šø Last night President Biden arrived in Arizona. Senator Krysten Sinema wasn't there to welcome him. But guess what? @RubenGallego was.
Won't it be nice to soon have a senator from Arizona who actually supports the president and our agenda instead of one who is all about⦠pic.twitter.com/uuO8kvGSlQ
— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) August 8, 2023
I really like Gallego, but (so) I don’t trust my instincts on a competition between him and Sinema. On the positive side, the lady is doing her absolute best to piss off the Democrats who gave her a chance to grift the big-time donors, so…
Sinema shreds her own party for sending FEMA money to New York as it sees an influx of asylum-seekers.
"The reason the money is going to New York is because the Speaker of the House is from New York and the leader of the U.S. Senate is from New York.āpic.twitter.com/Cn9i8M0gkK
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) August 3, 2023
NEW from me yesterday in Buckeye, AZ:@RubenGallego Returns to the Campaign Trail, With Kyrsten Sinema as the Elephant in the Roomhttps://t.co/QREDKVRsXD via @TheMessenger
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) August 7, 2023
Gallego told me Biden and Dems āneed to talk about the border and how it is a positive,ā saying border communities are āboomingā right now with low unemployment ???? https://t.co/6JLMCwXq1s pic.twitter.com/xSg7Klf8PN
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) August 7, 2023
Polls increasingly show a Sinema run currently helping the *Democrats* as she siphons away more of the Republican-leaning Independents. Whether that holds (and whether she runs), I have absolutely no idea, but it's one to watch. https://t.co/hZvwW2QVAd
— Lakshya Jain (@lxeagle17) August 8, 2023
An independent Senate bid from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) could help Democrats win her seat in 2024, according to a poll released Tuesday. @thehill.https://t.co/n3pyj2WIcM
— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) August 9, 2023
My twitter routes are deeply, deliberately partisan, but it includes a lot of dissatisfaction…
I look forward to the day we don't have to care about what Kyrsten Sinema wants, what she's willing to agree to, what she's willing to amend the filibuster for, what she's willing to support, & what she's willing to vote for.
She's a bought & paid for Republican!#ProudBlue pic.twitter.com/6otLwxK3lg
— LA Blue Dot in GA šš (@namwella1961) August 8, 2023
Time and again, Sinema obstructed progress for hardworking Arizonans. Instead, sheās done the bidding of Republicans and her corporate donors.
Weāve had enoughāand weāre going to replace her. pic.twitter.com/sjzH6EOXOQ
— Replace Sinema PAC (@ReplaceSinema) August 3, 2023
If Kyrsten Sinema thinks she can get away with using $180K of campaign funds as her private slush fund to finance a lavish lifestyle while completely ignoring her constituents – sheās in for a rude awakening. New poll indicates she trails to Democratic challenger Ruben Gallego. pic.twitter.com/ik3xA9J0TV
— anyone_want_chips (@anyonewantchips) August 3, 2023
I know sheās left the party, but I kind of donāt believe these numbers hold up remotely for Sinema once Gallegoās the actual nominee. https://t.co/nq7URqcWh8
— The Fig Economy (@figgityfigs) August 4, 2023
And then, of course, there’s the (predicted) GOP candidate!… who’s anathema to a lot of not-completely MAGAt Repubs. *Two* crazy quirky ladies enter, only one leaves…
New: Kari Lake is preparing to announce she is running for Senate in Arizona.
The seat is currently held by Kyrsten Sinema and the Democratic candidate to support is @RubenGallego.
šhttps://t.co/sxyPkejN0i pic.twitter.com/gDO8hlFlLP
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) August 9, 2023
NotMax
Sinema may be shocked to learn the Speaker of the House is from the opposite coast.
Baud
It would be sweet not to have to rely or Sinema and Manchin.Ā We have other conservative Dem Senators in the caucus, but they don’t seem flaky or showboaty.
Villago Delenda Est
The Speaker of the House is from New York?Ā When did Bakersfield make the trans continental move?
Baud
The future Speaker of the House is from New York.
NotMax
@Baud
A future, FSM willing, she won’t be in D.C. to experience.
Immanentize
Sinema geography translation:
“New York is filled with Jews and nig[CLANG!]”*
*Mel Brooks is such a friggin Antifa genius.
Roger Moore
That makes perfect sense to me.Ā What it says to me more than anything is that the Democrats are more unified and coherent as a party than the Republicans.Ā That said, I expect Sinema’s Republican votes to dry up as the election gets closer.Ā There may be some Republicans who will toy with voting for her because they don’t like Mark Lamb, but I think they’ll give up on that idea once they realize voting their conscience might help the Democrat win.
