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This belongs to you. Take it back...
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Gillibrand 
Wed Jan 13, 2010 at 12:45:13 PM EST
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You can't run on everything. Here's what will work:
Merrill Lynch/Bank of America Vice Chairman and NRA member Harold Ford Jr. is out of touch with the hard-working Democrats in New York. Ford, who is driven to work every day in a chauffeured car paid for by General Electric, has a helicopter as a primary mode of transportation, at a time when many New Yorkers cant even afford to fix their clunker or take the Subway.
Ford, a lifelong resident of Tennessee, is against women's reproductive rights, opposes health care and banking reform, and wants police officers to spend their valuable time chasing down Mexicans rather than investigating murders. He is out of touch with New York, out of touch with the middle class, and out of touch with the Democratic Party.
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Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 14:17:03 PM EST
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Senator Gillibrand strongly called for Monserrate's resignation, asserting that no one convicted of domestic violence should be sitting in the NY State Senate, and that if Monserrate won't resign, the Senate should move to expel him.
http://www.thealbanyproject.co...
http://monserrate-resign.blogs...
What is Ford's position? And why did Ford hire as his "spokesperson" Davidson Goldin, who had previously served as Monserrate's "spokesperson"?
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Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 17:19:56 PM EST
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The New York Times is running a story that tries to cast Harold Ford as an underdog, some kind of opponent to the party leadership in New York State.
Now, perhaps it's possible that Ford didn't meet much of the New York State party leadership while he was head of the DLC, and it doesn't sound like he exactly sought political activity since moving to New York City. So maybe he's worried that these folks haven't heard of him.
I've criticized the Gillibrand campaign repeatedly for casting aspersions on and pushing out primary opponents before, but in this case I just have to wonder: what is Harold Ford thinking?
I appreciate the difficulties Southern Democrats face and recognize that they have to hold more conservative positions to represent their districts. But to move north after making those positions clear, and trying to inflict them on the rest of the party as Chairman of the DLC? Seriously?
Has he looked around at the kinds of folks who vote in statewide New York Democratic primaries at all? They aren't rabid DLC supporters.
Go ahead, primary Gillibrand. Get the conversation going. Don't feel bullied. Just bring whatever you have for this "marquee challenge." Right.
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Fri Aug 21, 2009 at 13:34:20 PM EDT
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To purchase tickets for this reception, please visit the Delaware County Democratic Committee web site, or simply click the graphic above.
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Fri Aug 07, 2009 at 11:38:16 AM EDT
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OK, the NYT says Maloney is about to announce that she is not going to challenge Gillibrand in a primary. After "agonizing" for days about giving up her Congressional seniority to.... um, lose.
So, time for others to follow suit (you know who you are) and cease and desist the Gillibrand bashing, and move on to more constructive pursuits.
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Mon Jul 27, 2009 at 16:42:51 PM EDT
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I have mixed feelings about the primary challenge to Senator Gillibrand by Rep. Carolyn Maloney. Both are solid politicians with left of center credential on some issues and more moderate credentials on others. And while I respect the right of anyone to run in a primary (no matter how futile that campaign may be), there's no doubt that resources would be wasted on a divisive primary in New York.
So it's interesting to hear the reports today that Maloney may be re-considering her Senate bid. At the very least, something is delaying her announcement.
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Tue Jul 14, 2009 at 18:17:32 PM EDT
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Imagine if Carolyn Maloney or Jonathan Tasini had been publicly rebuffed by a prominent Democrat -- the establishment-loving diarists here at The Albany Project would have been all over it in minutes.
But when that very thing happens to an appointed Senator elevated by an unelected Governor, TAP's partisans go silent. So for the record, let's start with Dave Halbfinger of The New York Times:
[O]n Monday, as Ms. Gillibrand enjoyed a rare moment in the national spotlight - formally introducing Sonia Sotomayor at the judge's confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court - no staff members or hooks were at hand. And Ms. Gillibrand suffered an even greater indignity: She got the gavel.
Ms. Gillibrand was just over 6 minutes and 15 seconds into what was to have been her five-minute speech when the Senate Judiciary chairman, Patrick J. Leahy, first tried to cut her off, gently rapping his gavel, but he failed to get the senator's attention as she quoted Justice Antonin Scalia - or as she put it, "Anthony Scalia" - on the subject of ethnicity and prejudice.
