Both major political parties have a vested interest in convincing us that rigid partisanship is the only game in town. Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema seems intent on shattering that illusion.
That would represent an enormous win for black and brown voters, who have been taken for granted and largely neglected by the two-party system since the days of Reconstruction. Anything that expands our range of choices at the ballot box enhances our ability to vote for candidates who care about more than merely winning our votes.
Sinema, who has established herself as a political maverick eager to work with members of both parties to advance her legislative priorities, recently announced that she will be leaving the Democratic Party – though like other nominal independents in the Senate, she will still caucus with the Democrats for the purpose of determining partisan control of the chamber.
In interviews explaining her decision, Sinema has noted that she “never really fit into a box of any political party” in the first place, pointing out that millions of Americans share those sentiments.
Indeed, self-described “independent” voters are consistently the largest voting bloc in American politics, outnumbering both Republican and Democratic partisans, typically by a hefty margin. When they get to the ballot box, however, these voters find themselves forced to choose between candidates from the two major parties or else “throw their vote away” on a third-party candidate who stands no chance of actually winning the election.
by DaQuawn Bruce. Fox News, 12/16/22