West of the Rockies
I wish she and squash-faced Manchin would spontaneously combust.
Roger Moore
@West of the Rockies:
I’m willing to tolerate a lot more out of Manchin; he’s a hell of a lot better than the most plausible alternative.Ā For Sinema, the most plausible alternative in Gallego, who looks better and better the more Sinema plays the prima dona.
Ishiyama
The proper question is: Can we afford NOT to dump Sinema? For God’s sake, fight for something!
kindness
The more reputable polls show Gallego in first, Lake in second and Sinema way back in 3rd place.Ā Who is going to vote for her?Ā Not any Democrats.
Geminid
We can’t dump Kyrsten Sinema because she has already dumped herself. She runs a consistent 3rd in polling of three way Arizona Senate races. Arizonans know her well, and I don’t see how she can turn those numbers around. I suspect there’s a 50-50 chance that Sinema won’t even try to defend her seat.
Maybe the No Labels people will pick her as their candidate for President. I’m sure she and they can agree on what principles they don’t have.
Immanentize
@kindness: how is she gonna get on the ballot? I cant believe she will run in any primary.
geg6
I canāt wait until I donāt have to think about this insipid, showboating asshole. Ā Go Gallego!
CaseyL
“Can we afford to dump Krysten Sinema?” seems to be the wrong question.
“Can we afford NOT to dump Krysten Sinema” seems a more pertinent question.
She left the Democratic Party – after, like others before her, only joining it for convenient political campaign reasons.Ā If she ever had any integrity (oh, I crack myself up) she sold it long ago.Ā Who are her supporters? Hedge fund people and Republicans?Ā Fuck that shit.
Gallego seems like a good candidate.Ā IIRC, he had some bobbles early on (not a particularly good public speaker) but has improved since then.
West of the Rockies
@Roger Moore:
True enough… I’m being more emotional than rational.Ā Ā Typical man!
JCJ
@Ishiyama: you are correct.Ā I want more justices like Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett.Ā Ā Maybe even another Thomas!
HumboldtBlue
@NotMax:Hakeem Jeffries is now speaker, he’s from NYC.āNo he’s not, you dumbass.
@Roger Moore:Ā ā
Manchin is now making noises he may switch to the GOP. He’s gonna get wrecked by Jim Justice in the Senate race.
Roger Moore
@HumboldtBlue:
Jeffries is Minority Leader. Kevin McCarthy is Speaker.
Geminid
@West of the Rockies: I think Manchin’s a goner too. Polls show Governor Justice with a very big lead over him. They are both well known, and West Virginians seem to have made up their minds as to whom they like. And don’t like; Manchin is way underwater in his favorability rating.
HumboldtBlue
@Roger Moore:
Yeah, my bad.
smith
We will likely be bidding a fond farewell to both Sinema and Manchin after the next election, the latter because his likely opponent is a strong candidate in WV. Our problem, in addition to making sure Gallego is elected, will be to find a way to replace Manchin somewhere else.
gwangung
@Roger Moore: I think we’re going to miss Manchin when he gets replaced by a true-red winger….particularly when I think it’s probable we get a red Senate….
Immanentize
@HumboldtBlue: huh? Have you been dipping into the “Blue” tonight?
Last I looked — Jeffries in Minority Leader. K. McCarthy is Speaker.
Or are you just paying some wishamony?
Immanentize
@gwangung:
John Cole for Senate!
Kent
What kind of question is that?Ā She quit the Democratic party and won’t be on the primary ballot as a Democrat.Ā Actual Democrats will be.Ā What are Democrats supposed to do.Ā Write in Sinema on their primary ballots?Ā Sheesh.
She can decide to run as a third party candidate or not.Ā But regardless of what she does, there will be an actual Democrat and an actual Republican already in the race.
piratedan
those first two polls cited have no real value imho, because neither figure in Kari Lake’s expected arrival in the field and she will be …. polarizing.Ā Lamb and Wright will need to wrestle the nomination from Lake first and there is STILL a decided schism in the AZ GOP and there’s not a lot of cash in the coffers.Ā The reason for that is due to all of the wingnut election challenges that have failed, lawsuits cost money and they’ve spent a shitpotful of it with zero success.Ā The top of the party leadership is solidly wingnut, but the money has backed more “chamber of commerce types” (Karin Robsen) who were narrowly defeated by Lake in the Governor primary during the last general and there’s a lot of grumbling from those folks who plainly state that the total wingnut puritans can’t get elected.
