Kyrsten Sinema has stated her intention of leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an Independent. I really don’t have a problem with her becoming an Independent it is just the timing of it that has bothered me. She didn’t run as an Independent when she ran for election. She made promises to the people that supported her and voted for her. She let the Democratic machine support her very heavily with time and money. If she really didn’t want to be a Democrat then she should have said so from the beginning.  Her approval rating among Democrats in Arizona is bad. Her approval rating among Independents is bad. When you look at her ratings there is not a single group in Arizona approves of the job that she is doing. She states that she is trying to reach across the aisle to bring about unity. I have to ask this question, is marijuana legal in Arizona?  I have no idea what she is smoking.

Now, like me, Bernie Sanders is an Independent. One thing I always know is how Bernie stands. I know what Bernie wants because he tells us. He wants things like Universal Healthcare like most of the rest of the industrialized world has. He wants a livable wage for everyone. He wants women to be able to have the freedom to choose, to make their own healthcare decisions. Whether you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent you know what Bernie is all about. I really don’t know what Kyrsten Sinema stands for. Stating that you want to reach across the aisle is not really a stand for anything that I can see. Is unity a stand?  It could be but is she really looking for unity?  If she is, she is doing a pretty crappy job. I look at what she has said in the past like, Medicare needed to negotiate  lower drug prices, and how she actually voted to be very different than what she “supported”.  She stated in the past that she wanted to raise the taxes on the rich then she fought it tooth and nail so it never became a reality. When you look to what she has said about women’s healthcare she makes herself out to be a champion of women. Yet, she is the woman that refused to break the filibuster even when it came to women’s healthcare. She alone was responsible for women in many states having their rights and freedoms taken away. It is no wonder that many women feel betrayed by her.

I am an independent but you will see me voting for a Democrat or no one at all. You can say that I am not being an Independent at all but I will strongly disagree with you. To win my vote you have to be at least close to what I feel is important. I call them my political morals. A livable wage for every American is very important to me. I don’t see the Republican Party concerned about that at all. It almost like they think that keeping people in poverty is a good thing. Many Democrats think that a livable wage is very important to not only the dignity of the individual but also for the dignity nation. Another important issue to me is healthcare. Healthcare for everyone should be a right, not a privilege. My employers have always supplied my Healthcare Insurance but many are now balking and demanding that the employee pick up more and more of the cost. Some employers just plan don’t want to give their employee healthcare period. This problem is only going to get worse and only one party seems to want to do anything about healthcare for their employees.   Growing up in the 50s and 60s racism and bigotry are high on my list. I will not stand with racist and bigots but too many Republicans can and will. What I think is important only one political party comes close. Whether it is children dying because of guns or children being denied educational opportunity again only one party wants to address them. I don’t see where the people across the aisle that Kyrsten Sinema is reaching across have any real interest in solving any of our nation’s problems. The only thing they are reaching out for Kyrsten Sinema to do is help them obstruct.

 

Maybe she is just another bought and paid for politician. Maybe she just finds the money to tempting to walk away from. In the end she will be harming the very people that supported her. One thing she is not and that is a real independent because she is not independent enough to pursue the important issues that got her elected. Talk is cheap and when it comes to Kyrsten Sinema many of her supporters feel short changed. It is one thing to say what you stand for but it is another thing to make it happen. If you are not willing  to make it happen you just happen to stand for nothing but talk.