Kyrsten Sinema Dashes Schumer’s Hopes by Defending Filibuster

Democratic moderate Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) announced that she will not join a nearly 100% united Democratic Senate in a push to end a filibuster to enable voting on the “For the People” act. Sinema and fellow moderate Democrat Joe Manchin (WV) have faced intense pressure to end the filibuster and vote to pass the act, which would help unify the Democrats in the Senate towards a common cause.

Sinema authored an op-ed for The Washington Post yesterday, announcing her plans supporting filibusters in the Senate, which would effectively kill any possibility of the “For the People” act from being passed.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., reiterated her opposition to eliminating the Senate legislative filibuster in an opinion piece for The Washington Post on Monday. https://t.co/4KjMlihZy1

— Newsmax (@newsmax) June 22, 2021

Sinema detailed why she supports the 60-vote threshold and why she believes filibusters can be viewed as a positive element to support bipartisan lawmaking:

Everyday Arizonans are focused on questions that matter most in their daily lives. Is my job secure? Can I expand my business? Can we afford college? What about health care? When can I retire? Is my community safe? Meanwhile, much of Washington’s focus is on a Senate rule requiring 60 votes to advance most legislation...

It’s no secret that I oppose eliminating the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. I held the same view during three terms in the U.S. House, and said the same after I was elected to the Senate in 2018. If anyone expected me to reverse my position because my party now controls the Senate, they should know that my approach to legislating in Congress is the same whether in the minority or majority.

Once in a majority, it is tempting to believe you will stay in the majority. But a Democratic Senate minority used the 60-vote threshold just last year to filibuster a police reform proposal and a covid-relief bill that many Democrats viewed as inadequate. Those filibusters were mounted not as attempts to block progress, but to force continued negotiations toward better solutions.

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support and have co-sponsored), I would ask: Would it be good for our country if we did, only to see that legislation rescinded a few years from now and replaced by a nationwide voter-ID law or restrictions on voting by mail in federal elections, over the objections of the minority?

Sinema cunningly noted how Democrats used a filibuster to block police reform and a COVID-19 bill to force GOP Senators to renegotiate. She believes that a filibuster “compels moderation and helps protect the country from wild swings between opposing policy poles.”

The release of Sinema’s op-ed sparked controversy across the political world on Twitter.

The craziest thing about this Sinema op-Ed isn’t what’s in it.

It’s that 40 of her fellow Democrats held the SAME position on the filibuster 2 years ago, flipped completely the second they got power, and media is mostly treating it like it’s NBD.https://t.co/TV61VcWcDP

— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) June 22, 2021

Sinema joined Manchin in writing op-eds for the Washington Post voicing their commitment to preserving filibusters.

Both Manchin and Sinema have now written op-eds in the Washington Post committing themselves to preserving the filibuster. Add in today’s NBC piece on the other senators who quietly hold that position, and maybe it’s time for another topic of conversation. https://t.co/Gfm8qocECJ

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) June 22, 2021

Read more on the “For the People” act here.

Stay tuned to Media Right News for any updates on the Senate as they will vote on the legislation this afternoon.