Joy Reid ripped into Senator Kyrsten Sinema last night, ridiculing her for elevating support for the infrastructure bill over voting rights.
"The United States Senate is on track to pass the roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal as soon as tomorrow," Reid said.
"The Arizona senator has been one of the lead negotiators of said deal for the Democrats. Until recently, she has scrupulously avoided the press, but has suddenly found her voice, telling everyone why bipartisanship matters. We invited her to appear on the show, but she has declined. Oddly, in her interview, she doesn't address some glaring issues. Let's start with the fact that not one of the 20 bipartisan senators negotiating the infrastructure bill was a person of color. Not even one. You'd think maybe, just maybe, they would have noticed a thing like that. She was asked about that omission and here is what she said -- or rather, didn't say to NPR."
SINEMA: I'm not going to, because I'm laser focusing on advancing our legislation.
You got that? The senior senator would not address legitimate criticism that not one of the people negotiating on the infrastructure deal was a person of color. I guess that also helps explain why she's been palling around with Republican senators and probably explains why she's refused to endorse a filibuster exemption. She was asked why she didn't think the right to vote was urgent enough to nuke the filibuster, especially when it targets black, brown, indigenous, and Asian Americans.
She did, however, find time to call into The View to applaud "good friend" Meghan McCain on her last day. She took the opportunity to sell her point of view.
SINEMA: If we were to eliminate the filibuster or create a so-called exception, which doesn't exist, you'd have to eliminate the filibuster, which just as a quick reminder, I'm an original co-sponsor, continue to do so. But if you eliminate the filibuster to pass that piece of legislation, then in four years or anytime when the other party gains control, without the filibuster in place, all of those voting rights protections could be easily wiped out with a simple majority vote.
"You know what, Senator, telling us you co-sponsored the bill while also telling us that you'll defend the Jim Crow filibuster is frankly insulting. It's like saying 'I have a black friend' or 'John Lewis is my hero' while you're stabbing in the back. It's also galling to hear the lack of urgency in her voice when it comes to disenfranchising thousands of black and brown Americans. I mean, tellingly, during the same NPR interview, she said her constituents would reward her hard work by re-electing her," Reid said.
"So tell me, Senator, how does that work when your state is already purging voters? Some of your voters, too. I guess sacrificing democracy is worth it as long as Tempe and Tucson get a couple of new roads, yeah? And so for all of that, Senator Sinema, you, my dear, are the absolute worst."
