Mahoney’s op-ed proceeds to argue that Sinema was not only not bought off, but was wise and correct to preserve the carried-interest loophole. But the fact that she is being defended so strongly by “a partner at Snell & Wilmer LLP” who is “a registered Republican and routinely advises clients on matters related to corporate and private equity matters” tells you why Democrats probably wish somebody else was occupying her Senate seat.
What makes Sinema’s idiosyncratic support for the business lobby’s least popular and least defensible demands so galling is that she represents a state that isn’t especially Republican at all. Arizona is a purple state, but it has trended slightly bluer. Meanwhile there are Democrats representing states like Montana, Ohio, and, of course, West Virginia who don’t feel compelled to carry water for plutocrats.
Sinema may have an overarching desire to be a centrist, in the tradition of John McCain, and simply has terrible judgment about which issues to stake her independence on. The specific crisis she faces is that her generalized reputation for breaking ranks with the party has taken a highly concrete form that is deeply noxious not merely to the left wing but to almost the entire Democratic party. The question facing her future is less whether she can defeat a primary challenge than whether she will even try.
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