Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) caused quite a stir on Tuesday, and not only for forcing her party to abandon higher tax rates on wealthy Americans and corporations. This time it was Sinema's less-than-business-casual sartorial choices as she presided over the Senate.
The criticism of Sinema's cutoff denim jacket ran the gamut, from people who found it unprofessional or unfashionable to those who saw it as another opportunity to criticize Sinema's infuriating policy preferences or enigmatic political persona. After all, "this is the most visible member of the Senate who is currently involved in highest-stakes negotiations on legislation that could shape the future of the country showing up dressed for some kind of Scottsdale version of a biker rally," Bill Goodykoontz writes at The Arizona Republic.
But sometimes a vest is just a vest, which is why singer Aaron Neville's response on Wednesday afternoon gets a special mention.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Do her clothes matter? Not a bit," Goodykoontz writes near the end of his long column on Sinema's denim vest. "Does whatever message she's sending matter? Yeah, it does." He notes it is generally "gross" for people, especially men, to comment on what a woman wears, and concedes that "as someone who has basically worn a T-shirt and jeans to work for years, I have no standing to critique anyone else's fashion sense." But while "it would be better for everyone if people were talking about, and media were covering, what Sinema is really up to, not what she's wearing," Goodykoontz concludes, "here we are, sleeveless and speculating."
-
September 14 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful northThe Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
