Gillibrand Wins the Schumer Primary

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Pareene

05/08/09 01:26PM

Filed to: Politics

This Kirsten Gillibrand lady, who became a Senator from New York because Paterson wanted upstate support? She is a wiley one.

Chuck Schumer is terribly powerful, and he ran the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for two successful cycles. The DSCC decides where the money goes for Senate campaigns. If they don't think you're serious, you are on your own.

So Gillibrand, the Conservative gun-lovin' new New York Senator, has spent all of her time in the Senate flattering the hell out of Schumer. And he is an easily-flattered man.

Mr. Schumer has praised Ms. Gillibrand as a political "natural." But his intervention on her behalf appears to be driven by more than just admiration.
Longtime advisers to Mr. Schumer said that he likes the fact that Ms. Gillibrand has been deferential to him and is open to his guidance, while Mrs. Clinton pursued her own path.

So! This certainly sucks for the various Democrats who wanted to run against Kirsten in the primaries! Because now Chuck says there won't even be any!

The same cannot be said of Illinois' heroic Senator Roland Burris, who has raised no money, and who is not well-liked by current DSCC head Bob Menendez.

The following replies are approved. To see additional replies that are pending approval, click Show Pending. Warning: These may contain graphic material.

eleusiswalks Pareene 05/08/09 02:09PM

Let's be fair to Gillibrand, she has psychotic gun control views but that's something of a necessity upstate. She -also- promised her full support of gay marriage the day she got appointed. So while she's more conservative on certain issues, she's more liberal than Chuck on others — he struggled with the question before supporting Paterson's motion for gay marriage in NY.

badasscat eleusiswalks 05/08/09 02:22PM

@eleusiswalks: Different issues matter more or less to different people, even within the same party. I will not vote for anyone who isn't in favor of gun control. That includes a Democrat, who as far as I'm concerned is not actually a Democrat if that's her position on gun control.

So sure, maybe it's a necessity upstate to have that view. So she should have run as a Republican. She'd still have won her election, but we wouldn't now be stuck with her as a Democratic senator.

With her and now Arlen Specter, the Republicans are slowly infiltrating the Democrats with a trojan horse strategy. And if we don't put a stop to it, they will end up destroying us that way. We're heading for our own schism similar to what the Republicans are going through right now.

eleusiswalks badasscat 05/08/09 02:29PM

@badasscat: I disagree. I think the GOP schism has been about a trend toward extremism, not about moderate infiltration. Blaming people like Olympia Snowe for the GOP exploding seems sort of silly.

As a sidenote, Gillibrand has considerably softened her pro-gun stance since being appointed to statewide office. She seems very willing to compromise.

DaveCrabtree eleusiswalks 05/08/09 02:43PM

@eleusiswalks: So she's to the left of Obama on the gay-marriage question?

eleusiswalks DaveCrabtree 05/09/09 04:53PM

@DaveCrabtree: Yes.

gspyaya Pareene 05/08/09 02:03PM

What is she wispering to Al Michaels in that picture.

depardoo gspyaya 05/08/09 02:04PM

"I see the O.J. crouching behind the Bronco."

Colonel Mustard gspyaya 05/08/09 02:21PM

@gspyaya: She looks drunk. I like a candidate that can hold her liquor.

Rumpelstilskin gspyaya 05/08/09 03:53PM

@gspyaya: She's giving Schumer a handjob to get his vote on a bill.

Paul.B.Dodd Pareene 05/08/09 01:42PM

It's not fair to compare this upstater to Hilary's first term as a senator. Clinton didn't need Schumer to raise money for her.

Speaking of Burris............ I like how he told TheHill that he has name recognition in Illinois. Just like poll doesn't indicate success, people knowing your name here might mean even less, especially if no one likes you anymore.

Peter Feld Pareene 05/08/09 01:51PM

I still think Stringer has a chance at the Gawker primary.