'She Should Be Primaried': AOC Takes Sinema to Task for Filibuster Stance

(Bloomberg) -- Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday called on Democrats to challenge one of their own, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, when she is up for re-election in 2024 because of her resistance to ending the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to protect abortion rights. 

The progressives’ comments come after Politico reported it had obtained a draft majority opinion of the justices that would strike down the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, touching off demonstrations outside the Supreme Court. The court confirmed in a statement Tuesday that the draft opinion is authentic but not final.

“We could protect Roe tomorrow, but Sinema refuses to act on the filibuster. Until that changes she can take a seat talking about ‘women’s access to health care,’” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Hold everyone contributing to this disaster accountable, GOP & Dem obstructionists included. She should be primaried.” 

Sanders, a democratic socialist who Ocasio-Cortez endorsed in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, likewise said Sinema should see a primary challenge. 

“There is very strong majority support that a woman has the right to control her own body, that Roe vs. Wade should not be repealed,” Sanders, a Vermont independent, said. “There are some Republicans who hold that view. Democrats have got to create a political climate which puts pressure on members of the Senate to vote the right way.”

Sinema supports abortion rights and stood on the Capitol steps with Senate Democrats Tuesday afternoon as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others blasted the Supreme Court’s draft decision. But the Arizona senator, who has become a hurdle for Democrats in the evenly divided chamber, has previously rejected efforts to end the Senate’s filibuster rule, which requires 60 votes for most legislation. 

Ocasio-Cortez rose to fame in 2018 when she bested 10-term Representative Joe Crowley in a primary to represent the Bronx and Queens. Since taking office, she has sparred with Republicans and fellow Democrats on climate change, social programs and other issues, frequently taking aim at the Senate’s filibuster rule. 

“We have a responsibility to show people in this country what a Democratic majority can do for working people,” she tweeted last year. “That means more generous relief checks, $15 min wage, ending the filibuster to protect our democracy. It’s a once-in-generation shot, and we need to legislate like it.”

Ocasio-Cortez has a following among young liberal voters and has made a national name for herself by supporting liberal candidates not endorsed by Democratic leaders. 

Her early support for Sanders in his presidential bid helped energize his campaign. And her support has been sought by President Joe Biden as he has attempted to push his stalled legislative agenda through Congress. 

Sinema, who was censured by Arizona Democrats in January, has previously said ending the filibuster would deepen political divisions in the country and risk repeated “radical reversals” in federal policy. 

“Protections in the Senate safeguarding against the erosion of women’s access to health care have been used half-a-dozen times in the past ten years, and are more important now than ever,” Sinema said in a Tuesday statement. 

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