Kirsten Gillibrand is running for president

[Renew Deal]

So get used to spelling her name

She has voted against more Trump nominees than anyone. 17 of 19 positions. The only two she voted for are Haley (UN) and Shulkin (Veterans, approved 100-0). She was the only one to vote against Mattis (98-1). Bernie and a few others voted against 16 of 19. Bernie voted for Mattis, Kelly, and Shulkin.

The signs are there. She's running in 2020 and will be a formidable candidate.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/31/us/politics/trump-cabinet-confirmation-votes.html

[pangaia]

1. She's MY senator!

[leftynyc]

45. Mine too!!

Best thing Patterson did as governor. She'd be great.

[BeyondGeography]

2. Wonderful...I look forward to a big field and lots of enthusiasm

[cmeneer]

3. A-OK

With me!

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

4. Shady history

Voting for Mattis and Kelly to fill dhs and defense department isn't something to hold against Bernie. Frankly Trump was gonna fill those positions anyways and I want experienced officials holding those positions rather than whatever crackpot conspiracy theorists Trump finds of the depths of infowars, especially since Trump has literally no government or military experience of his own.

From what I've read, she has some shady history as a lawyer for tobacco companies, it gives me pause and it's gonna make her an easy target.

[fun n serious]

6. I agree with the voting RE Bernie with YOU BUT...

I can not get passed the Brady bill vote of his and not releasing his taxes.

[Renew Deal]

8. Maybe Jill Stein will run again

She's pure







This is heavy sarcasm for the juries.

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

9. I'm not saying I personally

Wouldn't vote for her if she is pitted against the orangutan king, I'll vote for anyone against Trump, but I'm warning people not to overhype candidates with baggage. A lot of young voters are turned off by those kinds of things. You can bet in 2020 his deplorables will come back to vote for him no matter what he does. We should focus on making sure we connect with our base and not run candidates with targets on their backs.

[JHan]

25. everyone has baggage.. some kind of baggage.

we have to stop this ..the republicans have never cared about "baggage".

I say this as a young voter as well.

[Renew Deal]

29. If she has too much "baggage" we're screwed.

Who is clean enough for you?

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

55. Al franken, elizabeth warren, Michelle Obama

To name a few

[samnsara]

76. oh michelle!!!! shes got my vote.. but no experience..YET!

[leftynyc]

47. Well, I'd sit home

Before I would vote for Jill Stein. She sickens me. Everyone has baggage, I'm sure we could find a reason to vote against every single poster on DU.

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

54. I didn't vote for Jill stien

Why are you bringing her up as If it's suppose to annoy me?

[leftynyc]

56. You wrote you would vote

for anyone running against Donnie. I'm saying I won't. You sound awfully defensive.

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

58. That has a chance to win.

I voted for Hillary in the general. Although I would like to see ranked choice voting implemented nation wide.

[Agschmid]

14. Truth.

[BannonsLiver]

11. She'll make a fine candidate

purity is a fools errand. Not going to happen.

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

13. Sorry but

http://m.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/27/758125/-

That's pretty nasty. I'm not talking about purity.

[Agschmid]

15. That is literally the worst written Kos article I've seen.

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

16. Is the New York Times bad too?

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/nyregion/27gillibrand.html

[Renew Deal]

31. She had a real job

That's more than can be said for too many politicians

[Agschmid]

46. Yup.

[BannonsLiver]

19. Big tobacco blah blah blah

We just elected a corrupt maniacal game show host. Tobacco? GMAFB.

I could find some purity lapses in every prospective candidate. Gillibrand? Oh yeah she worked for "big tobacco" 20 years ago. Booker? Oh he's in bed with big pharma. Tester? He's got an A rating from the NRA. Cuomo? He's so third way. Warren? She was once a Republican. And on and on and on we could go.

Purity: it ain't happening.

Gillibrand will make a fine candidate. So will the others. I have zero fucks to give about what Kos has to say about any of that.

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

21. The reality is

Our base is far pickier. We care more about things like that. The reason Obama won was because extremely charismatic and had no real heavy baggage when he ran. Young voters swarmed to him and we won overwhelmingly. Republican voters will literally vote for any piece of trash that makes it on the ballot.

I think Al Franken would do very well if he ran. I almost assure you he would win. Booker, gillibrand are losses waiting to happen.

[BannonsLiver]

23. I'm not sure who would win

Anybody who thinks there are sure may be experiencing temporary delusions of grandeur. There is literally no way of knowing who will win the nomination at this point. None.

