U.S. Sen Kyrsten Sinema speaks at the 2019 Update from Capitol Hill hosted by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Photo by Gage Skidmore | Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
One cannot utter the term “maverick” in Arizona without thinking of former U.S. Senator John McCain. McCain prided himself on being able to buck the system — and his party — whenever he felt it necessary to move good legislation across the finish line or keep bad legislation from becoming law.
Some political consultants and reporters have also used the term maverick to describe Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
Like McCain, Sinema claims to be “independent-minded.” She views herself as a moderate and bipartisan consensus builder. And while I admire someone willing to work across the aisle and take votes based on principle versus party pressure, I’m starting to wonder if Sinema’s talk of independence is more about maintaining an image than it is about getting stuff done.
Take voting rights as an example.