I'm registered as an Arizona independent.
I know some people might be a little bit
surprised by this, but
actually I think it makes a lot of sense.
A growing number of Arizonans
and people like me
just don't
feel like we fit neatly into one party's
box or the other.
Welcome back to State of the Union.
That was Kirsten Cinema
explaining her decision
to change her party
from Democrat to independent.
Let's talk about it with our panel.
Good morning, everybody.
Congressman, already you are
a member of Congress, is sitting
member of Congress, was in her party.
One of your colleagues Congressman
Jamaal Bowman, tweeted the following
by Felicia after news broke about cinema.
He's obviously he's a progressive.
He's not upset to see her leave.
Should Democrats get behind
an alternative
that's officially on the D column,
like your
your colleague Ruben Gallego
will have a Democrat running?
I think what a lot of us
who represent
districts who got elected by Republicans
and independents and proudly
so as Democrats take issue with
is the idea that this is about principles
when it's really about politics.
She was likely going to lose her
next primary
and that's why she's doing this.
It's not a principled change.
She's voted with us,
I think, 96% of the time.
So it's not about that.
It's about that.
She saw the writing on the wall
politically.
And so I think we'll have
a Democratic nominee
and I hope that she doesn't
try to play spoiler.
And Kristen
Soltis Anderson, on that note,
you are a pollster and, you know,
kind of
where the electorate is in Arizona.
Could she play a spoiler
if there's
Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat
and a Republican on the ballot?
Well, if you look at the exit polls
from 20, 22 in Arizona, 40% of Arizonans
who voted identified
themselves as independents.
33% Republican. 27% Democrat.
So if there was any state
where you could kind of
pull this off and be successful,
Arizona might be it.
This is the state that gave us folks
like John McCain, Jeff Flake,
this maverick streak.
The challenge she's going to face
is when she says
there are a lot of Americans
who don't identify with either party.
They pick some form column
some of column B, she's right.
But many of those Americans
don't necessarily
say want to see policies that support the
the rich and powerful, etc.
And that's
what the allegations from her Democratic
opponents have often been.
So there are lots of different ways
you can be an independent.
It's not clear to me
that her particular recipe
will resonate a lot with Arizona voters.
I totally agree with that.
She doesn't fit the Angus King mold
or the Bernie Sanders mold.
And I think she's going to be out
in the cold.
This would have been a smarter
move for Joe Manchin,
where no Democrat
can be elected in West Virginia
than it is for her.
Let's talk a bit about
Brittney Griner and
the remarkable release
she had to.
25 excuse me,
she was in prison and she was
released in an exchange with Victor Boot.
25 year sentence is what he was serving,
and then he was set free.
David Urban,
I know that you were trying to help
another person who is still held captive
in or in prison in Russia.
Paul Whelan
get freed in the final years
of the Trump administration.
What's your sense
knowing a bit about how all this works,
not just Brittney Griner,
but the potential for Paul Wheeler?
First of all, I'd just say
congratulations to Roger Carstens.
Who was assigned here
in the Biden administration
for the good work they did.
None of this is very easy.
The American people think it's
you know, it's an either or.
They had a choice.
They don't have a choice.
You have to negotiate with the Russians.
So think about Putin
sitting across the table
and Vladimir Putin
doesn't give you the choice.
He said you can have this
or you can have nothing.
So it was it.
You could have Paul with Alison.
We'd love to have Paul. We went home.
I know his family would.
I know Roger Carsons,
but I know the Biden administration
would like to have Paul.
We went home
and they're going to get him home.
But at this point in time,
they just couldn't get it done.
And it's very difficult to do.
It's not. It's not simply.
No, we don't want victory.
We don't want Britney right now.
We want Paul.
That's all that wasn't even on the table.
Yeah.
I applaud what you just said.
And it's also good
that Carson's is a holdover
from the last administration.
This is not a political partizan job.
I just want to amend my last comment.
I meant that no Democrat
other than Joe Manchin.
Sorry, Joe.
Sorry. And just just give a quick plug.
Rogers West Point by West Point
classmate and
and has done an incredible job and it was
well served as the Trump administration.
But what about the argument that
Bob Menendez and others are making that
by doing this swap
with someone like Victor,
but that you are encouraging
and incentivizing
other bad actors from taking Americans?
Well, there's a risk of that.
I don't think he's totally wrong,
but I think he's mostly wrong
because I think
we want to get Americans back.
And what really bothers me
is to see some people in whatever party
teeing off on this
when they should be
welcoming Americans back.
And I do agree with David
totally that, first of all,
the negotiator is highly skilled
and not a political actor.
And second of all, what he got
done was heroic.
Let me bring you in, Congressman.
All right.
Because you are a fellow Baylor athlete
and I know you've been working
on this release What are your thoughts?
Well, we're
thrilled to have her home
in every meeting and briefing
that we have with Roger and his team.
We also talked about Mr.
Wheelan
and how we have to bring him home.
And the White House has been very clear.
And, you know,
I can say from my own,
you know, information is very clear
that there was no choice here.
It was either bring Britney home or not.
They were putting Paul wheeling
in a different bucket or treating him
as a spy, basically.
And, you know,
I think there's no reason for that.
There's no evidence behind that.
But that's why it's more difficult
to get him home.
But we're going to keep working on
and I think he did a great job
in that interview with him.
It seems to me that we have some hope
that we can bring him home.
Yeah, more hope than I thought.
Yeah.
He said there are always cards,
which I thought was really interesting.
I just want to quickly
turn to
what's going on
in the House of Representatives
and in your party in the GOP.
The whole question of Kevin McCarthy,
whether or not
the Never Kevin group of Republicans
are going to
win the day and refuse to support him.
I want you to listen to what he said.
This week about getting the votes
so, you know, you're having discussions
with these five members
of discussions with a lot of members.
You have these five people.
Are they open to
two coming over to your side?
I think a number of them are requesting
certain things and we're discussing.
But the one thing most people
have to understand,
if one person wants something
that you have,
you have to have 218 within a conference
come together
He is in a very tough position,
but he benefits from the fact
that there is not a real
viable alternative.
This is not a job
that everyone in the House
Republican Conference is clamoring for
is going to be a very,
very challenging two years
for whoever is elected
speaker of the House.
And so to the extent that those
who are this sort of never Kevin group
have not yet
been able
to field
an alternative who could get
even a teeny tiny fraction
of the Republican conference,
I think it puts them in a very tough
the math is very challenging.
But he benefits greatly from the fact
that there is not
a great viable alternative.
You're the one at the table
who had to vote
in January
for Kevin
that will not be voting for Kevin.
You heard it here first,
but if Republicans can't
come to a consensus, can you see yourself
voting for a bipartisan consensus
candidate?
Is that even you vote for a Republican?
Come on. And Republicans.
I'm a moderate.
I'd love to have
as the speaker
who could bring the whole House.
Is there any Republican you can take?
I agree with Chris.
I don't think that there's a
you can't beat something with nothing.
I also say this.
I think this is not a West Wing episode.
It's likely
that he's going to get the votes. Okay.
But he's going to be the weakest speaker
in modern history.
I think we're going to sorely missed
Nancy Pelosi and I think not even show.
Well, I sorely missed Nancy Pelosi.
She kept the place going in it
and it made it much less of a circus
than it could become.
And I'm just saying,
I wrote an op ed last week
that Joe Biden personally
could make a big difference
if he had office hours on the Hill
and tried to work with everybody
just to resolve
and just remember
every single one of you,
you don't
have to be a member of the House
to be speaker. All right.
Kevin McCarthy.
All right.
He's going to be speaker. We got.