'Sinemanchin Watch': A Power Ranking For America's Moderate Senators
Tuesday’s U.S. Senate vote approving the bipartisan infrastructure plan gave Arizona’s senior Sen. Kyrsten Sinema an opportunity to bask in the success — as she played a major role with the group of five Democrats and five Republicans who made the package amenable to a supermajority of their colleagues.
Sen. Sinema has been criticized by some progressives for her approach during her first two and half years in office. But her influence — or perceived influence, some might say — is definitely receiving attention in Washington, D.C.
Jim Newell of Slate is fond of lists and determining, for example, which politicians may have “won” a particular week. He recently started an offshoot of that, called "Sinemanchin Watch," in which he decides who has been more influential — Sen. Sinema or her moderate Democratic colleague from West Virginia, Sen. Joe Manchin.
The Show spoke with Newell recently and asked him how "Sinemanchin Watch" came about.