SENATOR
SENATOR KIRSTEN CINEMA'S THUMBS DOWN ON BOOSTING THE MINIMUM WAGE ENRAGED HER PARTY IN THE
SAME WAY THE LATE SENATOR JOHN
MCCAIN DID TO REPUBLICANS FOUR
YEARS AGO WHEN HIS THUMBS DOWN
SAVED OBAMACARE.
THERE WAS A MONSOON FORCED
BLOWBACK AGAINST CINEMA ON
SOCIAL MEDIA.
NATIONAL REPORTERS JUMPING IN
SENSING ANOTHER MCCAIN PARTY
REVOLT.
THEY CHURNED OUT CINEMA
PROFILES AT A HUGE RATE BUT
THAT WAS JOHN MCCAIN'S LAST
HIGH PROFILE VOTE.
THIS WAS CINEMAS FIRST.
SO WHY WAS THE BLOWBACK SO
INTENSE AND WHAT'S THE FALLOUT
FOR KIRSTYN CINEMA?
JOINING US OUR CHRIS MAES,
FORMER CHAIR OF THE ARIZONA
CORPORATION COMMISSION AND ROY
HERRERA, A FORMER CONGRESSIONAL
AIDE TO DEMOCRAT ED PASTORE,
NOW AN ELECTION LAW ATTORNEY.
WELCOME BACK TO SQUARE OFF.
THANKS FOR.
SO SENATOR CINEMA HAD ALREADY
PREPPED VOTERS A FEW DAYS
EARLIER BY SAYING PUBLICLY SHE
WOULDN'T VOTE FOR THE MINIMUM
WAGE INCREASE.
THE FIFTEEN DOLLARS AN HOUR
CINEMA SAID IT DIDN'T BELONG IN
THE COVID RELIEF PACKAGE.
SO ROY, WHY DID THIS BLOW UP ON
CINEMA THE DAY OF THE SENATE
VOTE?
WELL, I MEAN IT'S A LOT OF THE
REASONS I THINK YOU OUTLINED IT
WAS CONCERNS ABOUT THE OPTICS.
I THINK MORE THAN ANYTHING
ELSE, WHETHER IT BE THE THUMBS
DOWN OR YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE
OTHER STUFF VISUALLY THAT
HAPPENED DURING THE VOTE I
THINK CAUSED SOME OF THE
CONSTERNATION.
BUT I THINK YOU KNOW AND I'M
GOING TO CHOOSE TO BE, YOU
KNOW, OPTIMISTIC THIS MORNING
AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, FOCUS ON
THE FACT THAT THIS BILL, THIS
GLOBAL RELIEF PACKAGE WHICH
THIS VOTE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
WAS PART OF ULTIMATELY PASSED
WITH THE 50 VOTE VOTE BEING
FROM SENATOR CINEMA WOULD NOT
HAVE PASSED WITHOUT HER
SUPPORT.
AND I HAPPEN TO BELIEVE THAT
THE LEGISLATION IS THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT PIECE
OF LEGISLATION WE'VE PASSED
REALLY SINCE THE AFFORDABLE
CARE ACT WHICH IS GOING TO HELP
PEOPLE ALL ACROSS THE STATE WHO
ARE HURTING THIS CRISIS.
AND SO ULTIMATELY SHE VOTED FOR
THAT ALONG WITH THE OTHER 49
DEMOCRATIC SENATORS AND I THINK
EVENTUALLY WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
THIS DEBATE ON MINIMUM WAGE AND
VOTING RIGHTS AND
INFRASTRUCTURE AND SOME
OF THESE OTHER THINGS AND
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO WATCH VERY
CLOSELY TO SEE WHAT SHE DOES
AND WE ACTUALLY TALK ABOUT
THOSE POLICIES ON THEIR OWN.
AND SO CHRIS, THIS DID SHOW UP
ON SOCIAL MEDIA AT ONE POINT
SENATOR CINEMA'S PRESS
SECRETARY SAID IT WAS SEXIST TO
COMMENT ON WHAT THE SENATOR DID
AND WHAT SHE WAS WEARING AND
JUST LAY OFF THIS ENTIRE IS
THAT FAIR?
NO, I DON'T THINK IT WAS SEXIST
AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW,
PROBABLY PRIVATELY SECRETLY IF
KIRSTYN IF SENATOR SANTORUM HAD
IT TO DO OVER AGAIN, SHE
PROBABLY WOULD TAKE THE DO OVER
ON ON HOW SHE WENT ABOUT VOTING
AGAINST THAT.
I CERTAINLY THINK EVERYBODY
MAKES MISTAKES.
I AGREE COMPLETELY WITH ROY
ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE ALL NEED
TO REMEMBER THE CONTEXT HERE
AND THE FACT THAT WERE IT NOT
FOR SENATOR SINEMA AND SENATOR
KELLY HAVING BEEN ELECTED, WE
WOULD NOT TALKING ABOUT A ONE
POINT TWO TRILLION DOLLAR COVID
RELIEF PACKAGE THAT HAS THE
POTENTIAL TO ERASE CHILD
POVERTY IN AMERICA THROUGH THE
CHILD TAX CREDIT AS FOURTEEN
HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR AMERICANS
WHO DESPERATELY NEED IT AND
HAS, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS
OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF AID
TO STATES AND CITIES.
