Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party, says she doesn't want to be 'tethered' by partisanship: 'I want to remove some of that poison from our politics'
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- Sen. Sinema on Sunday defended her decision to leave the Democratic Party and become an Independent.
- On CNN's "State of the Union," Sinema expressed a desire to not be "tethered" by partisanship.
- Sinema's decision won't affect the 51-49 majority that Democrats will enjoy in the upcoming session.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who last week created a political maelstrom by announcing her exit from the Democratic Party to become an Independent, said Sunday the move was rooted in a decision "to not be tethered" by partisanship.
Sinema, who has run into a myriad of issues with progressives since her 2018 election to the Senate, told CNN that many politicos in the nation's capital wouldn't understand her choice, but she insisted that it was one that would allow her to reject the polarization that she said has become a major problem.
"I know this is really hard for lots of folks, especially in DC, but what's important to me is to not be tethered by the partisanship that dominates politics today," she told CNN's Jake Tapper. "And I think Americans are tired of it. I think Arizonans are tired of it."
When Tapper asked about her positions, which would overwhelmingly still resemble those taken by the Democratic Party, she said that she wanted to work in the Senate "in a way that is productive" and "free from the trappings" of politics as usual.
"The national political parties have pulled our politics farther to the edges than I have ever seen. I want to remove some of that kind of that poison from our politics," she said. "I want to get back to actually just working on the issues, working together to try and solve these challenges."