Critics point to Kyrsten Sinema post calling for corporations to 'pay their fair share' of taxes
- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was elected to the US Senate in 2018.
- Before being elected, Sinema advocated raising taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans.
- But Sinema, a former member of the Green Party, has become more conservative in recent years.
US Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has told colleagues she opposes raising taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans as part of President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats' $3.5 trillion spending proposal, The New York Times reported this week.
But the Democrat from Arizona, who once served as a spokesperson for the left-wing Green Party, didn't always object to making corporations and the rich "pay their fair share."
In a 2011 post on Twitter, Sinema - then a member of the Arizona state Senate - said doing so was only "common sense."
Sinema's liberal critics began pointing to that comment on Thursday. "So you're voting for Build Back Better, then?" asked Karoli Kuns, managing editor of the progressive blog Crooks and Liars.
Sinema's murky opposition to her fellow Democrats' reconciliation proposal, which would expand Medicare, cut tuition at community colleges, and extend the child tax credit has threatened its passage in a chamber where the party can not afford to lose a single vote. While she has balked at the price tag, she has not explicitly detailed her objections, angering progressives.
Back in Arizona, leaders of the state Democratic Party have threatened to hold a "no confidence" vote if she delays or votes against the $3.5 trillion package.
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This post has been updated.