{"id":16406,"date":"2021-10-01T09:31:58","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T13:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=16406"},"modified":"2021-10-01T09:31:58","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T13:31:58","slug":"cronkite-news-sen-sinema-faces-pressure-to-back-democratic-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/10\/01\/cronkite-news-sen-sinema-faces-pressure-to-back-democratic-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Sen. Sinema faces pressure to back Democratic agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is the linchpin to<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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Cronkite News Video: Sinema’s Strategy<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Can you hear me now? Centrist positioning makes Sinema a player, pariah<\/div>\r\n
Friday, October 1, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Diannie Chavez<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON – Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s refusal to back the Biden administration’s $3.5 trillion social and clean-energy spending package has made her a target for Democrats – and possibly “the most powerful person in Washington right now,” one analyst said.

<\/P>\r\nIt’s not the first time that Sinema, a Democrat, has bucked her party on high-profile measures that need every Democratic vote to pass in the evenly divided Senate.

<\/P>\r\nThat has brought scorn from Democrats in Washington and Arizona, with the state party this month threatening to formally censure<\/a> her if she “continues to delay, disrupt or votes to gut” party priorities.

<\/P>\r\nBut it has also landed Sinema numerous meetings with the president this week and led to surprisingly high support for her among Arizona Republicans, according to a recent survey.

<\/P>\r\nIt’s a balancing act, but one that has “all eyes \u2026 on Sen. Sinema,” said Mike Noble, chief of research at OH Predictive Insights.

<\/P>\r\n \"Kyrsten<\/a>

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona). Photo by Keerthi Vedantam \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nEyes are currently on Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., two centrists who have said the $3.5 trillion price tag is too high for President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan, a domestic spending plan that calls for everything from free community college and child care to clean-energy and housing projects. The White House insists the plan will be paid for in full by tax increases on high earners and corporations.

<\/P>\r\nThe House has already approved the plan,<\/a> but with the Senate evenly divided and Republicans dead-set against the measure, Democrats cannot afford to lose any votes. Which makes Manchin, a senator from a small state, and Sinema, a relatively junior member of the Senate, suddenly more important.

<\/P>\r\nBiden has met one-on-one with both Manchin and Sinema repeatedly in recent days, trying to broker a deal.

<\/P>\r\n“The president’s role and work in communicating with Sen. Manchin and Sen. Sinema to help get that done is probably one of the most constructive roles he can play,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.<\/a> “And that’s what he’s been focused on over the last few days.”

<\/P>\r\nThat has done little to calm progressives in the House, who have threatened to block a popular $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that would fund roads, ports, transit and other projects, unless they get assurances that Manchin and Sinema will get on board with the Build Back Better plan.

<\/P>\r\nSeveral accused Sinema in news reports this week of refusing to negotiate in good faith, charging that she has not told Biden or Senate leaders exactly what she wants.

<\/P>\r\n \"Kyrsten<\/a>

A 3-foot ice sculpture of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) is displayed at a rally of the Working Families Party. State legislators, national civil rights activists and others gathered at the Arizona Capitol on September 21, 2021, to call on Sinema to vote \u201cyes\u201d on President Joe Biden\u2019s plan to boost the economy by cutting taxes and lowering costs for workers and families. Photo by Kevin Hurley \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThat led to a testy statement<\/a> Thursday from Sinema’s office, which said she had “shared detailed concerns and priorities” in August with the White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, including a statement that she could not go along with the $3.5 trillion price tag. Claims that she has not shared her views with Schumer and Biden “are false,” the statement said.

<\/P>\r\n“While we do not negotiate through the press \u2026 (Sinema) continues to engage directly in good-faith discussions with both President Biden and Sen. Schumer to find common ground,” the statement said.

<\/P>\r\nBut her positions – including a refusal to do away with the Senate filibuster and a vote earlier this year against a federal $15-an-hour minimum wage – have made her increasingly unpopular with progressives back home.

<\/P>\r\nA recent poll<\/a> by OH Predictive Insights found that 46% of Arizona voters had a favorable opinion of Sinema, compared to 47% for Arizona Democrat, Sen. Mark Kelly. The survey of 882 Arizona voters was taken from Sept. 7 to 12 and had a 3.3% margin of error.

<\/P>\r\nBut while Kelly was viewed favorably by 80% of Democrats surveyed, just 56% of Democrats felt the same way about Sinema. And 40% of Republicans viewed Sinema favorably to 20% for Kelly, more of what the survey called her “quite interesting” numbers.

<\/P>\r\n“Republicans haven’t had an excuse to not like her so far,” Noble said. “But if she were to vote for this (Build Back Better) bill, it would be very hard for her to get back to the current level she’s at.”

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