Former Republican Senator Jeff Flake has stepped up to defend the Democrat who won his U.S. Senate seat in the recent midterm elections after a GOP committeeman blamed "dumb ass" Republicans for failing to vote against her.
Sharing an article on freshman Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona making history as the first openly bisexual person to be sworn into Senate on Facebook, GOP committee member and Arizona resident Bruce Ash first criticized Sinema's appearance, stating that she looks "more like Senator Madonna than the Senator Barbie Doll she advertised when she ran for election in 2018."
"Her politics and positions will lean further left than the dumb ass people on our side ever imagined when tens of thousands left their ballots blank in the McSally-Sinema election which led the way to her being seated in the U.S. Senate this past week," he said.
Flake, who chose not to seek re-election in 2018, responded to Ash's comments days later, defending his Democratic successor.
"Kyrsten Sinema won because she ran a good race and had a message that resonated with Arizona's voters," Flake wrote in a Twitter post, sharing an article with Ash's comments.
"The sooner we Republicans recognize this, the sooner we will be in a position to win the next contest," he said.
Sinema narrowly defeated her Republican rival Martha McSally in the race to replace Flake in November's midterm elections.
Despite her election loss, however, McSally was also sworn into Senate earlier this month after she was appointed to fill the seat of the late Republican Senator John McCain.
As the Arizona Republic has noted, Ash also appeared to take issue with Sinema's decision to be sworn into Congress with a law book, rather than the Bible, writing on Facebook, "Sinema: First Openly Bisexual Senator Won't Take Oath on Bible... Arizona Proud?"
During her swearing in on Thursday, Sinema chose to use a law book containing texts of the U.S. and Arizona constitutions, rather than the Bible or another religious text, which is traditionally used.
According to the Pew Research Center, Sinema is the only member of Congress who has openly identified herself as not being affiliated with a religion.
However, a spokesperson for Sinema told the Republic that Sinema "always gets sworn in on a Constitution simply because of her love for the Constitution."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Chantal Da Silva is Chief Correspondent at Newsweek, with a focus on immigration and human rights. She is a Canadian-British journalist whose work ... Read more
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