When she pressed on to quote Justice Clarence Thomas, however, Mr. Leahy interjected. "Senator, we're going to have to put your full statement in the record so that Judge Sotomayor can be heard," he said.
"May I conclude my remarks?" Ms. Gillibrand replied, smiling gamely.
"If it can be done in the next few seconds, Senator," Mr. Leahy allowed.
"Yep. One minute," Ms. Gillibrand said.
But Mr. Leahy protested this apparent bait-and-switch.
"Twenty seconds," Ms. Gillibrand countered, as Mr. Leahy, nonplussed, sat back frowning and folded his arms.
At which Ms. Gillibrand cut to the last sentence of her prepared speech.
Evidently Leahy specifically told both Schumer and Gillibrand that five minutes was the limit, but this didn't deter the appointed junior Senator.
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Mon Jun 29, 2009 at 12:23:25 PM EDT
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This morning's Ithaca Journal looks beyond the Gillibrand-Maloney conversation about next year's Senate primary. They've heard of four likely candidates. I chopped out a lot on Maloney and Tasini because I think people here have heard of them, but there's a lot more in the article:
Carolyn Maloney. The chairwoman of the Joint Economic Committee and a nine-term House member is within days of announcing she's running... Jonathan Tasini. He captured 16 percent of the vote in a 2006 Democratic primary against Clinton and has filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission....
Suffolk County legislator Jon Cooper. He has formed an exploratory committee and is reaching out to the gay and lesbian community for national financial support in his bid to become the Senate's first openly gay member.
Cooper said in a telephone interview he raised about $20,000 from two fundraisers this past week. He plans to use his ties as a former member of Obama's national campaign finance committee to raise money. Cooper was the first elected official in the state to endorse Obama.
Ithaca oral surgeon Scott Noren. He announced his candidacy at the National Press Club in Washington. Noren, a former major in the Army, has never run for elected office.
A fiscal conservative, Noren said he's a Democratic version of Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, whom he described as "a very intelligent guy." Noren's campaign issues include health care and campaign finance reform.
Why don't a few of these folks peel off to challenge Schumer?
Let's see if we can keep the cross-candidate shooting to a minimum today.
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Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 12:11:42 PM EDT
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Somehow I ended up on the e-mail listserv for Jonathan Tasini. Anyway, I received an e-mail today announcing that everyone's favorite New York version of Dennis Kucinich is running against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the 2010 Democratic primary. If you're interested, I post his announcement letter below the fold.
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Mon Apr 27, 2009 at 15:01:43 PM EDT
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My diary that appeared on The Albany Project a little over month ago echoed the frustration that many New York progressives have about Governor Paterson's pick to replace Hillary Clinton as our junior Senator.
However, a string of events led me to attend the very fundraiser that I once objected to. And yesterday, I met Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
And hell froze over.
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Thu Apr 16, 2009 at 13:51:12 PM EDT
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According to the BoE, as of 10:00 this morning Murphy's lead had expanded to 167 votes.
The good news (as if that weren't good enough) is that Murphy leads in all five counties that haven't finished counting the paper (Columbia, Dutchess, Essex, Rensselaer and Warren). It looks like the final difference could easily top 200.
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Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 17:09:16 PM EDT
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I had the good fortune to hear our new Senator address some of the issues that are most important to me, in my hometown, on Tuesday. When it comes to understanding the needs of rural areas in NYS, I am pleased to report that Gillibrand not only "gets it," but is ready and able to lead.
Of course, Devtob had, you know, primed me to expect "excellence." And I have a tremendous amount of faith in Devtob's assessment of his former Congresswoman. But, I'll admit to being pleasantly surprised by Senator Gillibrand's performance. She has an ability to take a poorly-thought-out question coming from one of our local leaders, and answer in a way that shows both a willingness to listen to (and work for) her constituents, and a masterful grasp of the bigger picture. She understood things really well, and was articulating positions on agricultural issues and rural development that were very much in tune with what I believe is needed for upstate NY to prosper.
Part of what many of us wanted in a new Senator was the capacity to bring the State together, work for and understand the rural areas as well as the urban ones. It's a big state, and that is a tall order. Having listened to her in an unscripted situation, I now have great confidence that she can do that.
