"Barack and Michelle do a lot of touching, kissing, even FISTING with one another."
PIX NEWS is being told that Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand is the reported choice of Governor David Paterson to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton. Two Congressional sources say members of the New York delegation have been invited to join Governor Paterson for the announcement in Albany at noon tomorrow.Kirsten Gillibrand represents New York's 20th Congressional district (upstate counties of Saratoga, Dutchess, Columbia, Rensselaer, Washington, Warren, Delaware, Greene, Essex and Otsego). Upstate representation, as well as pressure to name a woman to the seat, were factors discussed in the media.Two members of that delegation, agreeing to speak without attribution, confirmed to reporter Marvin Scott that the Governor has telephoned New York's Democratic members of Congress for their views after Caroline Kennedy withdrew herself from consideration. One of the contenders, longterm Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney canceled a scheduled appearance on "PIX News Closeup" tomorrow because of a "conflict," which she did not disclose. She too will be in Albany. According to the sources, Gillibrand, now in her second congressional term, was favored by Secretary of State Clinton herself. Paterson has been under pressure to select a woman.
There is expected to be a webcast of the event, so stay tuned and check the Governor's web site. If I learn more I'll post it.
How is Gillibrand on LGBT issues? Her web site doesn't say anything about it. She's pro-gun, pro-family farm and wants health care reform. Looking at this site, it's a mixed bag. She supported non-inclusive ENDA.
* Voted YES on prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation. (Nov 2007)
* Re-introduce the Equal Rights Amendment. (Mar 2007)
* Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)
* Ensure access to and funding for contraception. (Feb 2007)
* She's a member of the "Blue Dog" Coalition of conservative Democrats. (Nov 2007)
UPDATE: If you look at the HRC scorecard, she scored 80 out of 100. And...
According to the Human Rights Campaign, she voted against the repealing of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" legislation, opposed legislation that would grant equal tax treatment for employer-provided health coverage for domestic partners, opposed legislation to grant same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents the same immigration benefits of married couples and opposed legislation to permit state Medicaid programs to cover low-income, HIV-positive Americans before they develop AIDS.Fail. We can't have an unreliable Dem vote in the U.S. Senate, but that's what the Empire State has now.
A little earlier today, Paterson's office released a statement regarding Caroline Kennedy's eleventh-hour decision to withdraw her name from consideration. All kinds of speculation has been under way in the MSM -- from Caroline being upset over her uncle Ted's declining health to a face-saving pullout because Paterson wasn't going to name her.
Last night Caroline Kennedy informed the Governor that she was withdrawing her name from consideration for an appointment to the United States Senate for personal reasons. This decision was hers alone.Since this leak about Gillibrand is now out, it looks like the face-saving excuse was closer to the mark.The Governor had a private conversation with Ms. Kennedy yesterday afternoon. Out of respect for her decision making process, the Governor's Office did not respond to any inquiries in order to allow her time to deliberate. The Governor considers Caroline a friend and knows she will continue to serve New York well inside or outside of government. We wish her well in all her future endeavors.
The Governor is now entering the final phase of his selection process. He has not informed any Senate candidates that they have not been selected, nor has any information gathered during this selection process created a necessity for any candidate to withdraw. Any speculation to the contrary is both inaccurate and inappropriate.
UPDATE 2: Now we know what the personal issues are, according to the NYT...
There was incredulity in Democratic circles Thursday afternoon after the governor's camp engaged in a ferocious public back-and-forth with Ms. Kennedy's side, reaching out to numerous news organizations early Thursday afternoon to disparage her qualifications; one person close to the governor said that her candidacy had been derailed by problems involving taxes and a household employee, but declined to provide details.That account was at odds with Ms. Kennedy's own description of her reasons for withdrawing. While not denying that issues had arisen, aides to Ms. Kennedy downplayed their significance, saying they had been aired out in discussions between the Paterson and Kennedy camps over the last two weeks and were not considered by either side to be disqualifying.
...The person close to the governor also said emphatically that Mr. Paterson "never had any intention of picking Kennedy" because he had come to consider her unready for the job.
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