Maybe you could convince Bernie to run again.

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

24. I'm talking about the general

I'm talking when the person who wins the primary runs against trump or pence. Tons of young voters sat this election out. We can't afford for that to happen again.

[leftynyc]

50. I would hope 4 years

Under a republican president would be enough to get those young voters to get a fucking grip and grow up.

[Me.]

35. I REally Appreciate The Way She Has Stood Up Against

sex abuse in the military and the same old same old by the leaders. I was practically cheering when she gave the head of the Marines the business. She was fierce.

I had real doubts about her when she became one of my 2 senators but have come to appreciate her.

[BannonsLiver]

41. That probably occurred because you were willing to look past one issue you disagree with

I find I make the best decisions when I'm less strident in my thinking.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

12. I won't call is shady

but the optics will be difficult to overcome with primary voters.

[Blue_true]

18. So, one lawyer determines the result of a case that likely

has maybe a hundred lawyers involved? What was she supposed to do in the part of New York where she lived, wait for car wrecks and chase the ambulance to the hospital? Do single homeowner probate and pray to get a case every month? This absolute purity bullshit has to stop.

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

22. She hasn't announced a run yet

So it's better to vet our potential candidates now and ensure we win instead of when we get stuck with them and It's too late.

[FSogol]

28. Vet? Looks more like bash. Admit it, no one will ever meet your high standards.

Sound like a repeat of something?

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

34. You're being very irrational right now

I already said I would vote for her if she ran against Trump. The question is, will the rest of the people who say this election out do the same?

All I did was post two articles from very respectable left leaning outlets that went into detail on the work she did as a lawyer on behalf of the tobacco industry. I didn't mindlessly "bash" her nor am I projecting unattainable "purity" standards but no matter how you look at it, shilling for the tobacco industry to hide effects on health is pretty fucking bad.

She hasn't announced a run yet, no reason for you to be so emotionally attached to her.

[FSogol]

49. I'm not emotionally attached to her at all. I'm emotionally attached to the party

and don't want to see a repeat of the "bash the Democrats" miasma that rat-fucked our party (and this web forum) in 2016.

[leftynyc]

51. Amen. n/t

[Me.]

30. Are You Advocating For Another Bernie Run?

And what party banner will he run under next time? And is another potential female candidate going to be beat up again before she even has a chance to say if she wants to run?

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

37. Frankly

I would rather she didn't run in the first place. She and Booker are disasters waiting to happen if they run.

[Me.]

43. And I'm Wondering Why A Newbie

Would be casting such aspersions against a female senator who hasn't even declared she is running. Am I sensing an agenda here?

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

52. Yep.

I have and agenda.

The agenda I have is to have Trump at absolute minimum, thrown in jail for treason and his entire empire and wealth repossessed and redistributed to the masses of people he has ripped off over his 70 years. Then I want the entire GOP party to be reduced to nothing but local clusters along tiny rural towns in the south.

That starts by making sure he gets defeated in 2020. I'm only making sure we pick the right candidates to ensure we do the maximum amount of damage to the GOP.

Like it or not, millions of young voters who went for Obama sat this one out. I don't want that to happen again. I don't want candidates with heavy baggage to get hyped up because then we get stuck with them. So I'm doing my part and vetting them now.

[Me.]

68. Those Millions Of Young Voters Have A Lot To Answer For

I wonder how happy they are now. Let me also remind you that Hillary Clinton actually won the popular vote. So you'll have to excuse me if I don't feel like kowtowing to those 'millions' of young voters. You know the ones, on their parent's health insurance until 26.

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

71. You're gonna have too if you want dems to win again

You're not gonna get them back by hiring ex tobacco lawyers or by trying to appeal to Trump voters and nominating centrists to "move to the center". That's why Obama won in a stunning fashion in 2008, he connected and inspired them.

[Me.]

82. I Think You'll Find

That there's a lot we're not going to have to do anymore.... which includes not moving to the center or trying to appeal to 45 voters. Heard a lot about what we're going to have to do, or else, last time round. How did that work out? Threats lose their impact after being repeated over and over. It also includes not listening to 'you better' demands. People will either grow up and accept civic responsibility or they can pout and sit on their hands. Their choice, their responsibility.

And funny how you're all het up over Gillibrand, who as I said a couple of times now, has not even said she's running.

