The video is striking: Protesters angry about Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s opposition to the $3.5 trillion social safety net package currently being considered by Congress follow her into a bathroom to make their point — filming Sinema as she enters a stall.
The video, which runs almost 2 minutes, spends much of its time showing the stall where Sinema is. The senator never engages with the protesters — verbally or otherwise. Though only uploaded to Twitter on Sunday afternoon, the video has already been viewed more than 4.7 million times. Which, for the people who followed Sinema to the bathroom, will look like success. As will the plaudits they received from some corners of liberal Twitter who are enraged with Sinema’s opposition to a higher price tag for a budget bill that contains the bulk of President Joe Biden’s major first term agenda items. While it may look like a victory, it is not one. It is, in fact, a defeat. Because tactics like these — whether used against Republicans or Democrats — is confrontation culture taken too far. It is simply not productive to follow an elected official into the bathroom — videoing all the way — to make your point. You can wait outside. She can’t stay in the bathroom forever.
