Kennedy Out, Gillibrand In

Politico and other media sources are reporting that governor David Paterson has chosen Kristen Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat.

Gillibrand is a Blue Dog Democrat, which is the name moderate Democrats gave themselves so people stopped confusing them with Republicans. Gillibrand is a pro-gun, fiscally conservative "Democrat." Blue Dog Democrats are the people who cower at the word "liberal," and fail to acknowledge that the only gains we -- as a country -- have made regarding civil rights were because of those dreaded, damn liberals.

I have previously criticized the nomination of Caroline Kennedy because she was clearly a legacy selection. Let's pretend her name was Caroline Smith, or Caroline Martinez, and she boasted of zero legislative experience, and could only incoherently mutter something about her daddy when asked why she wanted to fill one of two coveted Senate seats. No one would have considered such an applicant. Hence, why I hated the idea of Caroline Kennedy in the Senate. I've heard just enough about Camelot, thanks very much.

But Gillibrand is part of the same politically incestuous community. During the Clinton years, she served as Special Counsel to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Andrew Cuomo, another nominee for Clinton's seat. She too hosts lavish fundraising parties (out of state, an accusation she ironically used against one of her former political opponents, John Sweeney). Kennedy, no doubt, was seriously considered for the Senate role specifically for her fundraising abilities (the name Kennedy brings in a hefty chunk of change,) so it's to be expected that cash cows are always at the forefront of these kinds of nominations.

I was really hoping Paterson would go for a fresh political name like Nydia Velasquez, who has served in the House for 15 years, and was the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress. She has dealt primarily with small businesses, and is largely unknown in the political community, but I think that's a good thing. Kennedy is very well known, has less experience than Velasquez, and I was supposed to take her seriously as a candidate, so why not Nydia? Oh, right, she's not a legacy, or a Blue Dog.

At least Caroline was unapologetically liberal, a privilege only afforded to Kennedys, it seems. If you have a yacht, you get to look your fellow Democrats square in the eyes and say, "I believe in equal rights and not torturing foreigners. Fuck you." But if you're a middle-rank Democrat, you have to pathetically triangulate and apologize until you don't even look like a Democrat anymore, and -BAM!- you wake up and your name is Kristen Gillibrand and you're in the Senate.

Gross.

Cross-posted from allisonkilkenny.com

Comments

[jrldev]

Let's face it between the two women the governor selected the most experienced as well as the one that
can best represent the interests of the state. Other than the Kennedy name there was nothing to be considered about Caroline. As mentioned in the article - If her last namd was Smith or Anderson she
won't even be mentioned in any group being considered as a possible replacement.
Those Kennedy-name lovers Get Over It!

[twogunmojo]

for the baffler and kalapa111..i tried to post this about 10 times last night but i guess the brady campaign must have been moderating the post......if the purchase of legal drugs was as regulated as new gun purchases are regulated you would have to produce a valid i.d. and pay your doctor to run an instant background check on you before writing your prescription and you would have to go through this process every time you needed your meds....

[twogunmojo]

whats wrong with being pro-gun...obama has said he is not coming for our guns so how is her position that far removed from his....and according to the cdc via a post by isaac skelton and meghan ralston legal drugs...i repeat...LEGAL DRUGS...now kill more people than ALL GUNS COMBINED...so hate on her for something that isn't going to lose the next election for you...

[TheBaffler]

How does it stand to reason that guns shouldn't be regulated just because they don't kill as many people as legal drugs do?

[Luxvonborn]

Umm... are drugs set down by the founding fathers as a RIGHT in our Bill of Rights? Replace gun with book and see if you support it. Yes, there are restrictions on books that disseminate construction of dangerous materials, but only the most extreme examples- so it is with guns- we don't have nukes, biological, chemical, nor radiological weapons in private hands. But it is a central right, and all this silly gun stuff- if you notice, now that guns are off the radar, our crime is going down- because of social programs!! I care very deeply about the 2nd, but that's also because you don't have to gut the 2nd to stop violence- just invest in communities!

[Blue Dogg]

quit hating on us blue dogs! we are waaaay different than republicans, most of us are very liberal on social issues like abortion and gay rights, something you glossed over entirely. if it wasn't for us the GOP may still control congress, have some respect!

[TheBaffler]

Blue dogs are enablers and capitulators. They've done nothing but stand in the way of progress and aren't any better than they're Repub cohorts.

[johnnyybgood]

You are as Baffled as your wingnut counterparts. But you are correct on one thing and one thing only. "Blue dogs are enablers". Yep...... we blue dogs did indeed ENABLE Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress to get elected........... You are welcome.

