(Robert Jonathan, Headline USA) “Let’s do lunch” are words that U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is unlikely to hear from her ex-colleagues anymore or even be willing to entertain.
At a meet-and-greet with Republican lobbyists, the red-pilled Arizona Democrat reportedly mocked elderly lawmakers in her former party for their coagulated dietary choices and time-wasting self-congratulation during what she described as “ridiculous” and “dumb” weekly lunches.
According to Politico, she quipped to the GOP group that “Old dudes are eating Jell-O, everyone is talking about how great they are. I don’t really need to be there for that. That’s an hour and a half twice a week that I can get back. The Northerners and the Westerners put cool whip on their Jell-O, and the Southerners put cottage cheese.”
The center-left, pudding-averse politician, 46, also explained that “I’m not caucusing with the Democrats, I’m formally aligned with the Democrats for committee purposes. But apart from that I am not a part of the caucus.”
Sinema still generally votes for the Democrat agenda in the Senate that is under narrow control of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., so the party switch is mostly symbolic.
Her support — along with that of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., — for retaining the filibuster, however, arguably prevented America from devolving into full-on socialism in the prior legislative session
At the lobbyist soiree, Sinema, who apparently is not a Schumer fan, not-so-humble bragged that “I spend my days doing productive work, which is why I’ve been able to lead every bipartisan vote that’s happened the last two years.”
An unnamed Democrat senator purportedly told Politico that “She’s the biggest egomaniac in the Senate.”
A rep for Sinema has not, as yet, issued a comment about the article.
Nor has Sinema announced whether she will seek reelection in 2024. Going forward potentially sets up a three-way contest in Arizona, perhaps setting the stage for the RINO cohort to consider a cross-party endorsement.
For example, Politico quotes Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, that “I’m not saying no, I could very easily endorse Sen. Sinema,” adding that she is “one of the senators that is able to pull people together and actually get legislation passed.”
Speculation has also emerged that deal-cutting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has encouraged her to formally flip to the GOP or at least vote for him as majority leader in her independent status should Republicans win back control of the chamber in the 2024 elections.
Politico suggested that McConnell might have more success obtaining Sinema’s support than if Arizona elects a MAGA Republican.
Far-left Ariz. Congressman Ruben Gallego is her likely election challenger on the Democrat side, along with whoever prevails in a GOP primary.
Sinema defeated Republican Air Force hero Martha McSally in the 2018 general election for the Arizona seat by about 56,000 votes amidst alleged hocus-pocus in Maricopa County, the jurisdiction the figures prominently in the pending legal challenge over the 2022 gubernatorial election.
