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Sinema Snaps On CNN Reporter During Contentious Interview

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Democrats, and in some cases their cohorts in the media who act as journalists, have been putting the pressure on moderate Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin for months, to pressure them to get on board with President Joe Biden’s massive spending plan.

But Sen. Sinema appears to be really enjoying being the fly in the ointment for Democrats as, during an interview with CNN on Thursday, she snapped at the reporter and said she would not negotiate her demands in public.

What was even more hilarious is that during the interview her phone rang and her ringtone included a song from the musical “Hamilton” whose lyrics include “you don’t have the votes.”

The senator said she was going to continue to negotiate on the Build Back Better Act, the most massive expansion of the welfare state since FDR’s “New Deal,” but she did not guarantee she would vote “yes” on it.

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“I am always prepared to vote and to vote for what’s right for the interests of Arizona,” she said.

“I personally believe that the best way to create legislation is to be thoughtful and careful so that we’re crafting legislation that truly represents the interests that we want to achieve and that creates a benefit and helps people all across Arizona and the country.” The Arizona senator said. “So, that’s what I’m working on right now.”

But when asked about what changes she would like to see to the version that passed the house she gave a telling response.

“When you negotiate directly in good faith with your colleagues and don’t negotiate publicly, you’re actually much more likely to find that agreement and get to an achievement that serves the interests of the people of your community, and that’s what I’ll continue to do as we negotiate the Build Back Better plan,” she said.

In other words, you are not going to lock her into a position on your network.

“I know one of the things that you made clear very early in the negotiation with the president and your majority leader was that you were not going to support raising the corporate tax rate up a single point,” the reporter, Lauren Fox, said.

“Did you feel like at any point they weren’t taking your comments seriously given the fact that they were promising for a long time that this was going to be part of the bill?” she said.

“You know, I don’t really spend much time thinking about what other people are saying publicly. What I really want to focus on is how to get to a solution and solve a problem that matters to every day folks in Arizona. And people back home in Arizona know that I am committed to ensuring that any legislation we pass retains America’s competitiveness,” the senator said.

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“So, I won’t support any legislation that increases burdens on Arizonan or American businesses and decreases our ability to compete either domestically or globally.

“So, I want to be sure that if we are crafting legislation, we’re doing it in a lean and efficient way that’s fiscally responsible and doesn’t impact things like inflation or make our businesses less competitive,” she said.

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Sinema even took a swipe at Democrat leadership when Fox asked her if it sometimes “overpromises” on things and then cannot deliver them.

“I can only speak for myself, but what I can say is this: I would never promise something to the American people that I can’t deliver. And I think it’s not responsible for elected leaders to do that,” the senator said.

“The concern I have is that, first, it’s not very honest. So, you should just be honest. That’s something my parents taught me when I was very young and it stuck,” she said.

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