# Dave Picks Gillibrand As Liberal Dems Howl



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Kirsten Gillibrand

ALBANY - Gov. Paterson, defying the liberal wing of his Democratic Party, has chosen little-known, NRA-backed, upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as New York's junior senator, it was learned last night. 
The surprising - and, for many Democrats shocking - decision to pick the conservative Gillibrand, 42, from Hudson in Columbia County, was disclosed by the governor in calls to party officials and some members of the state's congressional delegation, many of whom said they were unhappy with the selection, sources said. 
Gillibrand, a mother of two occasionally resented by colleagues for being an aggressive self-promoter, was strongly backed for the post by Charles Schumer, the state's senior senator, who said a woman and an upstater was needed on next year's ticket. 
Paterson's decision - to be officially announced today at noon at the state Capitol - was made just 24 hours after Caroline Kennedy took herself out of the running. 
The decision was a major rebuff to some of the state's best-known Democrats interested in Clinton's seat, including Attorney General and former federal Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo, for whom Gillibrand once worked as a junior lawyer; Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, and Reps. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan and Steve Israel of Suffolk County. 
Sources said "at least five" members of the state's Democratic congressional delegation called Paterson to protest the possibility of Gillibrand's selection. One, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of Nassau County, even threatened a primary challenge. Gillibrand faces a special election in 2010. 
Democratic activists predicted that Cuomo, son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, would also "seriously consider" challenging Paterson in a primary next year. 
Calls were made from Paterson's office to leading Democrats and Republicans throughout the afternoon, inviting them to a special meeting room attached to the Capitol for "a major announcement." 
The inclusion of several prominent Republicans among the invitees was an early sign to insiders that Paterson planned to pick an upstate Democrat. 
Gillibrand has won two successive elections in one of the heaviest GOP districts in the state, first upsetting incumbent Rep. John Sweeney and, in November, defeating former state GOP chairman and multimillionaire Alexander Treadwell, in one of the most expensive races in the nation. 
Liberal Democrats have been wary of her because she ran for re-election with the backing of the National Rifle Association, opposed the federal TARP program to rescue banks, and has been less than enthusiastic about gay marriage.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/0123200...icks_gillibrand_as_liberal_dems_ho_151502.htm


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## HiredGoon (Jan 21, 2008)

Pro-gun AND easy on the eyes! Excellent.


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## OfficerObie59 (Sep 14, 2007)

Somehow, doesn't it feel like this is the Democrats answer to Sarah Palin? Problem is, she very well may have to tone down her more conservative stances in order to get elected in 2010 and 2012, which is bad in everyway.


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*Gillibrand removes guns from under bed*

BY TOM BRUNE | [email protected] 10:06 PM EST, February 16, 2009








Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) shakes hands with Vice President Joe Biden, while her husband, Jonathan Gillibrand, stands in the center. (AP Photo / January 27, 2009)

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has moved the two rifles that she kept under the bed to protect her upstate New York home, her spokesman said Monday.

"Given that the location of the guns has been disclosed, they have been moved for security reasons," Gillibrand's spokesman Matt Canter said.

She relocated the guns over the weekend while upstate to endorse Democrat Scott Murphy in the March 31 election to replace her in the 20th District, he said.

He also said Gillibrand, mother of a 5-year-old and an infant, kept the ammunition separate from the empty guns, and then later called to add that the rifles were locked in a case while stored under the bed. She had refused to describe her gun safety measures.

-*Click for photos of Kirsten Gillibrand, and her family*

Gun-control activists questioned the safety of placing guns under a bed where children can find them and burglars look first. The National Rifle Association said it is up to gun owners to safely store weapons.

Gillibrand disclosed she had guns under her bed in an interview with Newsday last Thursday. A Newsday story on the interview ran Monday, prompting reactions by advocates for gun rights and gun control.

Gov. David A. Paterson, Sen. Charles Schumer and Mayor Michael Bloomberg declined to comment through their aides.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola), a gun-control activist threatening a primary challenge to Gillibrand over her pro-gun stance, said Friday said she does not criticize legally owned guns. McCarthy added, "I hope the guns didn't have bullets in them."

Rep. Pete King (R-Seaford), who has said he might run against Gillibrand, joked, "With Kirsten Gillibrand keeping two rifles under the bed and Chuck Schumer being so anti-gun, Schumer and Gillibrand have to be the Senate's oddest couple."

Gillibrand said she will make her first visit as U.S. senator to Long Island Friday. The trip's details haven't been released.

Gillibrand also has not replied to requests for a meeting by New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, said the group's executive director, Jackie Hilly.

As a result, Hilly said, the group will hold a rally on New York's City Hall steps Thursday to urge Gillibrand to work to pass three gun control bills. It will feature Lois Schaffer, a Great Neck woman whose daughter was shot and killed in her St. Louis home last December by teens with a stolen gun.

Long Islanders both criticized and defended Gillibrand.

"I am very upset about the whole thing," said Joyce Gorycki of Mineola, widow of a Long Island Rail Road official killed in the 1993 train shooting and co-chair of Long Island's New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. "I don't know why she needs two rifles."

But Tomasz Lorenc of Glen Cove, shopping at American Outdoor Sports in Farmingdale, said, "More power to her. There's nothing wrong with that. You have the right to bear arms."

Meanwhile, a search of the Lexis-Nexis database showed that Gillibrand has a Montana hunting license. But Canter said it's actually a fishing license.

Poll:
Vote: Guns OK?

Do you feel comfortable with Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand owning rifles?

I have no problem with it

I don't care, but how does her husband feel?

Why does she need guns?

It's insensitive to gun violence victims

Results:
Do you feel comfortable with Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand owning rifles?

I have no problem with it (6439 responses) 







96.8%

I don't care, but how does her husband feel? (42 responses) 







0.6%

Why does she need guns? (112 responses) 







1.7%

It's insensitive to gun violence victims (57 responses)








0.9% 

6650 total responses
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/politics/ny-usgill0217,0,903835.story


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## Killjoy (Jun 23, 2003)

> It's insensitive to gun violence victims (57 responses)


That's like saying admitting to drinking an occasional glass of wine or a beer is offensive to victims of drunk driving, or driving a fast car is offensive to victims of car accidents. If she wants to keep a couple of firearms for self defense who are you to evaluate her security concerns? Why can't people mind their own f*cking business!!


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