What does the conservative daughter of Darth Vader have in common with a “bisexual, wig-wearing triathlete” who was “was widely considered the manic pixie dream girl of Arizona progressive politics”?
Plenty, if you admire people who stubbornly march to the beat of their own drum and fight the power like Liz Cheney and Krysten Sinema—two of the toughest (and bravest) members of Congress right now.
They’re also driving people crazy. You can’t lobby or intimidate them because it’s impossible to push or mock someone with that level of confidence. Indifference is the ultimate form of power.
Let’s start with Sinema. Right now, progressives are furious with her for refusing to support the $3.5 trillion social welfare bill (and insisting on passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill that she helped craft first), despite the fact that she overtly ran as an independent-minded Arizonan. Apparently, many of her voters hoped the erstwhile Green Party activist was just posing as an independent during the election.
To try and understand Sinema’s supposed betrayal, some on the left are speculating that she has sold out to political donors. But this ignores the fact that she could just as easily rake in progressive money like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have done.
