Just when you think Bernie Sanders can’t sink any lower, he manages to figure out how to do so. The socialist from Vermont has been openly engaging in a civil war with members of his own Democrat caucus, most notably Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin. The barbs have been sharp, with Sanders showing public frustration that the moderate senators won’t support the $3.5 trillion reconciliation ploy to turn America into a quasi-communist utopia.

As if to prove that socialists are terrible at math, Sanders keeps repeating the contention that “two senators” don’t have a right to stop the agenda of “48 senators.” Yet, there are actually 52 senators in opposition, and last I checked, 52 adds up to more than 48. The message from Sanders is clear, though. He expects Democrats to vote in lockstep for the “build back better” boondoggle with no concern for what each state’s constituents actually want.

Sanders isn’t stopping either. The latest is that he plunged the knife into the Arizona senator’s back, refusing to sign a letter of condemnation for the harassment Sinema received while at Arizona State University. That now has the entire statement in limbo.

Whoa.

Axios: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) withheld support for a joint statement condemning last weekend's protests against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) because it also wouldn't include a rebuke of her political views"https://t.co/K4T6M3ti4D

— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) October 7, 2021

You almost have to respect the hustle Sanders shows. He stays on message and he doesn’t care one bit what anyone thinks. If that means defending illegal immigrants who followed one of his colleagues into a bathroom to film and yell at her, then so be it. Still, it’s pretty gross for him to shut down a letter in support of Sinema for purely political reasons. Such a statement is not the place to rant about disagreements over reconciliation. Sanders is essentially saying he won’t condemn the behavior if Democrats don’t agree that Sinema’s political skirt was too short.

As I’ve said before, this is idiotic tactically. How is knifing Sinema in the back going to get her on board with the Sanders’ priorities? If anything, he is pushing her further away by being so public in his feud. And while politicians tend to remain practical in the face of opposition, Sinema has to have a breaking point, right? If I were her, I’d send a note to Schumer saying I’m done with reconciliation this year. That would actually represent some pushback on the kind of behavior Sanders is engaging in. That won’t happen, but man would it be entertaining to witness.