On Sexual Misconduct, Gillibrand Keeps Herself at the Fore (NYT)

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/nyregion/gillibrand-franken-sexual-misconduct.html
On Sexual Misconduct, Gillibrand Keeps Herself at the Fore
By SHANE GOLDMACHER | DEC. 6, 2017


Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at a news conference on Wednesday. She was the first of what would be many Democratic senators who called for their colleague Al Franken to resign. Credit Eric Thayer for The New York Times

When the floodgates opened on Wednesday to cast Senator Al Franken aside, following a half-dozen accusations of sexual misconduct, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand had positioned herself at the crest of the wave.

“Enough is enough,” she wrote on Facebook, becoming the first of Mr. Franken’s Democratic colleagues to call for his resignation on Wednesday morning. By lunchtime, more than a quarter of Democratic senators had concurred; by evening, a solid majority. Mr. Franken has now scheduled a public announcement about his future for Thursday.

It was the second time in a month that Ms. Gillibrand, of New York, widely considered a possible presidential candidate in 2020, stepped to the forefront of the national debate about sexual harassment and powerful men.

In mid-November, she told The New York Times that President Bill Clinton should have resigned after his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, emerged two decades ago.

[lapucelle]

1. I'm one of her constituants and active in my local Democratic women's caucus.

The reaction has been interestingly mixed.

[BannonsLiver]

2. Im looking forward to not voting for her in the 2020 primary.

[bagelsforbreakfast]

3. +1

[scarletwoman]

15. Me too. nt

[Hugin]

16. Same.

And, unlike Hillary. In the GE, too. She has demonstrated that she doesn't represent my best interests.

[Rhiannon12866]

4. She was my congresswoman here in NY-20 and President Clinton showed up to campaign for her

This was back in 2006 - and she was the first Democrat to win the seat, maybe ever. This is a traditionally Republican area and there were years when the Democrats didn't even bother to field a candidate. She was very popular here and, obviously, so was the president. I'm disappointed, too.

[fallout87]

5. well this proves it!

Posturing for a 2020 run. First she turned on the Clinton's, now she turned on Franken. If she's willing to throw our best people under the bus for her own political gain, I can never again support her. Im done with her.

[oasis]

6. I expect she'll remain a NY senator for the rest of her political career. nt

[JI7]

8. i would be willing to donate to a Primary opponent depending on who it is

[octoberlib]

20. Me too. Chelsea ? Dont know if Hillary

would be interested in running again.

[bagelsforbreakfast]

7. That nyt picture reminds me of the Oscar Wilde quote

About twenty years of marriage making some women look a bit like public buildings.

[ucrdem]

9. I'd be more impressed if she'd gone after Moore.

Or big daddy. Going after Franken is like picking on her little brother. Not exactly heroic.

[moondust]

10. Defender of big tobacco.

Apparently not always on the right side of things.

~
But a review of thousands of documents and interviews with dozens of lawyers and industry experts indicate that Ms. Gillibrand was involved in some of the most sensitive matters related to the defense of the tobacco giant as it confronted pivotal legal battles beginning in the mid-1990s.
~

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/nyregion/27gillibrand.html

[msongs]

11. so has she called for trump to resign or does she only go for democrats? nt

[eppur_se_muova]

12. Now known by the GOP as "one of our most useful idiots". nt

[wiley]

13. Called her office today to demand our contributions back

No response.

[democratisphere]

14. Gillibrand and Schumer both need to go.

My extreme disappointment in both of them is crushing.

[Garrett78]

17. She had to be convinced not to sponsor - yes, *sponsor* - the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.

Gillibrand is all about doing what she perceives is best for Gillibrand.

[BlueStater]

18. If throwing Al Franken under the bus is how she intends to advance her political career,...

...then there's no way in hell she's getting my support.

[octoberlib]

19. Its all about 2020. She wouldnt be a

Senator without the Clinton’s time and money and now that sexual harassment is in the news, under the bus Bill goes. I also didn’t care for her lecturing Dems on how there’s no degrees in sexual harassment . Somebody who rapes is just as bad as somebody who pats you on the butt. She doesn’t speak for me.