europe/

2018 Midterms A Democratic Blow Out

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2018 Midterms A Democratic Blow Out

Trevor K. McNeil

 

No pressure. The clamor before the election was that the 2018 Midterm elections could be the most important Midterm vote in history. A lot of hype, that may end up being spot on. This, like most things these days, was all the president’s fault. Trump being correct, shocking I know, when he characterized the elections as, effectively, a referendum on him and his administration. He kept telling us that, over and over.

Accepting the challenge. We as a people accepted that challenge, registered a record number of new voters and fielded a strong team of candidates nationwide . We were ready and willing to tell Trump exactly what we think of him and his cabinet of swamp creatures. We were ready for, in fact anxious for, a return to divided government. The ballot box our chosen platform, the 2018 Midterms the first election in which we could flex our muscles.

Taking back the House. The 2018 Midterms elections have given the Democrats control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2010. Stacking the house against Trump is now the best, legal, way to limit his powers. The people of the country made it clear that is what they expect. And the messy process of hobbling his actions has begun.

Big turn outs across the nation. The 2018 Midterm election turnout is estimated at 113,000,000. That would mean 48% of eligible voters participated. Staggering numbers for a Midterm election, nearly 85,000,000 more than in the 2014 Midterm. People tend to  vote because they are mad. Like I said Trump wanted it to be all about him and that’s exactly what happened.

You can breath again. To call the 2018 Midterms a “roller-coaster” ride is an understatement. Kind of like saying Benedict Arnold had slightly confused loyalties. We will likely be getting results every day for the next couple days, to possibly weeks. California final results may not be available for at least a month.

The courts are the end litigator. Lawsuits have begun in most of the contested states. Why would anyone, Rick Scott and Brian Kemp to mention two Republicans who are determined to sue their way to office want to stop counting ballots. Why would we vote, if they only intend to count some of the votes? Totally absurd. Nelson vs Scott in Florida, Sinema vs McSally in Arizona, Gillum vs DeSantis  in Florida and finally the most riveting, Abrams vs Kemp in Georgia. All nail biters. Some already moving to recount.

A blue dribble vs a blue wave. There is the bad news that the Republicans have held the senate. As 2018 Midterm vote count dribbles in to the history books we have gone from thinking the Republicans would see a big gain of up to 6 seats in the Senate; but now, nearly a week post Midterms, it looks like nothing more than an overall one seat Republican gain..

Gender and diversity the takeaways. The brightest news of the 2018 Midterm election is that a total of 100 women were elected, more than any other election in U.S. history. Notably, the first Native American openly gay woman, Sharice Davids, has been elected to Congress. This upcoming congress will be the most gender, ethnically and racially diverse group in Congressional history. Way to go voters. It is about time that our elected leaders are a reflection of what our society looks like, not a reflection of a dying power center; that of old, mostly, white men.

It takes awhile to get there. The 2018 Midterm election also saw the election of Jared Polis an openly LGBTQ person to represent Colorado in the House of Representatives. Finally making good on the path bravely carved out by Harvey Milk. Harvey Milk who was the first openly LGBTQ person to be elected to public office in 1970’s San Francisco, and he was killed for his efforts.

Percentages can be deceiving. The best news, of course, is that the Democrats took the House, and not by a small amount. The percentages might look close but percentage points count for a lot in elections, each one representing thousands of individual votes. What began looking like a mediocre “trickle” has over the last couple days ballooned into a possible gain of 38-40 seats. In addition to the House successes, the Democrats flipped multiple governor mansions and a staggering number of state legislatures. A mandate many would call it.

A big headache. The Democrats now with great 2018 Midterm success have the power to give the Trump administration a mind bending migraine. The power of the subpoena should make Trump and associates nervous. The American people have thrown up their hands and said, loudly no matter how dirty it gets, they are telling the Dems to clean up the Trump/GOP mess.

Sharpening pencils and registering voters. The 2018 Midterms are only the beginning. Many of the Resistors and the Indivisible folks are sharpening their pencils and are ready to continue their registration drive right up until the 2020 elections. The Senate and the Executive Branch are the targets of the Democrats next flip. If Trump thinks this is going to be a small bump in his presidency, I think he better buckle the proverbial seat belt because it looks like things are gonna get rough.

Looking ahead. We should, of course, celebrate this major victory. Hopefully the Dems can hobble the roaring beast of Trumpism. But, now we stumble into two months of lame duck politics. Matthew Whitaker’s appointment as temporary Attorney General of the United States is just a warning shot by Trump. What he does over the next couple months in this pre-Dem time is open to speculation. He could shoot that guy on Fifth Avenue by the time the new House is seated and what will they do about it?

Some unfortunate facts.Trump is still the president (damn and blast it). The great 2018 Midterm Democratic wins in the state houses around the country will help protect the 2020 election against voter suppression and gerrymandering. But this record-setting election is only the first step in a long journey to the next election. Two years are a long time in politics.  From now until 2020 we need to keep the pressure on this rogue and reckless president.