Democratic problem child Kyrsten Sinema’s up today, and she’s got some thoughts on this whole nuke-the-filibuster thing:
New —> Kyrsten Sinema is on the Senate floor now to talk about voting rights. pic.twitter.com/FfOn84RBlA
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 13, 2022
.@SenatorSinema remarks – LIVE on C-SPAN2 https://t.co/z0jkG2GITa pic.twitter.com/RgLZw9rvKZ
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 13, 2022
Guys shut up, Sinema is speaking.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) January 13, 2022
Is she ever. And it’s music to our ears.
SINEMA: "Where does this descending spiral of division lead, and how can we stop it?"
She says divisions have fueled laws that'll make it harder for Americans to vote. "These state laws have no place in a nation whose government is formed by free, fair, and open elections."
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 13, 2022
Kyrsten Sinema says she will "strongly support" legislative responses to assure free/fair elections and counter restrictive state laws. She names the Freedom To Vote Act and John Lewis. But she makes clear he still support the 60-vote filibuster rule for legislation.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 13, 2022
Sinema certainly sounds like she's rebuking Biden for his rhetoric at the start.
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) January 13, 2022
A definite no on the filibuster changes. https://t.co/f6dwK4K9yj
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) January 13, 2022
Let her be clear:
Sinema on floor: ""I strongly support and will continue to vote for … the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis" voting bill
but "there's no need for me to restate my support for the 60-vote threshold"
so, there you have it. Again
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 13, 2022
Recommended
And again and again.
On the Senate floor, SINEMA says there is “no need” for her to restate her support for the 60-vote threshold
“It is the view I continue to hold,” she said
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 13, 2022
Manchin & Sinema have been very clear here in the Capitol about their full-throated support for the filibuster. Manchin very publicly. Sinema privately — and a bit publicly.
The idea that they would drop this position did not line up w anyone’s reporting/reality https://t.co/EgZKWYh2km
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 13, 2022
But bless the Left’s heart for trying!
Kyrsten Sinema: "There's no need for me to restate my longstanding support for the 60-vote threshold to pass legislation… It is the view I continue to hold."
No equivocation.
This position means the Freedom To Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act are toast.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 13, 2022
Toast. Anyone have any butter?
Sinema calls this week's "harried discussions" on Senate rules a poor substitute for a longer debate that could have taken place over the past few months
Says filibuster "ensures that millions of Americans represented by the minority party have a voice"
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 13, 2022
"Eliminating the 60-vote threshold on a party line with the thinnest of possible majorities to pass these bills that I support will not guarantee that we prevent demagogues from winning office," she says. Calls filibuster "critical tool" for safeguarding democracy
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 13, 2022
Sinema says she shares "the disappointment of many" that Republicans won't support elections reform. Says she's disappointed Democrats aren't trying harder to work with Republicans.
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 13, 2022
Welp.
Incredible how similar her language here is to the dozens of Democrats who signed a letter making the same argument just a few years ago.
Before they got a little power and lost their minds. https://t.co/1nJUKtvozC
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) January 13, 2022
Maybe Sen. Sinema should replay Sen. Tom Cotton’s speech from yesterday, if she’s got time. That would just be … *chef’s kiss*
Sinema: Democrats increased use of requiring cloture for judicial nominees under George W. Bush led to Republicans do the same under Obama.
— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) January 13, 2022
Sinema: When one party need only negotiate with itself, policy will inextricably be pushed to the extremes.
— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) January 13, 2022
Sinema cites 2013 action by Reid nuking filibuster for lower-court nominees leading to Republicans nuking it for Supreme Court nominees in 2017.
— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) January 13, 2022
We’d ask her critics to show us where she’s wrong, but it would be pointless. Because she’s not wrong.
Thank you @kyrstensinema for putting country over party. https://t.co/RDPp9dVXfj
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) January 13, 2022
giving an impassioned defense of the filibuster and taking both parties to task. i love her so much https://t.co/P0eG6Rnv5X
— Laura (@laurakbarr) January 13, 2022
How can you not love her right now?
To the extent the leadership/WH goal here was to force the holdouts' hand and make them own their position, mission accomplished I guess. https://t.co/L6jLVKUXz4
— Liam Donovan (@LPDonovan) January 13, 2022
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) January 13, 2022
We’re here for this.
how it looks as a major moment in American democracy is decided, with Sinema saying that changing the filibuster would worsen "the disease of division" in the Senate… and likely killing voting rights legislation: pic.twitter.com/PK5Cbmhigz
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) January 13, 2022
Sinema argues that the filibuster will in fact be needed to "safeguard our democracy from threats in the years to come," and those outweigh the threats most Democrats see from not passing voting rights legislation now
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) January 13, 2022
Ultimately, what Sinema is saying is that she was not convinced the threat to democracy from not having new voting rights legislation was on par to the threat to the global economy from not raising the debt ceiling – which she supported a filibuster workaround for a few weeks ago
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) January 13, 2022
but according to Biden's formulation in his speech on Tuesday, Sinema is now essentially standing with George Wallace, Bull Connor and Jefferson Davis
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) January 13, 2022
Oh well.
Nevertheless, she persisted. https://t.co/cFiTcVmPhw
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) January 13, 2022
Indeed she did.
Watch her in action:
BREAKING: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema praises proposed voting rights bills but reiterates support for filibuster rule, saying "I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country." https://t.co/ihVuth6xKF pic.twitter.com/GVNP9wBLYe
— ABC News (@ABC) January 13, 2022
"There's no need for me to restate my longstanding support for the 60-vote threshold to pass legislation," Sen. Sinema says.
"It is the view I continue to hold." pic.twitter.com/hWXGhD6Ua6
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 13, 2022
Fabulous.
Maybe she'll change her mind tomorrow. I just hope a reporter asks her. https://t.co/QZeGBY3Rn4
— John 'pro-norms' Ekdahl (@JohnEkdahl) January 13, 2022
Better ask her if she changed her mind tomorrow https://t.co/DOydtHlGGq
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) January 13, 2022
Manu Raju is already camping outside of her office.
And yet, she will get asked again minutes after she's done.
And then again.
And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. https://t.co/g5lJ8I2O3l
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) January 13, 2022
But she’ll always be ready for them.
This is the best speech given on the Senate floor in the last year. https://t.co/UNeWi07uCt
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) January 13, 2022
On policy, I'm probably the opposite of @SenatorSinema in most matters. We disagree on the bills in question. But I think this is one of the finest Senate speeches in recent times, focusing on the real plague in US politics.
Well done, Sen. Sinema.
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) January 13, 2022