The progressive wing of the Democratic Party continued its attack on the dwindling few moderates they have left in Washington this week, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., saying she has not seen a "compelling case" for why Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., should remain in her position.
"I don't believe she's really given a compelling case as to why she should be re-nominated as the Democratic nominee for United States Senate in Arizona," Ocasio-Cortez said Wednesday on MSNBC's "The 11th Hour."
"She has proven herself an obstacle to the right to vote in the United States," she added. "She is not an ally on civil rights. It is becoming a precipice and rather contributing to the threat that we have in stabilizing our democracy. She is not standing up to corporate interests, in fact, she is a profound ally to them. And I believe that, you know, she is not doing what voters in Arizona sent her to do."
Asked by host Mehdi Hasan whether she would support primary challenges to Sinema and moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Ocasio-Cortez replied that if she had to choose between Sinema and progressive Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who has explored running, it would be "the easiest decision I would ever have to make. There's no comparison."
Sinema and Manchin have been drawing the ire of progressives in the party, such as Ocasio-Cortez and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats. The two have repeatedly held up President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" Act by voting against it with Republicans. They did the same when Democrats attempted this month to pass an election bill by bypassing the filibuster rule that requires 60 votes for passage.
Sinema's actions have gotten her censured by her state party, though Manchin remains popular in his state of West Virginia.
Sanders and others have said they would support primary opponents against both of them in 2024 when their current terms expire, the New York Post reported.
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