During a Tuesday discussion at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) revealed why she left the Democratic Party late last year.
Sinema stated that she considered herself to be an independent lawmaker long before officially switching her party affiliation in December. She added that she felt as though she needed to break away from the party in light of increasing political polarization in recent years.
“Those who know me know that I was always an independent voice and always have been for the things that I believe in and for my state and for my country,” Sinema said while speaking at the event, adding that she believed the Jan. 6 Capitol riot “created, I think, concern and fear for every patriotic American across the country.”
“But in the resulting two years, the Democratic Party shared a narrative that said, ‘We would not have any more free and fair elections in this country if the United States Congress didn’t eliminate the filibuster and pass a massive voting rights package,’” Sinema added. “As we all know, the filibuster was not eliminated. … that massive voting rights bill was not passed through Congress. And then we had a free and fair election all across the country” during the 2022 midterms, she added, referencing the voting rights bill and attempt to eliminate the filibuster, both of which were moves heavily pushed by Democrats while they controlled both chambers of Congress in the past two years.
“Individuals of both political parties, some extreme, some moderate, won. So we had a free and fair election,” she added. “One could posit that the push by one political party to eliminate an important guardrail in an institution of our country may have been premature or overreaching in order to get the short-term victories they wanted.”
Sinema was one of several U.S. lawmakers and officials who flew to the event hosted by the World Economic Forum. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chris Coons (D-DE), and several Democratic members of the House of Representatives will attend. Additionally, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) are two Republicans who are scheduled to attend the “America (Un)Bound” event at the meeting.
“Governor Kemp looks forward to traveling to Davos to share with leaders who the State of Georgia’s long record of conservative governance, protecting individual liberty, and championing opportunity can serve as a model for economic success across the country and around the world,” a spokesperson from Kemp’s office said about the visit.
Kemp and Salazar stand as outliers at the World Economic Forum’s meeting, which was founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab. The group gathers the world’s ultra-wealthy and elite at a multiday event in Switzerland and has, in recent years, generated significant controversy for promoting left-wing policies and the idea of the “great reset.”
Schwab himself has garnered criticism for openly praising the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party, calling it a role model for some countries.
Earlier this week, Schwab announced that the meeting, which runs from Jan. 16 to 20, will focus on an agenda to promote progressive climate-related and social-justice policies.
“The theme of our meeting in Davos is cooperation in a fragmented world,” Klaus stated, adding that “economic, environmental, social, and geopolitical crises are converging and conflating, creating an extremely versatile and uncertain future.”
“We are all stuck in a crisis mindset,” he warned, but he said his “annual meeting at Davos shall try to make sure that leaders do not remain trapped in this crisis mindset but develop a longer-term, constructive perspective to shape the future in more sustainable, more inclusive, and more resilient way.”
In total, approximately 379 public officials will be attending, including 30 heads of state. In addition, 19 central bank governors, 1,500 company executives, 600 CEOs from the world’s largest corporations and more will be in attendance.
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