If you have seen the movie Birds of Prey (And the Fabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), you know the underlying theme was her discovering her power amidst a world of insanity, crime, and social degradation; hence her emancipation. That brings me to the current impasse in the Senate, with the Democrats, save two, trying to advance President Biden's agenda. Notwithstanding the Democrats' version of Harley Quinn and the Joker, Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) are creating their very own Suicide Squad. Ms. Sinema came to the Senate on the backs of door-knocking liberals and members of her former party [the Green Party]. She was celebrated as part of a coalition of new Democrats who would govern despite GOP obstruction. No one expected her to change America radically. Still, democrats at large did expect unanimity on ideas like climate crisis legislation, relief for working families, minimum wage, and a chance to educate their children affordably.
Except for the minimum wage issue where she turned her Senate vote into a rub it in your face moment, Sen. Sinema's stance on the Biden agenda is unknowable because she will not divulge her negotiating demands. When she came to the Senate floor decked out in an ensemble that would make Harley jealous and dramatically curtsied while giving a thumbs down to an increase in the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour, it should have been not only a warning but a prelude.
Now with her partner in chaos, Senator Joe Manchin, who jousted with protestors from the back of his yacht, Sinema, has it seems, decided to tap into the funny side of her alternate Quinn personality. "What do you say to progressives who are frustrated they don't know where you are?" Sinema was asked. "I am in the Senate," she flippantly responded.When further queried, Sinema's follow-up answer was, "I'm clearly right in front of the elevator."
Sinema has enthusiastically gone after the mantle of the maverick, a legacy cultivated by the late Senator John McCain. She has spoken more than once about the evils of partisanship. In the case of Sinema, partisanship would be an improvement over her blatant pursuit of corporate money recently. Ms. Sinema left Washington this past Friday, ostensibly for a medical appointment for her injured foot. The problem with the foot excuse is that credulity was strained when it was confirmed that she also attended a fundraising retreat. The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and the grocers' PAC, and the S-Corp political action committee held a fundraiser for Sinema earlier in the week with attendees penning checks for amounts between 1,000 and 5,800 dollars.
Bending to the will of political action committees [lobbyists] who are lining their pockets with politicians while at the same time lining the pockets of Senators like Sinema is worse than partisanship. Money is by definition devoid of morals or conviction. I believe Senator Sinema has become addicted to the attention. Maybe it is a relic of her family poverty narrative.
"You think I'm just a doll. A doll that's pink and light. A doll you can arrange any way you like. You're wrong. Very wrong. What you think of me is only a ghost of time. I am dangerous. And I will show you just how dark I can be."–Harley Quinn
Whatever the reason, the once Green Party member, has decided that alleviating the climate crisis, keeping poor people in poverty and without voting rights is a good direction baffles me, and maybe you too.
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