[guest post by JVW]

UPDATE: Oh dear, our Adorably Ornery & Clueless niece is not at all happy:

Good luck tanking your own party’s investment on childcare, climate action, and infrastructure while presuming you’ll survive a 3 vote House margin – especially after choosing to exclude members of color from negotiations and calling that a “bipartisan accomplishment.” 👍🏽👍🏽 https://t.co/0VF8Z73vAa

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 28, 2021

And apparently neither is Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Hamas).

—- Original Post —-

The most interesting Democrat in the Senate, Krysten Sinema, is showing some remarkable independence from her party. What exactly is it about these Arizona Senators? National Review Online has the details:

Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D., Ariz.) said she does not support the $3.5 trillion partisan spending plan proposed by Democrats, in remarks to the Arizona Republic on Wednesday.

Democrats are attempting to pass a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan alongside the $3.5 trillion proposal. Sinema said that while she supports the goals of the $3.5 trillion proposal, such as job growth for Americans, she does not back the price tag.

“I have also made clear that while I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion,” Sinema told the Republic in a statement. Sinema did not suggest a cost she would be willing to support.

“In the coming months, I will work in good faith to develop this legislation with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona’s economy and help Arizona’s everyday families get ahead,” Sinema added.

Now it’s entirely true that she might come back a week or two from now insisting that $3.35 trillion package is totally sensible and affordable. She remains, after all, a Democrat, and there is going to be tremendous pressure on her from the White House, Chuck Schumer, and left-wing activists. There has already been grumbling from the Bernard Sanders wing of the party who initially demanded $6 trillion in stimulus and only very-reluctantly agreed to accept $3.5 trillion that they won’t agree to anything less, so somebody is going to have blink in order to push this along. With luck, Sen. Sinema’s defection will make it far easier for other jittery Democrats such as Jon Tester and Joe Manchin — along with Sen. Angus King of Maine who is registered as an independent but caucuses with the Democrats — to also demand that the party settle for a smaller sum, perhaps well below the $3 trillion mark. In any case, this has to be considered an embarrassment for the White House and for Senate Majority Leader Schumer, and a huge setback for the party’s rabid left.

– JVW