SO YOU GOT TO REMEMBER THE
CONTEXT IF SENATOR SINEMA
HADN'T WON HER ELECTION IN
TWENTY EIGHTEEN WE WOULDN'T BE
TALKING ABOUT THIS.
THAT SAID, I THINK YOU KNOW
WE'VE GOT A LOT TO TALK ABOUT
IN TERMS OF THE FILIBUSTER AND
WHETHER IT'S APPROPRIATE
ANYMORE IN AMERICA.
AND YET LET'S TALK ABOUT THE
PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS THEY HELD
THEIR NOSE AND VOTED FOR
KYRSTEN SINEMA, MANY OF THEM
AND IN TWENTY EIGHTEEN NOW
THEY'RE SAYING NEVER AGAIN.
IF YOU'RE A PROGRESSIVE
DEMOCRAT, ROY, WHAT ARE YOUR
CHOICES RIGHT NOW?
WELL, I MEAN AGAIN, YOU KNOW,
PASSIONS ARE INFLAMED BECAUSE
OF AGAIN THE CONCERNS ABOUT THE
OPTICS AND HOW IT OCCURRED.
BUT I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SEE
IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS PRESIDENT
BIDEN AND SENATOR CINNAMON
KELLY GO OUT AND AND REMIND
ARIZONANS OF EXACTLY WHAT'S IN
THE MEASURE AND THE WAYS THAT
IT IS GOING TO CUT POVERTY THE
WAY IT'S GOING TO HELP PEOPLE
WHO ARE STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW
ECONOMICALLY THE WAY IT'S GOING
TO HELP THE VACCINE DELIVERY
AND PERHAPS I THINK SOME
OF THOSE CONCERNS WILL GO AWAY
EVENTUALLY BECAUSE AGAIN WE ARE
IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA.
I MEAN IT'S NOT AS IF WE'RE
LIVING IN NEW YORK OR
MASSACHUSETTS OR SOMETHING LIKE
THAT AND SO THE REALITY IS, YOU
KNOW, TO WIN STATEWIDE AS AN R
D YOU HAVE TO BE MODERATE.
I MEAN THAT'S JUST THE WAY THE
STATE IS AND THAT'S WHY WE'VE
GOT THE TWO TYPES OF SENATORS
THAT WE HAVE.
SO I UNDERSTAND PEOPLE ARE
CONCERNED BUT THERE'S A LOT
OF GOOD THAT WAS IN THIS
MEASURE AND ALSO, YOU KNOW,
WE'RE GOING TO AGAIN GET TO
THESE OTHER VERY IMPORTANT
DISCUSSIONS ABOUT VOTING RIGHTS
IN THE SENATE AND IN THE
PROGRESSIVES SHOULD WATCH THAT
CLOSELY TO SEE WHAT THAT'S LIKE
BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE TO DO
SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THESE
ATTACKS THAT WE'RE SEEING IN
STATE CAPITALS ON VOTING RIGHTS
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
YEAH, I DO HAVE TO ADD ON THE
PROGRESSIVE SIDE ONE OF THE
THINGS THAT OUTRAGED THEM WAS
AFTER THE VOTE SINEMA EXPLAINED
HER VOTE AND SAID SHE WAS A
STRONG SUPPORTER OF THE 2016
STATEWIDE VOTE TO RAISE THE
MINIMUM WAGE.
THERE'S NO EVIDENCE SHE WAS A
STRONG SUPPORTER PUBLIC AND
PEOPLE WENT CRAZY OVER THAT
CLAIM PERSONALLY.
SHE PROBABLY DID BUT NOT
PUBLICLY.
LAST QUESTION FOR YOU, CHRIS
MAES.
JUST LEGISLATIVELY, DOES ANY
OF THIS KIND OF PERFORMATIVE
POLITICS DOES IT HELP KYRSTEN
SINEMA IN THE SENATE AMONG HER
COLLEAGUES OR HURT HER?
BUT I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO
THAT QUESTION.
I DON'T THINK AT THE END OF THE
DAY IT REALLY HURTS HER BECAUSE
YOU GOT TO REMEMBER THERE WERE
SEVEN TOTAL DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED
THE SAME WAY.
SENATOR, DID YOU KNOW I THINK
THE REAL DANGER HERE AND I
CERTAINLY HOPE THIS DOESN'T
COME TO PASS BUT THE DANGER IS
IF PROGRESSIVES REALLY DO FEEL
THAT A TRUE CHALLENGER TO HER
IN HER PRIMARY THAT WOULD BE
PROBLEMATIC.
BRAMLAGE YOU KNOW, I'M A FORMER
REPUBLICAN.
I