McConnell and Sinema reveal unlikely friendship with heaping praise: ‘Most effective 1st-term senator I’ve seen’
Senator Kyrsten Sinema further antagonized leftists after she spoke out favorably about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying that while she and the Kentucky Republican don’t agree on everything, they have common ground when it comes to shared values.
The Arizona Democrat delivered her surprising remarks at the University of Louisville’s McConnell Center – which is named after the longtime bluegrass state lawmaker – where she gave a lecture on bipartisanship and the current state of acrimonious political discourse.
In introducing his Democratic colleague, McConnell sang her praises, “I’ve only known Kyrsten for four years, but she is, in my view — and I’ve told her this — the most effective first-term senator I’ve seen in my time in the Senate.”
“She is, today, what we have too few of in the Democratic Party, a genuine moderate, and a dealmaker,” he said, calling her “extraordinarily effective” and giving her kudos for not buckling under the intense pressure to eliminate the filibuster, the only obstacle between the nation as a republic and one-party rule where the minority would be stripped of any influence on the political process.
“She protects the institution of the Senate,” said McConnell. “It took one hell of a lot of guts for Kyrsten Sinema to stand up and say ‘I’m not going to break the institution in order to achieve a short-term goal.’”
Sinema responded warmly to McConnell when she took the floor.
“At first glance, Senator McConnell and I have relatively little — or some could even say nothing — in common…Perhaps most obviously, we come from opposing political parties,” she said.
(Video: YouTube/The Recount)
“Despite our apparent differences, Senator McConnell and I have forged a friendship, one that is rooted in our commonalities, including our pragmatic approach to legislating, our respect for the Senate as an institution, our love for our home states and a dogged determination on behalf of our constituents,” she said. “In today’s partisan Washington, it might shock some that a Democratic senator would consider the Republican leader of the Senate her friend. But back home in Arizona, we don’t view life through a partisan lens. Arizonans understand that while we may not agree on every issue, we do share the same values.”
Sinema also emphasized her support for the 60-vote threshold, jabbing her critics in the process during the Q&A.
(Video: C-SPAN)
Needless to say, leftists were livid and raged against Senator Sinema for breaking from the lockstep of the official party line.
Kyrsten Sinema is currently speaking at the McConnell Center talking about how proud she is to have “forged a friendship” with him “rooted in our commonalities.”
In 43 days, we can elect 2 more Democratic senators to make Sinema irrelevant & suspend the filibuster to codify Roe. pic.twitter.com/YdhFsUnB2V
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) September 26, 2022
I mean you could be out there helping our candidates @SenatorSinema But my sense is that you would actually prefer the Dems lose control of the Senate and House. https://t.co/Okwg1lyZUT
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) September 26, 2022
Sinema thinks McConnell is helping her cut an ad for the general when he is really helping her opponent cut one for the primary https://t.co/jTcmYvFwWf
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) September 26, 2022
cannot for the life of me figure out what kyrsten sinema thinks she’s doing
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) September 26, 2022
What’s weird is not just Sinema’s behavior, but the fact that *no one* is able to explain it. No one close to her is leaking or talking to the press. Or maybe no one is close to her? Maybe she literally tells no one why she’s doing what she’s doing? It’s baffling top to bottom.
— David Roberts (@drvolts) September 26, 2022
While Sinema’s opposition to “reforming” the filibuster is commendable in the eyes of some. it needs to be noted that when it came to lockstep party unity on the Orwellian-named “Inflation Reduction Act,” both she and her fellow Dem “moderate” Sen. Joe Manchin joined their party to stick it to America.
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This post was originally published on Biz Pac Review.
