Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) was raked in the coals of Twitter after her spokesperson argued that it was sexist to ridicule her theatrical “no” vote against the minimum wage hike.
Lawmakers have come under fire after she and seven of her fellow Democrats voted with Republicans to scrap an amendment to the recently passed Covid-19 relief bill that would have raised the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour.
Sinema said she voted against the measure because she believed the issue should be the subject of further debate in the Senate before being put to a vote. However, the way she voted against the motion – making a rather exaggerated thumbs-down gesture – sparked accusations that she was too keen to reject the proposal. A video of his vote quickly spread on social media, with commentators accusing the Democrat of sabotaging the pay rise, which enjoys broad support among Americans.
Responding to the torrent of criticism, Sinema’s office suggested the senator was being subjected to misogynistic abuse.
Senator Sinema a little too happy for poverty wages to stay pic.twitter.com/ze2T2CGtML
– RootsAction (@Roots_Action) 5 mars 2021
“Comments about a senator’s body language, clothing, or physical behavior do not belong to serious media,” Hannah Hurley, spokesperson for Sinema, told the Huffington Post.
However, the attempt to portray the issue as sexist did not appeal to many.
Nina Turner, a former Democratic senator from Ohio state who worked for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns, scoffed at the idea that Sinema was a victim.
“Denying women a living wage is sexist”, she wrote. Sanders had sponsored the unsuccessful amendment.
Denying women a living wage is sexist. https://t.co/uPKysT2C12
– Nina Turner (@ninaturner) 6 mars 2021
Others were also outraged by the attempt to play the genre card.
“Marie Antoinette playing the victim after giving a big FU to American workers is the icing on the cake”, mentionned a commentator, who added that Sinema’s seat is expected to be contested in the next election.
However, the controversy seemed to generate some disagreement among progressives, with some questioning whether voting against the minimum wage hike was more racist than sexist.
Isn’t he described as more racist than sexist? I didn’t know that women could be sexist towards each other. Seriously, if anyone understands this more than I do, please explain it to me.
– Gérald Drolet (@ GeraldDrolet1) 6 mars 2021
A commentator Award question of focusing the debate on women, noting that society “Constantly obsesses” compared to women, even if the question of employment is just as vital for men.
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