Kyrsten Sinema’s Attempt To Explain Why She Won’t Help Nuke The Filibuster Is Not Going Over Well

The Democratic Party is in a rare position these days: It controls both the Senate and the House, to say nothing of the presidency. And yet they can’t get as much as they’d like, in part because Republicans keep shooting down debate thanks to an old tool: the filibuster. And they can’t get rid of that thanks primarily to two Democratic senators who oppose its elimination: Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Many have pleaded with them to reconsider but so far to no avail. Now we know Sinema’s reasons why she’s staying resolute, but people aren’t buying it.

On Monday, The Washington Post published an editorial from the sometimes flamboyant congresswoman, where she got to offer her defense of an opinion some find offensive.

“The best way to achieve durable, lasting results? Bipartisan cooperation,” Sinema writes, referring to the current congressional gridlock, where Republican leaders are outspoken about not cooperating. Her argument? That if you destroy the filibuster now, the bills Democrats are finally able to pass may one day be undone when they cede power to the other side:

To those who want to eliminate the legislative filibuster to pass the For the People Act (voting-rights legislation I support and have co-sponsored), I would ask: Would it be good for our country if we did, only to see that legislation rescinded a few years from now and replaced by a nationwide voter-ID law or restrictions on voting by mail in federal elections, over the objections of the minority?

But many called her argument out, saying it effectively told Democrats to never do anything bold lest it be voted out later. (In related news, the Affordable Care Act — one of Obama’s major accomplishments — was recently upheld for the umpteenth time by a Republican-heavy Supreme Court.) In other words, the reviews were not kind:

https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1407146115196243968

https://twitter.com/aterkel/status/1407149514599829505

Some pointed out that the backfire of which she speaks may come because of her.

Some accused Sinema of effectively siding with the minority party over the majority of voters.

Some pointed out that she doesn’t seem to get that the filibuster is preventing them from enacting helpful legislation.

Others reminded her that the restrictive voting laws currently being enacted all over the country by the GOP puts her own job at risk, too.

Some thought it was just dumb.

Even her friends didn’t like it.

While those who haven’t liked her didn’t exactly change her mind.

In her piece, Sinema brags about being an “independent,” but it’s becoming increasingly clear that she’s so independent that no one actually agrees with her. Except for that one guy.