Democrats and mainstream media derided Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., for delivering remarks at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville earlier this week, but no such criticism was given to Democrats who have appeared alongside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in the past.
Sinema spoke at the McConnell Center in Louisville Tuesday, touting bipartisanship and her commitment to the Senate, and even noting her friendship with the Kentucky Republican.
"In today’s partisan Washington, it might shock some that a Democratic Senator would consider the Republican leader of the Senate her friend, but back home in Arizona, we don’t view everything through a partisan lens," Sinema said. "Arizonans understand that while we may not agree on every issue, we do share the same values. We value grit, perseverance, and cooperation."
McConnell had similarly complimentary things to say about Sinema, saying she is "one of the most effective first-term Senators" he had ever seen. "She is, today, what we have too few of in the Democratic Party: A true moderate, and a dealmaker," he added.
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Media and liberals were immediately shocked, even outraged, over the comments and Sinema’s decision to deliver remarks there at all.
Jonathan Capehart said on MSNBC that he wasn’t sure why Sinema would travel to Kentucky for the speech, but by inviting her, McConnell was "trolling the libs." He similarly dismissed McConnell’s praise of Sinema’s effectiveness.
"Of course he thinks she’s the most effective first-term Senator. She blocked a lot of the stuff he couldn’t do as Minority Leader by insisting that the filibuster not be reformed," he said.
CNN political analyst Ronald Brownstein speculated on Twitter that Sinema’s speech was "positioning for post-Senate dollars."
"Is there anyone who can explain her overall strategy if indeed she wants to be a Senator again? Who is she aiming at w/her actions?" he wrote.
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Mainstream media repeatedly played the clip of Sinema saying she and McConnell "shared the same values," leaving out her assertion that those values were grit, perseverance and cooperation.
A fellow Arizona lawmaker, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., even accused Sinema on Twitter of wanting Democrats to lose the Senate.
"My sense is that you would actually prefer Dems to lose control of the Senate and House," he tweeted.
Charles Booker, who is running for the House of Representatives from Texas, even said Sinema’s motives and determination to protect the filibuster was "to protect Jim Crow."
But, Sinema is hardly the first Democrat to speak at the McConnell Center, and not even the first to be praised by McConnell himself.
Joe Biden spoke at the center when he was Vice President, Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State and even Sinema’s current Senate colleague, Minnesota's Amy Klobuchar, made the trek to Louisville earlier this year. When introducing Klobuchar, McConnell labeled her as "one of my favorite Senators."
"She is extremely effective in the Senate, able to build relationships on both sides of the aisle," McConnell said about Klobuchar. This praise went largely unnoticed by progressives and the media, who instead, saved the word "favorite" to describe Sinema.
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"Kyrsten Sinema embraces her role as Republicans’ favorite Democrat," one Time piece read.
"Mitch McConnell’s new favorite Democrat," wrote CNN’s Chris Cillizza.
Sinema is no stranger to media ridicule, and has been repeatedly criticized by media and Democrats for her support of the filibuster, and even her ability to work with Republicans.
In January, liberal pundits had a meltdown over Sinema’s support for the filibuster. Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin even called Sinema’s actions a "moral disgrace."
"Sinema is effectively asking the authors of Jim Crow and vote-rigging to give their permission for her to stop it. This is worse than incoherent or cowardice," Rubin tweeted. "It's a moral disgrace. Ask the segregationists for permission to vote for Civil Rights Act?"
Last year, when Sinema pushed back on Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending bill, ABC News claimed she had taken "a hard turn to the right."
