If the Democratic Party really wanted to beat Trump, they'd draft Mueller to run for President, with Comey or a woman military veteran for vice president. The country really needs a Cursus Honorum to qualify as a presidential candidate. A heartbeat and a college degree are simply not enough, and given the anti-abortion idiocies of the so-called "Christian" right, I doubt that the general public is ready for a gay president, although Buttgieg is certainly qualified by education and military experience.
1
I'm sorry, but Al Franken should be running for president right now, not Gillibrand.
38
After the way she shived Al Franken? Hard no.
37
One name explains her low standing: Al Franken.
37
Al Franken - please move to New York and run against her in the Senate! You will win in a landslide in my view.
35
A few days ago, the Times published an article covering New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's announcement that he's running for President as a Progressive Democrat --
A very astute Times reader posted the following comment --
"This will cut into Gillibrand's 0%"
And now - two days later - we have this article --
Hopefully Al Franken will reappear sometime early in 2020 to announce that he's running for President - and by then at least half the current clutch of "hopefuls" will have faded away -- including Ms. Gillibrand...
30
One by one these Democrat president wannabes will drop out and return to fleecing taxpayers in their do nothing government jobs. Meanwhile, they will amass small fortunes in campaign donations, which they will loot for self serving purposes after they leave the race. It's all about the money, as it always is.
11
The term karma springs to mind when you look at the unseemly
and opportunistic actions she took to discredit Al Franken. May those hang around her until it takes her out of the race. Her conduct has always seemed self serving, never for the benefit of the party or her constituents.
26
She is in her rightful place in the polls, and should drop out with grace and humility that hasn’t been part of her persona to date.
30
Al Franken. That's all I have to say and that's all that needs to be said.
37
Here's hoping that AOC resists the temptation to run for president in 2024 and instead seeks Gillibrand's Senate seat. The only thing better would be if Al Franken returned to New York and ran against Gillibrand himself.
21
This article is a really good example of the gap between media and voters
To the reporter, Franken is an old story--basically "another white guy, what's the loss?"
To voters who don't dissect and dismiss or promote primarily by race and gender, it is clearly still a very big deal.
30
Al Franken was an outstanding Senator. Al Franken was a formidable opponent to the likes of Trump and his minions. Al Franken made a few bad jokes. Al Franken was not perfect but he in NO WAY deserved the treatment he received as he was drummed out of the Senate. The Democratic Party lost a strong voice and tireless fighter for what is right. After what Kirsten Gillibrand did in hounding him out of the Senate with an indictment that served as a conviction, I will NEVER support her. And from the looks of her numbers it seems that there are many who share my sentiment.
67
I absolutely agree with this. I couldn’t believe she brought Franken down! She deserves to be ignored and lose any future election she tries to enter. Good riddance. Nothing like shooting yourself in the foot.
27
Why not gun control? She has been on both sides depending on her constituencies so she should be able to appeal to everyone.
10
I live in the congressional district the Senator represented. I was such a supporter of hers and even went to meet her at a local supermarket. I wouldn’t vote for her for dog catcher after she drove the best and brightest Senator out of office. What Franken did was silly but hardly worth her wrath.
53
Gillibrand needs to check her ego at the door and drop out of this race. She has zero chance and Ali g with 21 others should be honest and leave.
25
She shot herself in the foot by rushing Al Franken to the exit. She demonstrated poor judgement, narrow understanding, and zero strategy.
47
This person had an opportunity to work to rehabilitate a valuable, honest, decent senatorial colleague. Instead she worked to destroy Al Franken’s political career over his venial sins for which he sought forgiveness. She ruined the man for no good reason; only political expediency. She has NO chance to be the Democratic nominee. I, for one, will never support her and she will, in my opinion be first to drop out of the race. She is a despicable person. Strong words to follow.....
52
she is, and many see the same
11
She’s done nothing for NY and offers nothing for the country at large. Drop out and do us all a favor.
34
Al Franken for President!
48
Remember Al Franken.
49
My dislike for Gillibrand has nothing to do with her sex. She’s an opportunist and a whiner devoid of true convictions. We already have one of those in the White House. Being less awful than Donald Trump is not inspiring.
34
Franken! Franken! Franken! This woman doesn’t even belong in the Senate, running for President is a joke. Get off the stage, please.
49
She was conveniently for guns until it was more convenient to be against guns. She made Big Money from Big Tobacco helping them lie to us about cancer. She grandly ran Franken out while also being completely happy to share her campaign stage with an accused rapist.