[Doofus]

Charles Goodell, who was Nelson Rockefeller's appointed
replacement for Senator Robert Kennedy 'back in the day'
was a conservative congressional Rep who became an
ultra-liberal Senator, trying hard to fulfill RFK's legacy.

He lost, big-time, when it came time for the actual
election which would have validated his selection,
lost to Conservative James Buckley & in losing made
a lot of enraged NY conservatives very happy. Let's
try to not repeat that experience, ok? Let's not
confuse being a 'centrist', a moderate, with
being a 'conservative', please.

[marignymitch]

Ms Kilkenny:

Many points in your piece are well taken. But I have a bone to pick concerning Blue Dog 'Democrats'. The Blue Dog I'm most familiar with, Sen Landrieu., has been a loyal supporter of Junior's constitutional and budget-busting ways. She and many other Blue Dogs (DINOs) are anything but moderate. Where did you get the impression that they are?

[Veronica]

Um, could you really not tell that she was actually mocking the idea of Blue Dogs as "moderates?"

[zull2]

I also think it's pretty obvious that Caroline Kennedy's "legacy" handicapped her tremendously. It was pretty obvious that everyone who was vetting her was "concerned" that they would be accused of appointing a "legacy" candidate.

There are quite a few examples of Senators who have spent their careers in the private sector and they've gone on to be very effective in the Senate. John Edwards, for one. Hillary Clinton, for another.

So, do you think Caroline Kennedy has done nothing in her career in the private sector? For a salary of one dollar, she raised over 65 million for New York's public schools. No, she doesn't have the distinguished legal career that Edwards had, but hers is certainly on par with Hillary Clinton's.

I think it's a shame that New York's governor went with what he perceived as "the safe choice". Blue Dogs are on their way out, there are quite a few groups out there that will be pumping a lot of cash into Gillibrand's primary opponent in a couple years. Until then, if she's as Blue Dog as you say she is, get ready for a Senator that will be essentially a lame duck from the get go.

[meko]

Had Caroline thrown her endorsement behind (effective progressive legislator) Senator Carolyn Maloney, we'd have a new progressive in the senate and Caroline Kennedy in Congress. It was bad politics to try to start at the top.

[rixter1965]

The evolution of the Republican Party over the past few decades has been to purge any member of Congress (or other position of leadership) that is not a conservative and who does not follows a certain script;. Moderates are derided, called RINOs and traitors, and treated like the crazy uncle released from the asylum for the day for a family reunion. The result: the GOP lost its majority in the House (where a majority really matters), lost an almost 50-50 split in the Senate (where it matters, but less so), saw their hero “W” leave office with basement-level approval ratings, and Barack Obama in the White House. If you are not a white Baptist from a Southern state or an ultramontane Catholic or a hard-right Jew who cuddles up to evangelicals, hard to be a Republican these days. Is that a game plan to be emulated by the national Democratic Party?

There is a complicated calculus to winning a Senate seat in a state such as New York (votes Democratic in Presidential elections; has the megalopolis of New York City tethered to upstate with a very different culture; has elected Republicans to statewide and national office).

I have little in common with Senator Gillibrand or most of her ideas and beliefs, but I would rather be a member of a party that has wide appeal than one that demands ideological uniformity. That’s a recipe to become a regional/minority party as the GOP has now learned.

[mkt]

You are right about the republican party's demise. but this isn't just about the party bases. this is about accurate representation of all of New York State. Blue Dog Democrats belong in the South not New York.

And this isn't about banning guns, it's about common sense gun control, which she has opposed. Of course, this is is just one fact and I will wait to judge her before bashing her.

And I don't want to hear about upstate New York. The large cities (Buffalo, Rochester, Albany) are just on par with NYC and the rest of the state pretty much eats up our tax dollars so boo hoo Bumblef#$#, NY.

[rixter1965]

I admit to familiarty -- not expertise -- regarding New York as I live in Pennsylvania, but there is a similar phenomenon here. Win NYC and hard for upstate NY to change that. Win Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and it's hard not to win PA. Simple math. But..

Both states combine major urban areas with rural areas and that invites very different agendas and interests. It's not unfair to think that each state given two senators that there should be some balance in this urban/rural split.

In PA, Specter (R) from Philly is balanced by Casey (D) from Scranton area -- making the calculus more complex.

[meko]

Without Blue Dog Democrats, Obama wouldn't be able to bring science back to the government agenda. That affects technology, medicine, and our long-term economic competitiveness. Since the religious right has taken over the Republican party, the fiscally conservati­ve/sociall­y liberal voters had to go somewhere. That's good for Democrats. I'm glad they came to our side.