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Tue Apr 07, 2009 at 13:48:34 PM EDT
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A new poll released yesterday (April 6th, 2009) by Quinnipiac finds that Paterson's appointee to replace Hillary Clinton as the junior Senator from New York, is slipping behind the only potential Democratic primary challenger to indicate her intention to run:
"In a Democratic primary matchup, [U.S. Sen. Kirsten] Gillibrand trails U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy 33 - 29 percent, with 33 percent undecided.
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Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 13:11:31 PM EDT
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Some may not like this bucket of cold water, but here goes:
It's great that Murphy is technically ahead (though by a statistically meaningless margin, considering the number of ballots left to count). But prematurely spinning this election as a solid victory for Obama or the New York State Democratic Party or even Mr. Murphy is a double-edged sword. Now is the time not for self-congratulation or gloating, but to do whatever we can to help the Murphy team with the absentee fight to come.
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Sat Mar 21, 2009 at 12:58:43 PM EDT
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( - promoted by phillip anderson)
Many Rockland County Democrats and Progressives have been getting a variation of this e-mail from some of their local politicos:
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will be coming to Rockland in one of her first constituent visits! On Sunday, April 26 from 4-6 pm she will be at Riverspace in Nyack. The Q&A format will allow us to learn more about her while she learns more about the challenges and opportunities in Rockland County.
Join us in welcoming her to Rockland. General admission is $100, with $250 reserved seats to include a post-program reception. Please support us in welcoming our new Senator to Rockland County.
I was very bothered by some aspects of the e-mails. First of all, the rest of each emails contained supposedly heartfelt personal endorsements, but they all read pretty much the same. Second, I am still wary of Kirsten Gillibrand's history and worry about what it means for New York's future. Third, I'm wondering why this constituent meeting is a paid event, and an expensive one at that. So, I crafted a response to those e-mails that explains my concerns (and I hope you agree):
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Thu Mar 05, 2009 at 14:17:02 PM EST
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Senator Gillibrand's office has compiled and released a pretty cool document called A Guide to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
This incredibly informative doc is meant to be a resource for New York community leaders and organizations where they can find everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-stim-package.
Give it a look.
Well done, Senator.
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Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 14:28:46 PM EST
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According to the Associated Press, the GOP has approached former New York Governor George Pataki with the idea of running against the winner of the Democratic primary (if there is a primary) in 2010.
The head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee approached former Gov. George Pataki this week about running for the U.S. Senate in 2010, according to a person who spoke to Pataki about the private meeting.
The person confirmed Tuesday's meeting in New York City between Pataki and Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who heads the party's national senate campaign committee. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he isn't authorized to comment.
It's obvious that the GOP doesn't have much faith in Rep. Peter King, but I don't think we have much to worry about, anyway. Remember, Pataki left office with a 30 percent approval rating. I think that the Democrats can run a corpse against George Milqetoast Pataki and win.
Cross-posted at Left of the Hudson.
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Sat Jan 24, 2009 at 11:23:29 AM EST
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I realize that most of the people dealing with this blog are not very conversant or knowledgeable about the immigrant or Hispanic community in New York. However, all of you need to look at today's front page of El Diario. El Diario is the largest and oldest Spanish language newspaper in New York City. The headline dealing with Gillibrand's selection as senator is: "Enimiga de los indocumendados" or the undocumented's enemy. The article goes on about Gillibrand's opposition to providing medical care to undocumented women, her opposition to a path for citizenship for the undocumented, etc. I hope you'll read that article and the others including the one about the Columbian who was the victim of a vicious hate crime.
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Fri Jan 23, 2009 at 11:59:24 AM EST
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I'm amazed that this hasn't hit the front page of TAP, of all places, yet:
http://timesunion.com/AspStori...
A federal grand jury investigating former state Senate Majority Joseph L. Bruno is expected to vote today to indict Bruno on public corruption charges, according to numerous sources with knowledge of the case.
Grand jurors have assembled inside the federal courthouse in downtown Albany. Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Baxter, who is based in Syracuse, arrived at Albany's federal building just after 10 a.m. carrying two large briefcases and an easel.
The work of the grand jury is secret; however, a possible press statement or press conference is being discussed by federal officials for later today.
And (further emphasizing how clumsily Paterson has handled the Senate seat process from start to finish) comes this reminder of a possible Gillibrand angle on the story from the Voice's Wayne Barret:
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