Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is right. That failed vote on her border bill was all BS

U.S. Senate leadership tried to revive the single most important piece of border security and immigration legislation produced in decades.

Yet the person most responsible for hammering out the details and fashioning a bipartisan agreement that actually confronts the major issues and offers practical solutions — Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema — was a no-show.

I don’t blame her one bit.

Just the opposite.

Schumer wants 'serious-minded Republicans'

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced this week that he would bring back for a vote the bipartisan bill negotiated by Sinema, along with Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma.

Schumer said in a letter to senators, “We are hopeful this bipartisan proposal will bring serious-minded Republicans back to the table to advance this bipartisan solution for our border.”

He knew that wouldn’t happen.

The bill died the first time after former President Donald Trump told Republicans not to pass it because he needs a border crisis to campaign on.

Sinema tried to debunk the GOP's border lies

Republicans in the House — Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs among the most vocal — declared the border bill dead on arrival.

Sinema worked hard to debunk the lies spread about the bill, but that didn’t stop the liars from continuing to spread them.

And Trump knew that his MAGA followers wouldn’t question those lies or bother to actually read the bill, which was readily available.

Immigrants aren't 'invading' Arizona: Stop this false narrative

It didn’t even matter to MAGA that the National Border Patrol Council endorsed Sinema’s bill.

Sinema spoke to all that — many times — earlier this year.

In the end, however, the liars and the posers won.

The bill failed in the Senate on Thursday.

Sinema let both sides have it on Senate floor

Sinema knew that all of this was, as she called it, “performative partisanship.”

And on Thursday, in a speech on the Senate floor, the senator let her colleagues have it.

She said in part:

“I spoke here on the Senate floor twice in defense of our legislation. It turns out, my Republican colleagues were all talk and no action.  Today, though, my Democratic colleagues have chosen more political theater instead of real efforts to solve this crisis.

“All talk and no action goes both ways.

“Today, the Senate will hold a show vote whose sole purpose is to point the finger back at the other party — yet another cynical political game. These games demonstrate exactly why Americans have lost faith in their elected leaders — a Congress, bickering and fighting for power instead of solving problems and making progress, any kind of progress, for regular people.

“Today’s vote is not an attempt to solve the problem or provide relief to Arizona border communities. Today’s vote is to send a message.

“Arizona doesn’t need your message. Arizona needs your help.”

Yeah, that.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kyrsten Sinema is right. That failed vote on her border bill was BS