Kyrsten Sinema and other Democrats who voted against minimum wage hike being criticised: The United States Senate squashed the bill to hike minimum wage in the country to $15 per hour on Friday. Apart from 50 Republicans in the Senate who voted against the proposal, eight Democrats too gave it a thumbs down, one of them being Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema. Ever since, Sinema and the fellow Democrats who voted against the bill have been facing criticism on social media.
If passed the bill would have raised the minimum wage in the US from $7.25 an hour to $15 per hour. The proposal was to add a $15 federal minimum wage hike to US President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill. The US House of Representatives had passed Biden's coronavirus relief bill last week, marking his first major legislative victory.
The reason why Sinema is being targetted in the backlash specifically is because many saw her "thumbs down" hand gesture while voting against the bill as exaggerated and "belittling" of the issue that it was dealing with.
Here's how Twitter reacted to Sinema's thumb's down:
Gonna tell my kids this was Kyrsten Sinema pic.twitter.com/tITkexs2DK
— Nikolaj🍦 (@nikicaga) March 6, 2021
I donated a lot of money to Kyrsten Sinema, I conducted online fundraising for her and even paid $1,000 to attend a lunch with her and Kamala Harris.
— Scottacular (@Scottcrates) March 5, 2021
The next election, my money and efforts will be directed toward her primary opponent.@SenatorSinema @kyrstensinema
Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin - “we’re democrats!” pic.twitter.com/1OYVYItFtg
— sam greisman (@SAMGREIS) March 5, 2021
Gonna tell my grandchildren that this was Kyrsten Sinema. pic.twitter.com/m7QyqXKA79
— Vonté has pronouns in bio (@NepswirlDaBeard) March 6, 2021
Krysten Sinema's office, however, has called the criticism being doled out to the politician as sexist. "Commentary about a female senator’s body language, clothing, or physical demeanor does not belong in a serious media outlet," her spokesperson Hannah Hurle said.
Sinema's critics have rejected her claims of sexism:
People should remember this moment, when @kyrstensinema's office called critics of her vote against a min. wage increase sexist. It's so transparently absurd that it should make spotting similar bullshit instances of cynically weaponized accusations against the Left much easier.
— Micah Uetricht (@micahuetricht) March 6, 2021
You know what's *actually* sexist, @kyrstensinema? Voting against a minimum wage hike when 65% of minimum wage earners are women. https://t.co/PB0QYB1DTQ
— Elizabeth C. McLaughlin, Esq. (@ECMcLaughlin) March 6, 2021
LMAO. @kyrstensinema is claiming sexism for people rightfully shaming her for her indefensible vote against the $15 minimum wage. So let me be clear: Fuck Kyrsten Sinema & any other fraud who tries to use identity politics to deflect from their hatred of the poor & working class.
— Ryan Knight ☭🌹 (@ProudSocialist) March 6, 2021
Krysten Sinema is a former social worker and defence attorney who used to teach at Arizona State University. After being elected to the Senate in 2018, Sinema became the first women ever in Arizona's history to represent the state in the Senate and the first Democrat elected to the seat ever since the 1980s. She is also the first openly bisexual member of the Senate.
Image Credit: Associated Press