Naturally, the wingnuts don’t want to hear that.Ā So while an only modestly untethered from reality candidate may have a chance, when you’ve achieved political orbit, the soccer mom’s stay away or vote Dem.Ā With Sinema, she may get those votes but there are not enough of them to win overall.Ā Sinema has burned her bridges with the Dem party and is happily flouncing away as the star of her own show and she may just be running to grift and set up her nest egg for corporate prostitution (not any different than a LOT of polititians to be honest).
I really like Gallego’s chances as the wingnuts have done a great job of disenfranchsing the money guys from power, pissed off the moderates and the Dems are hungry, as we came close to taking a lot more spots in this gerrymandered state level offices, and COVID killed a lot of olds here.
Immanentize
@HumboldtBlue:
Manchin could still win as a Dem.; But he cannot win as a Republican, I think.
HumboldtBlue
@Immanentize:
Completely sober! I even took a nap today!
Fuck it, now I’m gonna smoke a bowl.
Manchin is not gonna beat Justice either way. I don’t see any way he wins as a Dem.
New Deal democrat
Short answer to your question: Yes.
Biden and the Democrats are handling this perfectly. Biden and her Senate Democrats are being nice to Sinema, patting her on the head and saying, āNice doggie!ā
Meanwhile they are applying no pressure at all on Gellego to drop out. He got in early, the polls all show Sinema coming in behind him, with some having her in 3rd place. The longer that goes on, the more her remaining supporters will feel ok to dump her, and the more pressure she will feel to exit the race.
So far, so good. Plus, every now and then it really is necessary to show you shouldnāt be crossed by taking a scalp.
Immanentize
@HumboldtBlue:
He could do right on abortion and democracy and win. Then again….
Ruckus
We need to replace her with Ruben Gallego.
We need to replace any legislator holding more than 0.000001% mega rethuglican concepts, lack of ideas, any demonstrable actually stupidity or selfishness, or anyone who thinks the world revolves around the stick stuck all the way up their ass.
Immanentize
@Ruckus: i approve of this message.
CaseyL
@Geminid:Ā Ā @Immanentize:
Manchin may be thinking that WV voters will love him again if he switches parties. That all they dislike about him is the fact that he is a Democrat.
But I think Justice is genuinely popular in WV, and it could be that Manchin is genuinely unpopular, on a personal basis and not just because of his (current) Party affiliation.
Honus
@Baud: the difference is that Arizona could elect another democrat. West Virginia never will.
Scout211
Manchin said he wasĀ thinking about becoming an independent.
He isĀ thinkingĀ about it. Ā Nice way to try to play both sides, Joe. Ā Ugh.
WaterGirl
@Immanentize: Which she are you talking about? Ā Lake or Synema?
Sloegin
It’s amazing how many people in and out of Congress don’t know or forget the Harry Truman quote:
āGiven the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican, people will vote for the real Republican all the time.ā
HumboldtBlue
@Immanentize:
Pfffffttttt….
Geminid
@gwangung: If Jim Justice is the 51st vote for a Republican Majority Leader, I’ll miss Joe Manchin a lot. But if Democrats retain control of the Senate, Justice might not have so bad an impact. He’s a former Democrat and a relatively pragmatic guy. Policy-wise, he could be a lot like Manchin except with an R after his name. Justice seems fairly popular in his home state and I don’t think he’ll have to fear a primary challenger in 2030.
hells littlest angel
Sinema is only gonna get votes from people who are so stupid they don’t know where the Speaker of the House is fromĀ — you know, Republicans.
Shalimar
Is dumping Sinema even debatable?Ā My understanding of Arizona polling is that she has zero chance of getting re-elected.Ā So backing her in her independent bid is handing the seat to the Republican.Ā Democrats should back whoever wins the Democratic primary, I assume Gallego.Ā Whether Sinema runs or not is her choice and shouldn’t influence the Democratic choice.
Mai Naem mobileI
I don’t think Sinema is running again.Ā She is a politician and she sees the polls. On top of that she’s a grifter. She can go get a big $$$ teevee gig and/or a lobbying gig. Maybe if she hadn’t been going on so many billionaire junkets and triathlons, and spent more time in Arizona, Sinema wouldn’t have misread the direction of the state as bad as she has. The permanent job was hers for the taking. She screwed herself.Ā Gallego on the other hand is becoming a better candidate. I feel a lot more confident about him than I did six months ago.
