U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) has pegged Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) as a traitor.

Rep. Bowman tweeted that Sen. Sinema, in being unwilling to blow up the filibuster, is a traitor to John Lewis, "her hero," and her constituents.  Rep. Bowman, a member of the "Socialist Squad" in Congress, has a funny idea of what a traitor is.  Those who want to undermine our republican form of government with socialist "majority rules" straight democracy, by eliminating checks and balances, are the traitors.

Rep. Bowman, and others in Congress, might want to reread the Constitution, as the term "democracy" never appears.  Our Founders understood that a straight majority-rules democracy leads to autocracy, the very thing they were declaring independence from.

Not only is Sen. Sinema not a traitor to her constituents, but she and Sen. Joe Manchin understand that the filibuster exists to help constitutionally guarantee a true bipartisan consensus on bills that affect the whole country.  Her stance protects not only her constituents but also the entire country.  The Senate exists to protect the rights of individual states and to protect the minority opinion in a system designed to give greater power to the national government.

One need look no farther than California, Chicago, Illinois, Minneapolis, Minnesota, or New York to see how one-party majority-rules democracy leads to chaos, rampant crime, and a deteriorating quality of life.  Kyrsten Sinema, and Joe Manchin, by refusing to blow up the filibuster, are protecting everyone regardless of party affiliation, whether Republican, Democrat, or independent.

Rep. Bowman and the Squad should take to heart, as Sen. Harry Reid lies in state, and remember that it was Sen. Reid who blew up the filibuster on judicial nominations that has led to a conservative majority on the Supreme Court — something the "Squad" has railed against.

I did not vote for Kyrsten Sinema, but I am buoyed by the fact that at least one of my senators understands the need for the checks and balances our Founding Fathers provided us.  No, Kyrsten Sinema is no traitor.  She is an American.

Scott W. Houghton is a United States Marine Corps veteran (sergeant) and a retired 32-year law enforcement veteran of Colorado's Douglas County Sheriff's Department and the Denver Police Department.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.