Sinemanchin & Narrow Democratic Senate Control

[LFC]

Well look who put themselves on the spoiler market and got purchased. Again, no shock.

[goldenvalley]

May 24, 2023 16:32:28 GMT LFC said:

Who's shocked? Anybody? Didn't think so.

Following reports this week that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) has been using campaign funds to pay for costs related to her marathon running, an Arizona group has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) calling on regulators to open a formal investigation into spending by the senator. Apparently, per the complaint, using campaign funds for her marathon participation was the tip of the iceberg: Sinema is also facing scrutiny over more than $180,000 in campaign expenditures as far back as 2019 that went toward luxury hotels and resorts, jets, limos, Michelin-starred restaurants, international travel, winery visits, and more.

The FEC complaint against Sinema filed on Thursday by the liberal political action committee Change for Arizona 2024 alleges that Sinema has been using both campaign funds and public funds to bankroll her “lifestyle of luxury,” pointing specifically to trips to resorts in Paris and, of course, her participation in marathons. The complaint says that this campaign spending is especially suspicious because it took place while Sinema wasn’t actively campaigning: The senator still hasn’t announced whether she’s running for reelection when her term expires next year.

The complaint comes after reports this week that Sinema’s campaign paid for more than $9,000 in expenses when the senator participated in the Boston Marathon last April. Her comically named Getting Stuff Done PAC spent nearly $2,000 on “event supplies” and “meeting meals” in the Boston area during the week of the race, per The Daily Beast’s reporting. Her campaign also paid $8,470 for a stay at the local Ritz-Carlton. The same Daily Beast report claims Sinema has repeatedly scheduled fundraising events in states where she was participating in races so that she could use campaign funds to cover the cost of her otherwise-extracurricular travel.

The Thursday complaint against Sinema builds on that argument, pointing out that she has participated in at least 17 marathons and other races since being sworn in to the Senate, allegedly bankrolling some of them by scheduling incidental campaign events or fundraisers in the area to then pay for the entire trip with campaign funds. FEC rules bar candidates from using campaign funds to “fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense...that would exist irrespective” of their campaigning for or holding office.

Like George Santos (or whatever his name is) she discovered that running for office is a nice grift...pays for things you like and you don't really have to do much work in Congress if you don't want to.  

Remember she beat out Martha McSally who was a real right wing nut so Dems were happy to embrace her.  The reality is she is not of any party but her own personal interest party. But we escaped McSally in the Senate who went on to run for a Congressional seat but I think she was a one termer.

[LFC]

Muck Fanchin.

The Democratic West Virginia senator Joe Manchin marked the first anniversary of a major US climate crisis law he helped pass by saying he would mount an “unrelenting fight against the Biden administration’s efforts to implement the IRA as a radical climate agenda”.

In response, one advocate for climate action accused Manchin, who she called an “oily senator”, of “talk[ing] out of whichever side of his mouth will please the polluting fossil fuel industry”.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law on 16 August 2022. It addressed other domestic spending priorities too but Joe Biden called it “the biggest step forward on climate ever”, saying it would “allow us to boldly take additional steps toward meeting all of my climate goals”.

On Wednesday, Biden marked its anniversary with official remarks.

In a closely divided Senate, Manchin’s vote was vital to pass the IRA. But since the deal was done, he has increasingly used the law to score political points.

The 75-year-old represents a state dominated by coal mining interests and has extensive fossil fuel investments of his own, a fact often highlighted by conservation groups.

[jackd]

Progressives don't seem to recognize what Biden has accomplished without majorities in either house of Congress.

[indy]

Is anyone who actually pays attention to politics ever happy about it more than a few minutes here and there? If so, I haven't noticed.

As Obama said Democracy means that somebody is always complaining about something.

[Bact PhD]

Manchin isn’t going to run for re-election to the Senate. It sure smells like he’s gearing up for a “spoiler” run for the WH (from WaPo):

Faced with what he knew would probably be the race of his life, Manchin was weighing retiring from politics altogether or running for president as a third-party candidate backed by the centrist group No Labels.


His announcement video suggests he has not chosen the retirement path just yet, as he said he planned to travel the country to gauge “if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together.”


When reached after the announcement, Manchin spokeswoman Sam Runyon declined to comment on whether Manchin planned to pursue a presidential run.


A No Labels spokeswoman said the group would make the decision by early 2024 whether to nominate a ticket and who would be on it.

Possible “worst of all worlds” scenario for Dems.