[mvd]

75. If we pick apart everything, we'll never be satisfied

As much as I love Bernie, I wasn't crazy about some of his votes on guns and the gun lobby. But I looked past them because so many of his views are wonderful. Maybe Gillibrand has changed somewhat, just like Bernie. I do not get into bashing Stein either. I focus on Trump. Many here hate her, but I don't.

[beam me up scottie]

81. She has changed her stance on guns.

I don't know if she ever took money from the NRA or gun industry lobbyists but Bernie didn't. Both of them were trying to represent their constituents in rural areas and both are now very pro-gun control. It's not an issue for most of us but it will come up.

[mvd]

86. True, the votes weren't a big issue to me

You can find something to dislike so easily if you try hard. That is why I am particular, but not demanding 100% purity.

[beam me up scottie]

87. Exactly.

[msanthrope]

93. You seem concerned. Please feel free to air more of your concerns and enjoy your stay. nt

[Maven]

94. Oh here we go. She has "trust" issues right? Tell us more.

Actually, don't.

[Greybnk48]

5. Excellent!

I would love to see her run!

[tallahasseedem]

7. Nope.

Can we focus on 2018 first? This is why we lose midterms.

[HoneyBadger]

57. She is running in 2018 too

[mcar]

10. I like her

We've got a nice deep bench!

[JI7]

17. i like her but all franken is the one that stands out to me right now

And i like policy geeks.

[NurseJackie]

20. She's a definitely a Top-Tier TRUE DEMOCRAT worthy of consideration...

... at the proper time. The DEMOCRATIC PARTY has an abundance of riches, don't we?

[aikoaiko]

26. She has a lot of potential and I'm glad to see her in the fight.

One thing that she needs to do is find a better position on gun rights.

She was very pro-gun rights as a US Rep, but then flip-flopped to get Hillary's Senate seat. She has not been too outspoken about gun control, like HRC or MOM, but I hope she finds a way to synthesize those positions into something that will generate mass support within and outside the party.

[beam me up scottie]

32. She had an A rating from the NRA.

Her history on gun control won't stop me from supporting her because she was obviously representing her constituents in upstate New York. She's changed her stance on gun control and now has an F rating.

Her office explained that "her old (upstate congressional) district ‘did not (have) the same issues of gang and gun violence’ as other parts of the state.”

I just worry she'll be attacked by gun control advocates who excoriated Bernie for the same thing even though he also currently has an F rating and a D minus average from the NRA.

[aikoaiko]

48. That's why I suggest that she needs to find a clever synthesis.

I don't know what that would be but the big flip flop leaves her vulnerable to unpleasant attacks from both side.

[beam me up scottie]

60. Exactly.

[leftynyc]

53. She represented her constituents

on the gun issue. That's exactly what we vote for people to do. Her stance on the NRA would be enough to distinguish her from whoever the cons run.

[beam me up scottie]

61. Obama noted the same thing, that gun use is different in rural and urban areas.

Last edited Wed Mar 22, 2017, 04:55 AM - Edit history (1)

But lobbyists on both sides of the issue tend to be very loud during election years.

[leftynyc]

91. Sen Gillibrand has the record

to back her up. Sen Obama did not.

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

39. I'm not sure

Why ANYONE wants gun control when Trump pretty much controls the justice department and the military.

Yeah let's go ahead and go for gun control when the lunatic in the White House is literally threatening to send the national gaurd into Chicago on twitter.

[HoneyBadger]

62. She was my representative for a few years before she went on Schumer's radar

I lived about 15 minutes from her. She was probably the most pro gun Dem in the country at the time. She had a regular table at the Columbia Greene friends of the NRA banquet. This is an annual event where they raffle off about 30 guns to support the NRA. She famously kept several guns under her bed, which is ill advised with young children. Once she moved up, she did a 180 on guns.

[beam me up scottie]

79. I remember reading about the guns under the bed thing.

It probably played well with a certain crowd upstate, they do love their guns. Even though it's only a few hours from NYC it's a whole other world.

[HoneyBadger]

85. It is a smallish world

The guy that owned the company that excavated my inground pool and leveled an acre, the other guy that ran the garage that magically passed my motorcycle annually, and yet another guy that ran the fire department for the entire county, all well connected to her.

The county went for Hillary, but barely.

[beam me up scottie]

88. I hear you, I'm from Vermont.

Guns are a part of life for rural voters - it's not easy but you can be a pro-2A liberal without pandering to the NRA.