A complete phony. I don’t trust a single thing she says on any issues to be the same thing she’ll say next week.
44
She'd make a better Republican!
13
@Vt
Don't even think of blaming this woman on us.
16
I love reading NYT comments on stories about Sen. Gillibrand. She tried to overcompensate for her illiberal past by hatchet jobbing Al Franken, and clearly it backfired spectacularly. People liked Al Franken way more than they like Kirsten Gillibrand, and people have long memories; that incident will prevent her from ever winning the Democratic nomination.
Doesn't help that she's basically the second coming of Hillary Clinton.
42
perhaps it is nother lack of organization why she failed. perhaps it is because she has shown to be unable to see nuance by pushing out one if the strongest male supporters for women's right over some stupid photographs some twenty years back and victimizing a woman who didn't want to be and wasn't a victim.
and then she tried it again with Joe Biden. you may sometimes cringe when you see it hear Biden, but a sexual predator here is not, and so isn't Al Franken. Men are voters, too, and there are many people it they who don't see this primary as a fight between woman (good) and men (evil).
34
Exactly. Thank you.
9
She's nothing. Name some accomplishments. Her biggest asset is her looks.
13
Kirsten - we need you in the senate. That is where you will make the most difference. Please understand and honor that. Sincerely, a New York constituent.
1
There is a meanness to her that is unappealing.
38
"Ms. Gillibrand charged in a recent CNN interview that there was some “gender bias” ... .."
Could it be because of the gender bias in her platform?
11
Trying to be open minded, I regularly listen to what Democrats have to say.
I can't draw any distinction between the candidates. They all think the same things, and repeat the same talking points day after day.
And they all seem to think anybody who dares disagree is "pure evil."
Makes me wonder if they will all show up to the first debate in the same car.
6
I am really encouraged by bad team player she is.the overwhelming # of comments called Gillibrand out for the opportunist and bad team player. she is. Maybe the best candidate will rise from the ~25, but it won't be her.
8
The Democratic Party as a whole should understand that they are losing a significant demographic because of their abortion stance. I support welfare programs, a stronger education system, environmental action and almost all the other issues the Democratic supports, but people like me are not willing to look the other way while 600,000 children die every year.
4
Fetuses are not children - they are potential children. That said, abortion is a form of killing that often can be avoided but sometimes is, sadly, justifiable. Democrats are not for abortions, they are for making abortion, a medical procedure, a matter between a woman and her physician.
Most pro-choice people would like to have as few abortions as possible without causing more harm than good. Criminalizing abortion isn’t the way to reduce abortions. Much better options include high quality education for girls, better sex education for all children and teens, and free access to long acting reversible contraceptives. Meanwhile, if the price of preventing a few abortions is destroying the environment, aggravating income inequality, compromising healthcare, attacking the rule of law and damaging social capital, trust, comity, and America’s reputation in the world, it’s not worth it. More people will die from unchecked climate change than fetuses will be saved from outlawing abortion.
Also, if you want to prevent abortions you shouldn’t let an employer opt out of including contraceptives in his employees’ health coverage, because of HIS religious beliefs. (Not to mention that some employers would claim suitable religious beliefs if it would save them a few bucks in premiums.)
I take comfort in the fact that it’s not guns or homophobia that make you willing to support the worst President in America’s history.
10
We remember Al Franken. Ms. Gillibrand's past can't be erased that easily and she should have skipped running for President.
50
I will never forgive her for what she did to Al Franken. When I see her or hear her name mentioned, that’s all I can think about. She deserves to fail in her quest for the presidency.
55
I am a Minnesotan who thought Al Franken was a senator I could be proud of. Yes, Al Franken did some things that could be called inappropriate. But he was also a senator who showed a good heart and was a steadfast and powerful voice for women's rights, as well as many other interests and issues that need a strong voice.
No one is perfect. She showed her true colors as a thoughtless, opportunistic partisan when she led the charge to expel him from the Senate.
I wonder who else Sen. Gillibrand would deny any shred of due process to if she were elected president. I can never support her to be President.
56
I'm not wealthy but I would gladly send her $500 bucks if she'd drop out of the race and resign from the Senate. I'd contribute another $500 to help fund The Kirsten Gillibrand Center for the Protection of Due Process at one of the SUNYs or maybe Harvard Law.
14
Somebody should ask Al Franken what he is thinking about all this.
