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   From: drooler@gmail.com   
      
   Progressive activists, party loyalists and left-leaning commentators   
   continue to pressure Kyrsten Sinema to support President Biden’s $3.5   
   trillion Build Back Boondoggle – or else.   
      
   The state Democratic Party warned if she doesn’t step in line, they will   
   “give Senator Sinema a vote of no confidence.” A Primary Sinema PAC was   
   launched earlier this month with ads stating, “It’s clear that Senator   
   Sinema needs to be replaced by another Democrat.”   
      
   Beltway media remains flummoxed with headlines such as, “Kyrsten Sinema Is   
   Confounding Her Own Party. But … Why?” “Kyrsten Sinema Is Enigma at Center   
   of Democrats’ Spending Talks,” and “Why Kyrsten Sinema’s political   
   position is so baffling.”   
      
   Our senior senator isn’t an enigma to locals familiar with her bipartisan   
   history and purple-state constituency. Arizona voters have long rewarded   
   senators with a fierce independent streak.   
      
   But there’s another reason Sinema shouldn’t fret about voter backlash. She   
   can read the polls and the public mood. Voters have soured on Biden’s   
   agenda and they’re likely to reward opposition to it.   
      
   If Biden fatigue is bad now, what about in 2022?   
   The president’s polling continues to fall.   
      
   The most recent Economist/YouGov survey has Biden at 42% approval and 51%   
   disapproval. He slipped underwater two months ago and continues to dive.   
      
   Nothing on the horizon looks like it will improve that reality. Rising gas   
   prices, emptying store shelves, a broken border, Americans still trapped   
   in Afghanistan, a weak foreign policy and a vast majority of voters saying   
   America is on the wrong track.   
      
   Not to mention there are now more COVID-19 deaths in 2021 than in 2020. So   
   much for “shutting down the virus.”   
      
   If Biden fatigue is this bad nine months in, how will it look in November   
   2022 when Sen. Mark Kelly faces reelection? Voters won’t render judgment   
   on Sinema until 2024; an infrastructure vote three years prior will not   
   dominate that campaign.   
      
   It’s questionable if such an unpopular president will even run again. If   
   Biden’s polls recovered tomorrow, he still would be 82 years old for his   
   second inauguration.   
      
   Trump is no longer the fall guy for many voters   
   Nevertheless, many Beltway prognosticators cling to the myth that Biden   
   and his plans are popular. They insist Americans still seethe over the   
   last guy; I mean, just look at Twitter!   
      
   Social media, mercifully, is not real life. Voters once blamed Trump for   
   America’s troubles – when he actually was in charge. That sentiment is   
   long gone. They’ve shifted the blame to the current party – the one in   
   charge of the White House and both houses of Congress.   
      
   “Never Trump” political strategist Sarah Longwell gave the party a wake-up   
   call after holding a focus group with Pennsylvania Democrats this month.   
      
   “The thing that was the most shocking to me,” Longwell said, “nobody   
   brought up Republicans. Nobody brought up Trump.”   
      
   Her podcast co-host, Jonathan V. Last of the anti-MAGA publication The   
   Bulwark, was outraged.   
      
   “Another word we did not hear once in the entire focus group was   
   ‘filibuster,’ ” Last said. “They don’t care at all about process and don’t   
   even know about process.”   
      
   Don't blame Sinema. She's ahead of the curve   
   Maybe he should slip out of Washington, D.C., once in a while. Voters care   
   less about legislative procedures than the extra $75 they had to spend at   
   the grocery store last week. When times are rough, the guy in charge gets   
   the blame.   
      
   Biden isn’t running against Trump anymore; he’s running against the   
   promises he made. His paeans to national unity and governmental competence   
   haven’t panned out.   
      
   The president’s slide is likely to continue and Democratic politicians   
   will soon be looking for lifeboats. Don’t blame Sinema for being ahead of   
   the curve.   
      
   Once 2024 rolls around, Sinema could be in for a tough fight. The main   
   complaint might be that she didn’t oppose Joe Biden strongly enough.   
      
   Jon Gabriel, a Mesa resident, is editor-in-chief of Ricochet.com and a   
   contributor to The Republic and azcentral.com. On Twitter: @exjon.   
      
   https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2021/10/16/sen-kyrsten-   
   sinema-smart-hold-out-biden-spending-plan/8464640002/   
      
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