The gun lobby turned on Sanders as soon as he was elected when he voted for the assault weapons ban. But the voters didn't, they knew he would support the 2nd amendment even though he wasn't in the NRA's pocket.

The NRA turned on Gillibrand too and that's a good thing if you're a progressive.

[gopiscrap]

27. No Democrat should have voted for any of those nominees

[Renew Deal]

33. What's the problem with Shulkin?

I don't know the guy but everyone voted for him. Sanders, Warren, Franken, Gillibrand

[gopiscrap]

44. I would not cooperate with the repukes in any way

unless trump m=nominated a liberal Democrat

[FSogol]

83. He was the Under-Secretary of Health for Obama. He's a good choice for the VA. n/t

[EarthFirst]

36. Fantastic! Primary the shit outta Cuomo! nt

[DFW]

38. Howard Dean told me years ago to watch her

Before Hillary decided to run, Howard said that if Hillary didn't run, Gillibrand was THE one to watch. He still likes her. Now, an endorsement from Howard doesn't carry the weight it used to, but he's still no idiot in observing the overall scene. If Gillbrand runs, Howard will no doubt remind me where I heard it first, and he'll have been right. Look for him to have a more above the radar role in a Gillibrand campaign than he had in Hillary's campaign--if Judy doesn't chain him to the dining room table, that is! After 15 years of racing around the world for his causes, she would like for him to slow down and spend a little more time at home. The rest of us, of course, want him to keep giving Republicans hell as loudly and as often as he can!

[Lucinda]

70. She has been doing great work...and Dean's opinion still holds weight with me, though

I do my own research.

Unlike many here, my primary focus is 2018, and doing what we can in the house - I want to see several of those seats replaced asap - but it still is good to keep our eyes open. There are a few west coast people that also have great potential for 2020.


Thanks for the post!

[Cha]

40. Well, she's smart.. there was certainly NO

reason to vote for any of his nominees.

[hrmjustin]

42. I hope she does.

I would support her.

[TEB]

59. Hope so 2020 seems so far away when we're dealing with trump

[mgardener]

63. She's my Senator

But I am also stuck with "won't meet with the constituents who elected her" Elise Stefanik.

[BluegrassDem]

64. Her voice is terrible for a potential president

And no, this has nothing to do with her being female. Her voice is very mousie. I mean, just a normal speaking voice. It's VERY annoying. Even my mother noticed it. Her voice has ZERO presence. Hillary didn't have such a voice. It's these small things that do matter when people go to vote.

[BlueStateLib]

65. Isn't Sen Gillibrand part of the establishment

[DFW]

78. Oh, for sure

And an oligarch, a corporate corporatist warmonger and all the other epithets that were hurled around by Democrats at other Democrats in 2016.

With a little luck, however, next cycle we can move beyond the media-sponsored labels, and work on defeating Republicans instead of ourselves.

[FSogol]

84. Some folks can't wait to start attacking Democrats!

[BlueStateLib]

90. I sure hope so

[Warren DeMontague]

66. Hey... How about someone from the West Coast, for a change?

I do like the fact that Gillibrand was involved with the CARERS act.

Too often what constitutes our East Coast leadership treats marijuana legalization like some sort of fringe issue, if they're not outright dinosaurs and prohibitionists on the thing.

[fun n serious]

67. I like either Merkley or Wydan

[Warren DeMontague]

69. Indeed, also Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom and Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee.

I also think Kate Brown is doing a fine job here, but I don't see her angling for a larger national profile.

[fun n serious]

72. I completely agree.

I am and have always been a Hillary person but I think a West Coast person is generally more left and would help unite the party. Jeff Merkley for example. The Pot issue is important to me Because it decriminalize it and I hate to see young folks getting picked up repeatedly by cops for this issue.

[Warren DeMontague]

73. I just think we're ahead of the curve on stuff like that, and the beltway ignores us

you look at someone like Andrew Cuomo- he's gonna win over a national electorate that is 71% pro-leave the states alone on legalization, with his reefer madness shtick? I don't think so.

[fun n serious]

74. I don't think so either.

The illegal " stop and frisk" bullshit Portland PD was doing to youths pre legalization has gone down a lot and that alone is a reason to support.

[shenmue]

77. Cool

I like her.

[DesertRat]

80. k&r!

[Rhiannon12866]

89. I know her well, she used to be my congresswoman

We're very proud of her here in the North Country.

[joshcryer]

92. I'm with Biden.