Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., says while she is no longer a Democrat, she promises CBS "Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan that she will never go to the Republican Party.
"A diversity of thought is not only important, but it's integral to the protection of democracy," Sinema told Brennan. "But in today's political climate, Margaret, as you see every day, there is less tolerance for difference. There was less willingness for individuals to have their own opinions to make their own decisions. And I think that's something that we have a duty to do, which is to remind everyone you should think for yourself.
"It's OK not to agree 100% with another. It is, in fact, important to our democracy that you're not doing that."
Sinema added she is "absolutely" done with both parties, and Brennan asked her to commit to "never become a Republican."
Sinema laughed it off.
"I'm laughing because I literally just spent time explaining how broken the two parties are," she said.
"So you don't go from one broken party to another."
Sinema is up for reelection in 2024 and had been listed as a vulnerable Democrat seat in a state passionately divided after the past two election cycles.
Ultimately, she has left the Democratic Party to become an independent in name only. She is fully expected to caucus with Democrats in the Senate.
"Arizona is one of the states that has the highest level of independents in the country," Sinema told CBS. "We are a state of folks who don't often march to the drum that is being taught to us, right. So most of us don't fit neatly in one box or another. And I think the challenge that we have right now in our political discourse, is to make it OK for folks to think on their own.
"Make it OK to be different than those who are around you. To make it OK to have an opinion that is different than your colleagues or your family or your friends. And instead of saying, you must agree with whatever it is that you were told by your company, or whichever may, you know, whichever political opinion that you are more closely aligned with."
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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