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Harrington on Sinema Supporting Schumer: One Day and She's Already Breaking Promises

November 15, 2018

Washington Free Beacon senior writer Elizabeth Harrington told Fox News on Thursday that Senator-elect Kyrsten Sinema's  (D., Ariz.) decision to support Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) despite campaign assertions she'd do the opposite illustrates a recurring issue among Democrats of running moderate and then falling into line with the progressives in Congress.

"It was a very fast reversal, exactly one day and you are already breaking promises," Harrington said of Sinema.

Back in June, Sinema told Politico that she would not support Schumer's bid to continue as minority leader. "I am not going to vote for him," she said.

Politico wrote that Sinema's opposition to Schumer was "just one example of how the three-term House member is carving out a center-left Senate campaign in the Republican state, hoping it’s enough to inoculate herself from the national party’s baggage."

Despite this assertion during the campaign, Sinema did not oppose Schumer's bid to continue as minority leader.

Sinema defended her vote, saying "Had there been a challenger for minority leader, I would have considered new leadership and a fresh perspective."

Harrington said Sinema's vote reflects a greater problem for the Democratic Party, which last week elected many new members who have expressed grievances with current leadership, particularly with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), who faces opposition in her path to the speakership.

"That's the problem Democrats will have trying to hold onto the House majority as well," Harrington said. "When you have all these candidates running to the center and moderate and then you end up just falling right in line, how are all these House Democrats, new and freshmen, going to vote? Their first vote they're going to have to make, they're going to break a promise."

In an op-ed for the Arizona Republic, writer Laurie Roberts wrote, "In her first official act as Arizona's senator-elect, Kyrsten Sinema already has gone back on her word. Great start."

"I'm just suggesting," Roberts said, "that if you repeatedly say on the campaign trail that you're going to do something – like, say, not vote for Schumer to be minority leader – then you ought to keep your promise – like, say, by standing up and objecting to his being elected by acclamation."

Sinema beat Rep. Martha McSally (R., Ariz.) to become Arizona's first female senator and replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.).