The Worst Democrat In The House Will Soon Be The Worst Democrat In The Senate

Earlier today, I noted that the worst candidate the DCCC recruited this cycle and that Democrats nominated for the House is Jeff Van Drew in New Jersey. How do I know? He's a state senator and has a long and putrid voting record-- easy peasy. My sister lives in his district and I've told her to just hold her nose and vote for him anyway. Why? There's really only one issue in November: Trump. The Democrats need to take back the House, and although Van Drew will certainly vote-- at least on crucial issues-- with the GOP more often than with progressives, we need every seat possible in Democratic hands so that the House has (even mediocre) Democratic leadership and committee chairs to stand up to Trump.

The same goes for the Senate and I'd tell friends to support conservative former governor Phil Bredesen in Tennessee and completely unqualified crap candidate Jackie Rosen in Nevada even though both are likely to abandon Democratic positions consistently. But it's either accept them or accept at least 2 more years of an aggressively Trump-enabling Senate led by a self-serving rabid turtle. The one place where I may draw the line though is in Arizona. Arizona voters will have to make up their own minds, but the Democratic candidate-- who can certainly beat any of the Republicans running-- is the worst current member of the House and the worst DSCC recruit, not just this cycle, but in living memory. Remember how hard we worked to rid the Senate of stinking pile of shit Blanche Lincoln. Sinema is much worse, an actual dangerous sociopath-- more like Trump than any politician I have ever met and gotten to know in my entire life.

Even in a Politico puff piece by Heather Caygle and Burgess Everett over the weekend, Sinema comes off sounding like she just should not be part of the Senate Democratic conference, since-- like Blamche Lincoln-- she will be undermining Democratic values and dragging the conference rightwards as she demands GOP type compromises to ensure her vote on every issue the Democrats ever bring up. Thanks for nothing, Chucky Schmucky (who recruited her and who she repaid by telling Politico "I am not going to vote for him.") She hates him-- in the same way that Republicans do.

Her opposition to Schumer is just one example of how the three-term House member is carving out a center-left shockingly right-wing Senate campaign in the Republican state, hoping it’s enough to inoculate herself from the national party’s baggage and land Democrats their first Arizona Senate seat in 30 years.

She is notably more deferential to Trump than most Democrats are. “He has challenges,” she responded when asked whether Trump is a good president. “Transitioning from a CEO position to a presidency is probably a difficult challenge.”

Facing a daunting map that heavily favors Republicans, Arizona is a must-win for Democrats’ hopes of capturing the Senate. For Sinema, the race is the culmination of years of careful calculations and transformations that began even before she was elected to the House in 2012.

Sinema worked for progressive activist Ralph Nader’s 2000 presidential campaign and once unsuccessfully ran for the Arizona state House under the Green Party banner. But she has walked a far more moderate path in Congress-- sometimes to criticism from her liberal colleagues-- joining the conservative Blue Dog Democrats and voting with President Donald Trump nearly 60 percent of the time.

Let's take a break for a moment from the puffery. She isn't vaguely be building a center-left anything. She's a right-wing Democrat, with a worse voting record than several Republicans. She didn't just "join" the Blue Dogs; she is the chair of the organization. And why just say she votes with Trump and his GOP rubber stamps 60% of the time? Looking at her disgusting voting record at ProgressivePunch, you see that her "F" is the lowest "F" for any Democrat in the House. Her lifetime crucial vote rating is 35.29%. This cycle, when many conservative Democrats are trying to appeal to the base by voting a bit more moderately, she went even further right and wound up with a 30.51%. This cycle, conservatives Walter Jones (R-NC), Justin Amash (R-MI), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) have voted more frequently with progressives than Sinema has. And corruption is her middle name. A member of the House financial services committee, every lobbyist in DC knows her vote is always for sale, especially to high rollin' Wall Street banksters. And, in fact, this cycle, the only congressional crooks who have taken more financial sector bribes than Sinema are Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McCarthy! You could say these are the dozen most corrupt members of Congress-- and you'd be correct:

Politico admiringly called that "building up her name recognition and a $6 million-plus war chest." The Republican plan to combat her is so stupid that you would think it was written by the DCCC. They will be trying to paint her as a super progressive and a clone of Nancy Pelosi. She deserves the attacks but none of that is even remotely true. She claims her model is Joe Manchin (D-WV), although she is considerably to the right of him.

Sinema is continuing her campaign against national Democrats, which started with her opposing Nancy Pelosi as the House Democratic leader.

“The Democratic leadership has failed Democrats across the country,” Sinema said. “I am unafraid to say what I believe about what I think our party needs to do and I think our party needs to grow and change.”

Sinema aligned herself early on with the centrist wing in the House Democratic Caucus, becoming a close ally of Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Pelosi’s No. 2 and longtime rival. She also forged close relationships with conservatives such as Reps. Tom Graves of Georgia and Trey Gowdy of South Carolina over a shared love of fitness.

...Sinema is a polarizing figure among House Democrats. Some members privately question whether her evolution from flame-throwing liberal to Blue Dog centrist is genuine or self-serving. And there’s no love lost between Sinema and Pelosi allies.

...At times, Sinema sounds more like a Republican than a moderate Democrat, a sharp contrast from Rep. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, another Senate candidate carving a far more liberal path against GOP incumbent Sen. Dean Heller.

Sinema gushes praise for Trump when it comes to veterans issues. Both of Sinema’s brothers are veterans, and that’s been a primary focus of her congressional career.

“President Trump has signed every single piece of veterans legislation we’ve sent him, including some bills that we couldn’t get to President Obama,” she said.

And Sinema defends her voting record on immigration, including support of controversial Republican proposals that most other House Democrats opposed. She voted for Kate’s Law last year, for example, which increases penalties for undocumented immigrants who are deported and try to re-enter the country.

“My leadership in that area,” Sinema said, “is about holding bad guys accountable and making sure that we have good security on the border.”

This morning, I spoke with one prominent Democrat is Congress about her race. He knows her well and he told me she's the only Democrat in Congress he hates. He congratulated me for holding her feet to the fire and told me my writing drives her into a rage. "I feel badly for the Senate," he told me. "But better them than us. We'll all be so happy to be rid of her. You know, I know you know, she's really crazy... as you've put it, a crackpot. That story you tell about being afraid she would shoot you at a table at that board you 2 were both on. I was standing with a couple of other members when you said that on the radio the other day and we all cracked up... I feel the same way... Good riddance. And good luck Chuck." Other members have said similar things to me; some were too filled with dirty words for me to use. So imagine!