It is likely that Senator Sinema and yours truly would have significant policy differences. She remains in a political party that has drifted so far leftward that sensible people like Sam Nunn and Joseph Lieberman would not be welcome. That she remains with such a party would indicate that she still generally agrees with its agenda but apparently not all its tactics. Therefore, she is likely not an ideal Senator for a right of the center state.

In her Senate speech provided in the video section, she repeats baseless charges that two Democrat impeachment proceedings against President Trump were to protect our Constitution (not a plot hatched by Hillary Clinton) and the January 6th riot was “an insurrection”, while not mentioning a peep about Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots that gripped the country for more than six months. She says she is in favor of the John Lewis Act, which would federalize our elections, which are a state function.

It is hard to know if this was just necessary verbiage to prove her liberal bona fides, or whether she really believes these things.

Why then should be praised?

Because despite her lip service to the Progressive agenda, she knew full well that her vote would stop the left-wing pendulum from swinging further. The speech then needed to say to Democrats that she is still one of them, but feels the extremism of the party is out of control. Both she and Senator Manchin know full well their two votes stand in the way of the Progressive juggernaut and both have chosen to stand on conviction.  She knew it effectively guts substantial parts of the Biden agenda and slows down their desperate attempt to ram through Constitution changing legislation before the mid-term election. She went ahead and did it anyway.

Thank you Senator Sinema for your common sense and historical perspective.

She seems to have a sense of decency about her and a sensible view of what government can and should do. She knows that America was never designed as a popular democracy. It is a representative democracy or more properly, a republic. She seems to appreciate how badly divided the country is now and would like to do some healing that President Biden promised to do.

Majority rule can be tyrannical and the Founders knew it. She seems to know it as well and respects the wisdom of the separation of powers. Although the filibuster is not part of the Constitution, it serves in much the same spirit as the separation of powers, a governor on the passions of factions.

Since the direct election of Senators a century ago made the Senate more like the House, important changes in the governing structure of the country should require more than just a one vote majority in both Houses, but instead, a substantial consensus before legislation is passed.  This forces all groups to negotiate with each other rather than ram through legislation with the thinnest of margins.

In her remarks upholding the Senate filibuster, she recognized the Senate was supposed to be the deliberative body further from the passions of the immediate than the House. The Senate is supposed to balance the House, not imitate it. She respects the Senate and its crucial function of buffering extreme legislation by forcing opposing parties to seek compromise and consensus.

She deserves praise for her courage. Reading what other Democrats are saying about her is disturbing; calling her a “traitor”, a white supremacist, and racist, must be hurtful. She is being harassed by left-wing activists that interrupt her personal time at a wedding and these zealots even had the temerity to follow her into the bathroom. You can bet with assurance she is being pressured by the Progressive press and party leadership. That she is willing to take these extremists on for the sake of conviction is commendable.

They thought their bare knucke tactics would break her. So far, they have not. Good for her.

The timing of her recent remarks cannot be just accidental. Coming just after President Biden gave one the most vicious and divisive speeches perhaps ever for a President, it seemed to be her answer to him.  

Peggy Noonan, a reliable Trump critic at the Wall Street Journal called the speech “aggressive, intemperate, not only offensive but meant to offend.” Indeed, it was uncommonly low demagoguery, even for a Progressive. More than rhetorical flourishes, Biden has turned the Department of “Justice” and the FBI lose on political opponents, sort of secret police to enforce views that object to Black Lives Matter or want to say something to their local school board. It is one of the most frightening developments one can contemplate.

He compared all that disagreed with his agenda to insurrectionists, enemies of the state, white supremacists, and compared his Republican opponents to famous bigot Democrats such as Jefferson Davis, Bull Connor, and George Wallace.

Senator Sinema’s message was one of bringing the country together not tearing it apart. She knows that many Arizonans that are not Democrats are in fact decent people who just happen to have a different point of view.

One wonders if the Progressive wrath that has been set loose on herself has served to be a kind of epiphany to her. She has been on the receiving end of their bullying tactics and has seen the ugly underbelly of her party, and she has rightly become concerned and horrified.

She should be praised for her modesty.  In her remarks, she acknowledges that while she was selected as Senator and hired to make judgment calls on arcane legislation, she still has an important function to represent her constituents. It is not all about her, it is about listening to others and representing the broad spectrum that makes up the state of Arizona. She knows most Arizonans do not want the filibuster to be abandoned and moderates and conservatives accused of being domestic terrorists.

She apparently listens beyond her party leadership and the echo chamber of the left-wing press.  That is a good trait.

Today, it seems most political leaders pay lip service to this representative function, except when they approach election time. Then suddenly they recognize “we the people”, instead of “we the lobbyists” or “we the party”. Since she is not up for immediate election, that she would think of actually representing the views of her citizens, is refreshing. It indicates she really believes in that important responsibility and it is not just posturing.

What a contrast she is to our other Senator, Mark Kelly, who is silent as a fence post as his party labels all political opponents as terrorists.  As a former fighter pilot and astronaut, you would think he would be a tough guy, but the Senator with courage from Arizona is a tough gal.

To be sure, she will likely continue to vote for the Administration’s nominees for important posts, and will also likely vote largely with her party on legislation as she has in the past. Therefore, she will continue to disappoint those more conservative than she is. She is, after all, a Democrat.

But it seems only fair to praise her for her courage and conviction. She is standing tall right now. And she is doing so with some of the nastiest and most ruthless people hounding her around the clock. She could have caved in but she didn’t.

She also likely knows a lot more about the political pulse of Arizona than Clueless Joe Biden. She knows the next election cycle will be a disaster for Democrats. She not only is more moderate than Biden, but she is also a far smarter politician.

Bully for her. Meanwhile, if she ever wants to change her political philosophy and switch parties, I am sure she could be accommodated.