Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
I'm reading the book "Shattered," the behind-the-scenes autopsy of Hillary Clinton's fatal run for president in 2016. Friends have asked why I want to relive that painful story -- but I've always felt that those who don't learn from herstory are doomed to repeat it.
Which brings me to a recent breakfast I attended where the featured speaker was New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. I had never heard her speak in person before but I've heard that many believe she has her sights on running for the White House in 2020.
Gillibrand was incredibly candid on many subjects at this breakfast but refused to discuss 2020 ambitions for herself or anyone else in the Democratic Party.
"2020 is irrelevant," she warned, "if we don't win the house in 2018. Even if a Democrat wins in 2020, if both the House and Senate are Republican, they will fail anyway."
She made a pretty resounding point here, and her calculation that all efforts and focus should be on next year's House races is a sound one. Dems have to flip 24 Congressional seats to regain the majority, a scenario that Gillibrand says is "very doable."
In fact, she thinks that New York State could lead the way in this Democratic wave, with up to six GOP seats vulnerable in the Empire State. Lee Zeldin of Long Island, John Faso and Chris Collins upstate and a few others may fall like dominoes if the Democrats can recruit good candidates and exploit the Republicans mean-spirited and bumbling attempt to repeal Obamacare.
I agree with Gillibrand that it's important not to get too distracted by presidential politics, but it's hard not to fantasize occasionally when one hears the vile eruptions from D.C. and the White House.
I hope that Elizabeth Warren can travel the country next year helping all Democratic congressional candidates, especially much-needed female ones, get to the finish line in November 2018. It would be good to see her become a lightning rod that can energize the hungry Democratic base that yearns for some Bernie-like enthusiasm in 2018.
Similarly, on the West Coast, I'd like to see California Senator Kamala Harris emerge as a rising star capable of making voters excited about her potential to round out a Dem ticket in 2020. From what I've seen and heard from her thus far, she has the makings of a transformational public servant who can bring together the liberal and moderate wings of the Democratic Party.
And despite her careful reluctance, I would love to hear Gillibrand step up as a passionate voice of the resistance, whose message of economic equity struck me as somewhat unique. Despite representing the home of Wall Street, Gillibrand thinks that the main fault in our society lies with corporations focused only on profits and shareholders and not enough on employees and wages and benefits.
At a time of economic populism from both ends of the political spectrum, Gillibrand's message could resonate if she's able to hone it and deliver it loudly amidst the cacophony of Trumpism and the media's obsession with POTUS and his daily vulgarisms.
My domestic partner, Rebecca, dreams of an Elizabeth Warren/Kamala Harris ticket in 2020 and although it's a longshot, the idea sounds pretty good to me. After this ugly chapter in our nation's history, we will undoubtedly need candidates of substance and integrity to lead us out of the wilderness of disgust and cynicism about our federal government. I can't think of two people in the public arena more qualified to tackle this Herculean (or is that Wonder Woman-like?) task.
Let's support Dems like Kirsten Gillibrand in their laser-like focus of recapturing Congress in 2020 -- but let's also keep a vigilant eye on the Senators from Massachusetts, California and New York, who could learn from herstory and finally shatter the last glass ceiling in the Western World.
Tom Allon is the president of City & State. Questions or comments: tallon@cityandstateny.com