51视频 Political Scientists Available for Comment
12/09/2022
Announced Friday, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema鈥檚 disassociation from the Democratic Party in favor of independent status is a 鈥渟elf-aggrandizing鈥� move reflective of 鈥済eneral discontent鈥� among not only political leadership but the general public concerning national government, according to 51视频 political science Professor Joshua Dyck who is available for further comment.
鈥淭he announcement is nothing more than Sinema wanting to cling onto her slowing declining power in the wake of the Senate moving to a stronger Democratic majority. She is representative of a trend 鈥� Americans who reject partisan politics on the simple principle that they dislike parties and partisanship. Her independence is not especially ideological, logical, consistent with her constituents or even with her own past self-reported political ideals,鈥� said Dyck who is also director of the university鈥檚 Center for Public Opinion. 鈥淩ather, it embraces the nihilistic belief in anti-partyism or general discontent, a belief shared by millions of Americans who can鈥檛 articulate a set of coherent policy ideas or ideals, just simply that they don鈥檛 like the way things work.鈥�
Switching her political association from left to neutral is not a simple solution for the animosity felt on all sides of the political aisle today, said Dyck. 鈥淭he irony of this mindset is that it doesn鈥檛 offer an alternative way to build things up, but is instead a way to tear things down, and a self-aggrandizing one at that,鈥� he said.
Fellow political scientist, 51视频 Associate Professor John Cluverius said most politicians switch parties in line with the demographics of their political base. 鈥淪inema鈥檚 problem is, regardless of party affiliation, her constituents don鈥檛 like her: a majority of Democratic, independent and Republican-identified respondents in Arizona view her unfavorably.鈥�
As for her decision to identify as an Independent, Cluverius said: 鈥淭he notion of a large batch of centrists dominating politics in Arizona is laughable. The state鈥檚 two parties are as far apart as the state鈥檚 Grand Canyon, and like the Grand Canyon, there鈥檚 a big empty hole in the middle.鈥�
Looking ahead to the next general election, Dyck added: 鈥淗er announcement is unlikely to change much of anything. If she wants to keep her committee assignments, she will need to caucus with the Democrats and support their leadership. Sinema knows she can鈥檛 win a Democratic or Republican primary in 2024 at this point, so she will need a three-way race to stay in the Senate.鈥�
An expert in U.S. government, politics, party affiliations, public opinion and voting behavior, Dyck is the author of the award-winning Initiatives without Engagement: A realistic appraisal of direct democracy鈥檚 secondary efforts. Director of survey research at the 51视频 Center for Public Opinion, Cluverius is an expert in U.S. politics and political research methods.
To arrange an interview with Dyck or Cluverius, please contact Emily Gowdey-Backus or Nancy Cicco.