Five veterans, who were advising Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, have quit and are blasting the Arizona Democrat for "hanging your constituents out to dry," according to The New York Times.
The newspaper, in a Thursday report, said it is the latest sign of hostility toward a centrist, who is one of the key Democrats holding out on President Joe Biden’s agenda.
The Times obtained a letter the veterans wrote to Sinema, which ripped her for refusing to abolish the filibuster and her opposition to parts of Biden’s multitrillion-dollar spending program.
"You have become one of the principal obstacles to progress, answering to big donors rather than your own people," the veterans wrote in the letter.
"We shouldn’t have to buy representation from you, and your failure to stand by your people and see their urgent needs is alarming."
The veterans have been members of Sinema’s advisory council since 2019. The advisory council is made up of 20 members, selected as her office’s liaison to Arizona veterans, according to the Times.
Their complaints are also detailed in a new ad by Common Defense, a progressive veterans’ activist group targeting Sinema
The new ad features Sylvia González Andersh, one of the veterans who signed the letter.
She says in the ad: "As members of your veterans’ advisory council, we feel as though we are being used as window dressing for your own image…
"We respectfully resign from your veterans advisory council."
In an interview, the Times quoted González Andersh as saying: "Democrats were out desperately trying to help (Sinema) win the seat, and now we feel like, what was it for? Nobody knows what she is thinking because she doesn’t tell anybody anything. It’s very sad to think that someone who you worked for that hard to get elected is not even willing to listen."
Sinema said she would "always remain grateful for these individuals’ service to our nation."
"While it is unfortunate that apparent disagreement on separate policy issues has led to this decision," she said, "I thank them for their service and will continue working every day to deliver for Arizona’s veterans who have sacrificed so much to keep us safe and secure."
Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has also taken sharp aim at Sinema in a fundraising email that accused her fellow Democrat of putting "corporate lobbyists over people," the Washington Examiner reported
The email included a tweet in which she declared, without naming Sinema, "You don’t have to put corporate lobbyists over people to legislate, fundraise, and win."
The email, however, called out Sinema as "just one example of many members of Congress who take massive donations from corporate and special interest groups," the Examiner reported.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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