You can hear the sound of craniums exploding all over Democrat World right now. In an absolutely stunning move (that I don’t believe anyone saw coming), Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has exited the party.

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has switched parties to become an independent, chipping away at the Democrats narrow control of the U.S. Senate.

If the Progs hated her before – and they did – they are really going to lose their little pointy heads now.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in Chuck Schumer’s office when some brave underling broke the news to him…

In a natural extension of my service since I was first elected to Congress, I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington and formally registering as an Arizona Independent. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/jUQHAeuxym

— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) December 9, 2022

In a lengthy op-ed for AZ Central, Sinema laid out her reasons for the party affiliation switch.

…Everyday Americans are increasingly left behind by national parties’ rigid partisanship, which has hardened in recent years. Pressures in both parties pull leaders to the edges, allowing the loudest, most extreme voices to determine their respective parties’ priorities and expecting the rest of us to fall in line.

In catering to the fringes, neither party has demonstrated much tolerance for diversity of thought. Bipartisan compromise is seen as a rarely acceptable last resort, rather than the best way to achieve lasting progress. Payback against the opposition party has replaced thoughtful legislating.

Americans are told that we have only two choices – Democrat or Republican – and that we must subscribe wholesale to policy views the parties hold, views that have been pulled further and further toward the extremes.

Most Arizonans believe this is a false choice, and when I ran for the U.S. House and the Senate, I promised Arizonans something different. I pledged to be independent and work with anyone to achieve lasting results. I committed I would not demonize people I disagreed with, engage in name-calling, or get distracted by political drama…

She has also not made it clear yet whether she will caucus with Democrats, and THAT issue could be huge. If she doesn’t, that would move Chuck Schumer out of the winner’s box, and the whole shebang back into a Senate balancing act, especially during times when Manchin won’t play along.

…Sinema’s move away from the Democratic Party is unlikely to change the power balance in the next Senate. Democrats will have a narrow 51-49 majority that includes two independents who caucus with them: Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.

While Sanders and King formally caucus with Democrats, Sinema declined to explicitly say that she would do the same. She did note, however, that she expects to keep her committee assignments – a signal that she doesn’t plan to upend the Senate composition, since Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer controls committee rosters for Democrats.

There is no guarantee Sinema will caucus with Dems, either, as Bernie Sanders and Angus King (I-ME) do. Normally you’d expect Schumer make noise about pulling her assignments, but I don’t believe he has the latitude to enforce any sort of penalty.

The White House is “muted” on the shift.

…One White House official tells CNN that the move “doesn’t change much” other than Sinema’s own reelection calculations.

“We’ve worked with her effectively on a lot of major legislation from CHIPS to the bipartisan infrastructure law,” the official said. The White House, for now, has “every reason to expect that will continue,” they added.

Sinema has never been one for toeing the party line, even when they demand total fealty. While she is a hard-core lefty on many, many issues, she has bucked the party on things near and dear to their hearts, especially once they had the power to change them.

…Sinema and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin have infuriated liberals at various points over the past two years, standing in the way of President Joe Biden’s agenda at a time when Democrats controlled the House, Senate and White House.

Sinema and Manchin used their sway in the current 50-50 Senate – where any single Democrat could derail a bill – to influence a host of legislation, especially the massive $3.5 trillion Build Back Better bill that Biden proposed last year. Sinema’s objections to increasing the corporate tax rate during the initial round of negotiations over the legislation last year particularly rankled liberals.

Her brilliant, principled stand against removing the filibuster was a profile in political courage.

Democrats have never forgiven her for that.

The retribution threats are already starting to flow and I expect it will be fugly before much time has passed.

Kyrsten Sinema, that ungrateful mutant DINO, has been flipping the bird at Dems for four years. But now that the GOP only has 49 seats, she's no longer any use to them.

For this, and so much more, thank you, Senator Warnock.

— Jane of the North (@JaneotN) December 7, 2022

Concha nailed it this morning.

If Sinema switched from Republican to Independent, the headlines would read: “Kyrsten Sinema: Another true Arizona maverick choosing country over party.” Instead, enjoy the unhinged reactions from the usual suspects since this move marks Democrat to Independent. https://t.co/cxMD2N6sqe

— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) December 9, 2022

Sure going to be something to watch shake out.