Jeffro
@Ishiyama: thank you and 1,156% this
Mai Naem mobileI
@Geminid: i haven’t looked into it but I believe Justice has some kind of scandal that’s being looked into. I don’t think its some massive scandal but there’s a small chance that might end up allowing Manchin to hang onto the seat. Manchin pisses me off but I at least understand his position. Sinema is just an attention ho.
Omnes Omnibus
This has been my take on the two of them for quite a while now.
HumboldtBlue
@hells littlest angel:
Hey, hey, hey, I have never voted for Sinema!
eclare
Even if NY is getting FEMA money because NY has prominent officials in the House and Senate, isn’t that what elected people areĀ supposed to do?Ā Look out for their constituents?Ā I don’t know what Senator got a naval installation in Indiana, but whoever it was wasĀ good.
El Muneco
@Scout211: “the extremes of the Democrat and Republican Party that is harming our nation”
He’s already gone if he’s slandering his own party with terminology.
eclare
@CaseyL:
Justice does have a very cute dog named Baby.
Suzanne
Kari Lake is a nice present to us.
I still maintain that AZ is winnable, maybe even favorable, for non-MAGA Republicans. But as time goes on, it appears that they are not going to un-shit this bed!
Omnes Omnibus
@El Muneco: As Nancy Pelosi said, “Just win, baby.”Ā I think Al Davis may have said it as well.
hells littlest angel
@HumboldtBlue: LOL. Sorry, I missed what was going on upstairs.
Brachiator
@Villago Delenda Est:
Maybe she thinks that Bakersfield is on some special earthquake fault line that can vault it onto the East Coast.
Suzanne
@Mai Naem mobileI:
Agree. I think she’s brand-building for a media gig. Sarah Palin is her closest analog. Sinema is smarter than Palin, but smart doesnāt make anybody any money.
One thing to note: I volunteered for years for many AZ pols. Lots of phone calls and canvassing and postcards, etc. I did a few shifts for Sinema. She is the only one I ever volunteered for who never came out to shake hands or say thank you.
CaseyL
@eclare:Ā ā
At least he has a dog!
Most GOP polls aren’t nearly human enough for that.
One thing I do appreciate about Justice is, during the pandemic he put out a PSA telling people to wear a mask. (He also slipped a little, almost saying “Wear the fucking mask,” or something along those lines. Gotta love that.)
trollhattan
Sinema and Lake share that “Ooh, these skin suits are itchy” vibe.
Odie Hugh Manatee
It sounds like Joey Mansion is looking for a Third Way to run…lol
Betty Cracker
@eclare: In addition to the ubiquitous Babydog, Justice has two Boston Terriers. I’d rather have Manchin in the Senate than Justice, even though Manchin is a maddening sumbitch. But if I had to sit next to one of them on a transcontinental flight, I’d choose Justice for the dog convo.
Jay
@CaseyL:
Most GOP Pol’s arn’t allowed to own a dog.
Sure Lurkalot
I say goodbye to this manipulative weathervane. Her only true love and interest is her net worth. Iām sure thereās a good paycheck for her somewhere and sheās got a nice little retirement package thanks to Arizona voters and us taxpayers.
Eolirin
Justice hasn’t won the primary yet.
I think Manchin’s toast, especially if Justice is his opponent, but if Mooney wins maybe he can pull it out as a Democrat. And I have no idea what the primary electorate will do.
We need Gallego to win, and to hold Montana and Ohio. We can afford to lose Manchin if we do that. Montana worries me the most. I really wish we had taken Wisconsin and/or NC. Both were heartbreakingly close. If we had, we wouldn’t have to worry about this cycle that much or the next one. We always seem to come up just short of where we need to be to be able to breathe a little.
trollhattan
WTAF?
I’m-a go out on a skinny limb and guess “judge Starr” is some evil offspring of Kenneth, who is still fucking dead.
Steeplejack
Women’s World Cup: Spain-Netherlands quarterfinal live on Fox (broadcast) now. Interesting programming choice.
Scout211
@trollhattan: Southwest plans to file an appeal.Ā Link
eclare
@trollhattan:
Just googled, nephew.
Nelle
@trollhattan: Nephew.
Another Scott
I was surprised when I saw this today – AZCentral.com:
She needs to go, but Joe probably needs her vote for a few things he wants coming up.
Cheers,
Scott.
