Moderate Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona continues to frustrate Americans across the country with her ongoing bulwark against abolishing or even reforming the Senate filibuster.
Though Democrats have a functional majority in the Senate, the filibuster mandates at least 60 votes to end debate on legislation and bring it to a floor vote. In today's starkly divided political climate, 10 Republicans voting in favor of Democratic legislation is usually a nonstarter.
Nevertheless, Sinema insists the filibuster is necessary, and that lawmakers should continue fruitless efforts toward bipartisanship instead of changing the rules.
Watch the Senator's latest excuse below.
Video of @kyrstensinema explaining her support for the 60-vote rule: pic.twitter.com/2TuxMxjScG
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 2, 2021
Sinema told reporters:
"As folks in Arizona know, I've long been a supporter of the filibuster because it is a tool that protects the democracy of our nation, rather than allowing our country to ricochet wildly every two to four years back and forth between policies."
Currently, the filibuster is actively endangering the democracy of the United States.
It was the filibuster that prevented a vote on a commission examining the failed insurrection of January 6—a direct attack on American democracy, and a vote that Sinema missed.
With former President Donald Trump's election lies sowing major doubts among Republican voters in the viability of the electoral process, majority-Republican legislatures across the country are proposing a slate of voter suppression laws designed to hinder likely-Democratic voters' access to the ballot box.
Democrats in the U.S. Congress have proposed legislation like the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For The People Act—landmark voting rights bills that would secure fairer elections and expand the accessibility of voting, while neutering the voter suppression bills sprouting up across the country.
But the filibuster has rendered it impossible to pass legislation protecting democracy—and people were quick to remind Sinema of her role in preserving it.
This is absurd @SenatorSinema. The Jan. 6 commission bill WAS bipartisan. It got 35 votes in the House and 6 votes in the Senate. But that wasn't good enough for you. Just say you don't care about these bills and all you care about is that Republicans get to control the agenda.https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1400145349310832642\u00a0\u2026— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37 (@Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37) 1622665067
By visiting Texas where democracy is under assault with someone assaulting democracy in order to defend the filibuster, @SenatorSinema is telling every Democratic activist and grassroots donor that helped get her elected to go screw themelveshttps://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1400145349310832642\u00a0\u2026— Dan Pfeiffer (@Dan Pfeiffer) 1622656086
There is only one party committed to democracy. But sure, @senatorsinema, keep telling us about how the filibuster will strengthen bipartisanship.https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1400145349310832642\u00a0\u2026— Steven Beschloss (@Steven Beschloss) 1622669440
We are in that space between dueling visions and versions of democracy. Some need to mobilize mass movements to get just a bit of it for a little while. Others have the individual power to ensure the rest of us have no access to it for a long while.https://twitter.com/moreperfectus/status/1400145349310832642\u00a0\u2026— noliwe rooks (@noliwe rooks) 1622720834
Democrats can\u2019t defend democracy if they compromise with people - like Cornyn - who protect insurrectionists.https://twitter.com/moreperfectus/status/1400145349310832642\u00a0\u2026— Max Berger (@Max Berger) 1622657481
Frustrations are building against both Sinema and her fellow Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, another supporter of preserving the filibuster.
The filibuster was just used to stop an investigation into the 1/6 attack, but sure it \u201cprotects our democracy\u201d. \n\n@SenatorSinemahttps://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1400145349310832642\u00a0\u2026— LucidArt2020 (@LucidArt2020) 1622660344
The filibuster was not created to foster bipartisanship. The filibuster has been used to kill civil rights legislation for nearly a century. \n\nWe can have the filibuster or we can have true democracy, but we can\u2019t have both. It should be an easy choice for any Democrat.https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1400145349310832642\u00a0\u2026— Tom Nelson (@Tom Nelson) 1622658395
Two senators protect democracy by blocking the action of 48 other senators.https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1400145349310832642\u00a0\u2026— Dr. Bryan Edward Stone (@Dr. Bryan Edward Stone) 1622660324
Sinema is falsely claiming here that the filibuster was \u201ccreated as a tool to bring together members of different parties.\u201d\n\nEither wildly naive or intentionally deceptive.pic.twitter.com/t7zWqgO70U— Sawyer Hackett (@Sawyer Hackett) 1622658762
Both Senators have signaled they won't be changing their minds.
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