Axios called out for gushing article on senator holding up Biden’s agenda

‘Oh she rides a bike and drinks wine,’ one sarcastic reader commented. ‘I had no idea! This changes everything. Thank you so much’

Senator Kyrsten Sinema has drawn a lot of ire in recent days as she’s stood in the way of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion bill to expand America’s social safety net – which, in turn, blocks a separate bipartisan $1 trillion bill to improve the country’s infrastructure.

What makes progressives particularly furious is that Ms Sinema allegedly hasn’t even said why. While her de facto partner, Senator Joe Manchin, has continued to negotiate with Democrats, Ms Sinema has reportedly offered no details on how she could get to “yes”, making her obstruction not only impenetrable but without any discernible purpose.

On Friday, the DC-based news site Axios entered the fray with a glowing profile of the Arizona senator, highlighting her John McCain-esque maverick persona with a penchant for triathlons, wine, and funky clothes.

“Sen Kyrsten Sinema’s political allies have some free advice for anyone trying to bully the wine-drinking triathlete into supporting President Biden‘s $3.5 trillion budget bill,” Axios scribe Hans Nichols writes. “She doesn’t play by Washington’s rules – and she’s prepared to walk away.”

On Twitter, readers were not impressed.

“Oh she rides a bike and drinks wine,” one sarcastic observer commented. “I had no idea! This changes everything. Thank you so much.”

“Drinking wine is not a personality trait, and the ‘bullying’ you’re referring to (which most would just call ‘holding a politician to account’) has gotten more results over the past week than the kid-glove treatment has over the past 6 months,” another opined.

“What on earth is this?” someone else asked simply.

Another politician, Chicago City Council member Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, chimed in as well.

“Bullying? Is she a twelve-year-old at a sleepover?” Mr Ramirez-Rosa wrote. “She’s a US Senator. My constituents aren’t ‘bullying’ me when they pressure me to vote one way or another, they’re engaging in constitutionally protected speech.”

Others were skeptical of the “political allies” Axios mentioned.

“Weird how axios couldn’t get a single ally to go on record and the article fails to mention any by name,” one Twitter user wrote.

“‘Krysten Sinema’s allies’ – you mean Republicans?” another asked.

The Independent has reached out to Axios for comment, but has not heard back yet.