FelonyGovt
@Mai Naem mobileI: Her decision to leave the Democratic Party seems like a serious miscalculation if she wanted to run again. On the other hand, it was a not-so-subtle signal to her fat cat pals that she has no ethics.
HumboldtBlue
Ladies and gents, I give you the Trump Family Doll Collection!ā
@Steeplejack:Ā ā
Really looking forward to Japan v Sweden.
Jackie
@HumboldtBlue:
š¤¢š¤®
Cameron
Any way if getting her to run as a Republican?Ā A Lake-Lamb-Sinema primary matchup would be highly entertaining.Ā (No, it wouldn’t be any good for the country, but…..)
Cacti
@NotMax:Ā Arizona has a coast?
Eolirin
@Another Scott: Biden is also not vindictive.
piratedan
@Cameron: doesn’t fit her “image” of an iconoclastic independent political voice.Ā She’s the perfect “no labels” candidate, because there is no label, only a price tag.
Sally
@HumboldtBlue: The dolls are all so much prettier than the reals.
Jackie
@Sally: Did you notice Barron was left out?
Jinchi
I can’t believe Sinema would let herself be a spoiler.
She’ll drop out if she thinks she’s going to cost Kari Lake the election.
Sally
@Jackie: No I did not. Ā Like the First Crime Family, I forgot him
They are all so different as to be almost unrecognisable, especially the males.
kindness
Manchin has no chance in WV.Ā He only won his last race (by 3%) because there were two right wingers splitting the vote against him.Ā Republicans won’t let that happen again.
different-church-lady
@HumboldtBlue: I give it back.
different-church-lady
@Another Scott: Joe knows how to kill āem with kindness.
cain
TriassicSands
@NotMax:
I have been trying to figure out WTF she was talking about. Jeffries is from NY, but he’s not the Speaker of the House. The Speaker is from California now, but before this Congress, she, Nancy Pelosi, was also from California and surely every devout Democrat-hater in the country knew that.
Listening to Sinema, a U.S. senator, I thought I was hearing a typically ill-informed American voter speaking. Lots of Americans have no idea who the leaders in the House and Senate are. I guess Sinema is “representing” the ignorant. She is sooooo creepy. Wouldn’t it have been nice if the first openly bisexual Senator had been a decent role model?
@Roger Moore:
The thing about both Manchin and Sinema, as egregious as they can be, both support the Democrats far more than any Republican ever would. Of course, they are most likely to “stray” when the stakes are highest, since that is when they have the most bargaining power.
We all know what Manchin stands for: Himself and his personal wealth (based on coal and fossil fuels). What does Sinema stand for? Certainly herself, and like Manchin, not her constituents. Other than that and all the sucking up to big money she’s done, I don’t know what she really believes. From the Green Party to Democrat (to get elected) to Independent (to sell her herself to the highest bidder?), she’s a flake. Manchin isn’t a flake, he simply corrupt and out for himself. It is harder to make sense of someone as seemingly frivolous as Sinema. Both of them have absurd reasons for refusing to end the filibuster and neither one of them has ever made any sense to me when explaining why they vote for or oppose an issue.
The country would be better off without either of them, but the Democrats have a much better chance of replacing Sinema with a Democrat than they have of getting any Democrat elected in W. Va.
Final question: Can Joe forgo the attention that being No Label’s candidate for president will get him? He claims he won’t run unless he thinks he would win and I can’t imagine a scenario where that is even a remote possibility.
Since 1892, only Teddy Roosevelt, a former president has gotten more than 20% of the vote (27.4%). Ross Perot didn’t even get to 19%.
TriassicSands
@Sure Lurkalot: Her (Sinema) only true love and interest is her net worth.
Oh, c’mon, what about her wardrobe? Yeah, it depends, in part, on her net worth, but she often looks like she shops in second hand clothing stores or yard sales, so she ought to be able to get bargains.
Shalimar
@Sally: “In real life I ordered her from Ukrainiandolls.com, but it turns out she’s not Ukrainian, she’s some other kind of Russian.”
Ryan
The Speaker of the House is from California.
Ericblair
@FelonyGovt: I think it was a blackmail attempt that failed. She’d have lost the Dem primary for sure, that must have been obvious even to her. The trick was to go indy, so the Dems couldn’t run a candidate against her as it would split the non-GOP vote and hand the seat to the goopers. So she avoids the primary and wins. Checkmate!
Except she ended up far more unpopular than she counted on, the Dems will run a popular candidate who polls to win outright, and Sinema is splitting the GOP vote because people hate being stabbed in the back.