[leftionthenews]

Her campaign website doesn't have that many specifics, but one of the few: "English as the official language of the U.S." Delightful.

[appleknocker]

"Blue Dog Democrat " is simply a euphemism for "Republicrat." In Gillenbrand's defense, as a resident in her district I can assure you that if she allowed herself to appear any more civilized we would have a Republican filling her seat.

What I fail to understand is why people like Elizabeth Holtzman and Mark Green, with impeccable progressive credentials, were not even considered for the Senate. Or maybe those credentials are, in Paterson's eyes, the problem.

[DAdvocate123]

Oh give me a break...sc­humer...th­e big conservative, picked her.

[camper65]

She sounds like a Democrat who actually read the Constitution! What a novelty!

[Aaror]

A dem who read the constitution? You mean the type that would have fought Bush tooth and nail for 8 years? Too bad no conservitives ever read the Constitution...

[panderwatch]

Can we get a little perspective here? The governor chose her for three reasons:
1. She's a woman filling a woman's seat
2. She's from upstate and can help Patterson get re-elected there
3. She's not Caroline Kennedy

If I were in the governor's shoes I'd say he made the right choice. I'm a downstate liberal but, hey, if you represent a blue collar upstate district you have to represent that district. Don't blame Gillibrand for her positions on gun control: she is taking care of business for her people. That said, you can bet that she'll have a sit down with our senior Senator and Chuck will let her know how things work in D.C. If she makes problems for the party with the Southern Blue Dog contingent she's toast. Cuomo (her old boss) will then make her a footnote in history after the primary in 2010.

[steamboat]

1. Its a US Senate seat for the people of NY.-------Its NOT intended for ONLY somebody of a certain race, religion, and/or gender.

2. Time will tell. Let the people of NY decide that.

3. Yes, she instead is a person with some experience and doesn't have a potential tax scandal or hiring non-citizens scandal hanging over her. And she's not from some family that feels there OWED a seat because of their LAST name......Where are all you class-warfare folks now?

GOOD PICK, GOVERNOR

[Clavis]

Is she going to help our progressive agenda, or is she going to be one of these vote-with-­the-Republ­icans Blue Dogs who get in our way?

Anyone?

[radicalcentrist44]

She will follow party lines on just about every major issue to please the party bosses and get a good spot on a committee. That is what everyone does regardless of party.

[panderwatch]

See my other post - she is not going to go against Schumer. Don't underestimate my old neighbor from Brooklyn. And, please do not use the words "progressive agenda" - once you create the labels you invite the fight. How about "smart domestic plan" instead (to borrow from Hillary's "smart power")

[kmsbt]

My district is next to Gillibrand's in the Albany-Sch­enectady-T­roy "metro" area, small city at best. In 1994, 4 out of 7 people in our area made their living directly or indirectly from the State of NY. Gubernatorial candidate George Pataki explicitly promised to slash the size of state government and therefore the livings of these people. Pataki carried the area in a landslide over Andrew Cuomo's father. My neighbors would play Russian Roulette with a full magazine if Bill O'Reilly told them to. Gillibrand is a Blue Dog precisely because that's the only freakin' way she could get elected, even with overwhelming evidence that her opponent John Sweeney was a corrupt wife-beater. She has got to keep her head low around upstate NY and if she starts out by following party lines I'll be satisfied.

[strangerinthenight]

Here is your answer. I pasted it from williamg's post from another thread.

Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Representing: New York, District 20
Voted with Democratic Party: 93.8 percent of 1765 votes.

Americans are of different persuasions, and hardly clone of each others. I am dissolusioned with your premise of "them against us", or you are either with us or against us".

I believe in choice. PS: for a Progressive, try to be more open minded, and BTW, what about doing your own research ? That's what a Progressive does.

[jorge4u]

The question:

Does she really want to be elected in 2010 in NY?

[-0013]

Progressive agenda. That's funny if you think that's gonna happen.

[BLinCincinnati]

Yes, we must drive out all the mushy moderates from the party. Only far left liberals are allowed! We lose because we have let the party stray from it's liberal principles. If we go back to those liberal principles and run with liberal candidates we'll be supported by the voters. Only when we stuck to our liberal principles has this country prosperred.


Sound familiar? Replace Liberal with Conservative. It's the same narrow minded crap the GOP is spewing on a daily basis. It's worked so well for them hasn't it?

[jmyoung666]

Yes, but it's still the truth.