Ever since Arizona Senator Kyrsten Simema declared she was an “independent” last week, many have been scratching their heads as to exactly why she made such a move. Keith Olbermann, the ex-MSNBC host and current host of the top rated podcast “Countdown” thinks he might know why.

It is speculation, of course, but Olbermann looks at the consequences of her stunt that could come to fruition in the 2024 election as well as basic human nature to reach his hypothesis.

Keith Olbermann starts by describing her as the “lamest lame duck” out there right now. He backs that up with the numbers. Her best stat is that she is -13 among college educated voters. From there it gets worse with Simema “under water” with every demographic group. That includes being -20 among voters who didn’t have a college degree. The Countdown host likened that to someone being attacked by him for an hour, then attacked by Tucker Carlson for an hour on his show.

With those numbers in mind, Olbermann says that she doesn’t even have to try to run for the Democratic nomination for her Senate seat in 2024. All she actually has to do is threaten to run as an independent or third party candidate. Based on past results, all Sinema would have to do is get about six percent of the vote in order to throw it to the Republicans.

Keith Olbermann doesn’t stop there. He goes on to explain that it might not be that far fetched that Simema has become the victim of blackmail. He explains that he has, in his life, seen the better people in many occupations corrupted by money. He points out that the way she has changed since becoming Senator. She is “remarkably free with the atypical details of her personal life” and then has “collapsed” in the last few years is just unbelievable. She has gone from an incredibly practical and pragmatic person to someone who seems to willingly sabotage her own party over and over — that it has to raise such questions.

That is why, as Keith Olbermann sees it, Kyrsten Simema is the “John Edwards of our time.”

Keith Olbermann’s podcast, Countdown, can be heard here.