Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's Jell-O shots at Democrats show she's only in this for herself

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The most genuine thing Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has done in politics happened last December when she left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent.

By most definitions, an “independent” person is someone not under the control of any governing body or business concern or political party. That isn’t what it means with Sinema.

From the beginning of her political career, the senator has been controlled by a party of one: herself.

The party of Sinema always looks out for the interests of Sinema. It is more than happy to allow itself to be under the seeming control of a governing body or business concern or political party as long as that control supports – you guessed it – the interests of Sinema.

Why did Sinema ditch the Democrats? Here's a hint: It's not about ugly partisan games.

'Old dudes are eating Jell-O ...'

That was the case in 2018 when Sinema was running for the U.S. Senate and needed Democrats.

She doesn’t need them anymore, apparently. She doesn’t even want them, apparently.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-UT, and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., listen to President Joe Biden during the State of the Union address from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-UT, and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., listen to President Joe Biden during the State of the Union address from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington.

An article in Politico quotes Sinema at a gathering of Republican lobbyists in Washington saying she didn’t attend Democratic caucus luncheons because they were “ridiculous.”

Adding, “Old dudes are eating Jell-O, everyone is talking about how great they are. I don’t really need to be there for that. That’s an hour and a half twice a week that I can get back. The Northerners and the Westerners put cool whip on their Jell-O and the Southerners put cottage cheese.”

Let me speak: Hey, nincompoop! You have a constitutional right to be rude at a public meeting.

A few stops on Sinema's Burning Bridges Tour

For some time now, the senator has been on a Burning Bridges Tour.

There was a time, for example, when the party of Sinema appeared to support working-class individuals, whom she needed to get elected. That ended in 2021, when Sinema gave the thumbs down to a minimum-wage increase in President Joe Biden’s pandemic aid bill.

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When the party of Sinema sought support from the wealthiest of the wealthy, it found a legislative way to protect big money boys in private equity and hedge funds from higher taxes.

The party of Sinema also figured out how to go from a well-known protector of consumers to what the Kaiser Health News called a “pharma favorite in Congress.”

Will she repost the photo where she's wearing the 'F--- Off' ring?

And while claiming support for the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act, each of which would have helped the citizens who elected her, the party of Sinema scuttled the possibility of passage by her undying support of the filibuster.

I’d guess Sinema already knows what her plans are when reelection time rolls around next year. Perhaps she’ll announce them at some point by reposting that picture of herself from 2021, the one in which she’s sipping sangria in a pink newsboy cap and wearing a ring that says, “F--- Off.

In the meantime, we’ll wait and watch as she takes Jell-O shots at her former Democratic colleagues, complete with whipped cream and cottage cheese, waiting for the time she puts a sour cherry on top.

EJ Montini is a news columnist at The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com, where this column originally published. Follow him on Twitter: @ejmontini

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sinema takes Jello shots at Democrats with GOP. Is this 'independent'?