Indianz.Com > News > Cronkite News: Republicans block passage of voting rights bill
Sinema defends filibuster on same day it’s used to stall voting rights
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, repeated her refusal to end the filibuster Tuesday, the same day that Republicans used the maneuver to block debate on sweeping voting rights legislation that has already passed the House.
Her announcement reignited anger among Democratic Party progressives, who protested Tuesday outside Sinema’s Phoenix office where they demanded that she “stand up for the people of Arizona.”
Phoenix Police arrested 10 people for trespassing during that protest, which came just hours before the Senate voted to block debate on the For the People Act. [S.1 | S.2093]
“I’m here today to tell Senator Kyrsten Sinema that actions speak louder than words,” said Channel Powe, one of those at Tuesday’s protest. “There’s no way that you can claim to be a proponent of the voting rights act and still stand in the way of the For the People Act, blocking our voting rights.”
![Filibuster Buster](https://indianz.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/23/kyrstensinemaprotest.jpg)
![Kyrsten Sinema](https://indianz.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/23/kyrstensinema.jpg)
Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said the fact that Sinema is “not as liberal as the rest of the Democratic caucus” may help her in the future. But it is unclear how many times she can vote against her own party without it having long-term consequences. Noble called Sinema’s current positioning “very strategic.” “Every day it goes on, the more and more power she wields,” Noble said. “Sinema understands she doesn’t lose Democratic support at the ballot box by coming out against this filibuster.” But that did not minimize the backlash Tuesday against Sinema’s defense of the filibuster. “Sinema is a co-sponsor on the (For the People Act) bill, so one would suspect that means she is going to vote for it, but with her unwillingness to get rid of the filibuster there’s really no easy way to pass this legislation,” Kondik said.The vote to ~begin~ debate on the #ForThePeopleAct was just filibustered by Senate Republicans.
— Progress Arizona (@Progress_AZ) June 22, 2021
The fight isn’t over, but statements like these from Sinema seek to obscure the fact that her “support” is meaningless if she won’t do what must be done to PASS S1—end the filibuster. https://t.co/BeSLCKcU2T
In a prepared statement after the bill was blocked Tuesday, Sinema said she was “proud to support the For the People Act because it restores safeguards that protect every American’s right to vote, reduces the influence of money in politics” and more. That statement was mocked by advocates like Progress Arizona, which tweeted after Tuesday’s vote that “her ‘support’ is meaningless if she won’t do what must be done to pass S.1 – end the filibuster.” “We’re the ones that brought her into office, she needs to listen to us,” said Michael Slugocki, as he protested outside Sinema’s office Tuesday. For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.Congratulations to @SenatorSinema for receiving the @USChamber's Abraham Lincoln Leadership for America Award and the Jefferson-Hamilton Award for Bipartisanship. The Greater Phoenix Chamber (@GPCpolicy) is thankful for her continued leadership. #LeadTogether pic.twitter.com/QI2jf8yVsk
— Greater Phoenix Chamber (@phxchamber) June 17, 2021
Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News. It is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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