28
Kirsten Gillibrand is in the same boat as every other democratic hopeful. None of them is going to be elected president. Much to my dismay and the rest of thinking Americans Trump will be easily reelected. Hate, lies and fear will prevail.
3
Why is everyone focusing on Franken instead of Mattress Girl? That said, I think Congresswoman Gillibrand would have made a formidable candidate. Senator Gillibrand? No way.
6
Al Franken, Al Franken, Al Franken. Nothing more to say.
34
I am a very mean person, but I get joy imagining that Kirsten Gillibrand reads these comments and understands how detestable her actions toward Al Franken were.
I will vote for the Democratic candidate regardless, but the realization that it won't be Gillibrand is a relief.
39
@Hope Madison
She'd just call us misogynists. She blames misogynists for everything that doesn't go her way.
19
Flip flopping for a Pol is a time honored tradition. Weather vane positions are the breeze that puts the sails of electability into motion. Never, I repeat never will authenticity enter this campaigns lexicon.
Better to “Be Brave” and fade away at .02% polling then continue a forced march of futility. Kirsten, we hardly knew yah, and let Mayor Bill know how the trail of tears will feel for him.
9
The Redemption Foresight is 2020 ticket. Gillibrand-Franken.
3
Gillibrand will rue the day she deep-sixed Al Franken. After that mistake, I couldn't take her seriously anymore.
46
What will Chuck Schumer tell her to do ? That's what she did her whole senate career
5
Gillibrand worked alongside the top tobacco industry lawyers to defend Philip Morris et al when they were denying that their product causes cancer. She is completely self-interested and without a moral compass. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/nyregion/27gillibrand.html
27
She's Linda Sarsour's favorite candidate and that's why she's no friend of mine.
10
The horrifying point of Trump's assertion that "If you're a star, they let you do it" -is that it is true. The women may object, but enablers will look the other way.
While dems will take women's votes, many will simply not choose the dignity of eight women over a man who was funny on television.
1
She showed calculated opportunism and a lack of good old-fashioned common sense by denouncing Al Franken. She just doesn't feel authentic.
30
Other people might have forgotten, but I sure haven’t: Gillibrand sided with Republicans on Iraq funding in 2007 and 2008. It reminded me of her predecessor, Hillary Clinton, who also began her tenure as a New Senator going hawkish on foreign policy. As for the Franken debacle, I got the sense it was more about wanting to be Queen of the Feminists than the sincere belief that he deserved to be sacked.
She‘s just another moderate-to-conservative Democrat who has rebranded herself as a progressive only after all the cool kids started doing it. She doesn’t have Elizabeth Warren’s meticulously crafted policy proposals or Bernie Sanders’ fiery anti-establishment appeal. She’s not as thoughtful and compelling as Mayor Pete, and she doesn’t have Biden’s name recognition. She’s thoroughly unremarkable. When journalists claim she’s being overlooked because she’s a woman, I dislike her even more.
32
There is nothing Gilibrand can ever do to win my support. She showed her true colors when she knee capped Al Franken.
42
If their campaign managers could work it out I see a ticket with natural synergy. I see a dream ticket of de Blasio and Gillibrand. He sends out impractical trial balloons and if one inadvertently gets some interest, she says it was her idea and has someone edit her wikipedia page before he has a chance to monetize it.
9
My hope is that Franken will establish NY state residency, run against this rank political opportunist, and send her back to rural update NY.
39
As a former upstater, I object.
7
She has no credibility . She also exhibits the same inability to say why she is running. She should drop out.
17
Forget about the flip flopping and the Al Frankenstein mess. She’s not getting any traction because she is deeply mediocre!
26
You know she is in trouble when a former strategist for Hillary’s failed 2008 campaign thinks she might have a good chance!
21
"“Democratic megadonors are blacklisting me because I refused to stay silent,”..."
Mini-donors have blacklisted you because you derailed a good man's career because of your own self-aggrandizement. Get lost. And quick.
53
Yep. We need all the weapons we can marshal against Donald Trump and she throws one of the best ones out of the Senate because in his past he was an over-the-top comedian. Way to go, Kirsten.
25
Kirsten Gillibrand should just give it up. She will never be the candidate, she will never be the President she has to pay for what she did to Al Franken - for not even letting him be heard out and have a hearing. There are too many people who resent her for that, and I don't think she has the chops to be President anyway. Abortion rights certainly won't be her rallying cry because it's not the problem with her in the first place. How does her staff not know this yet?
40
@Mara C
I agree that she lacks the depth and breadth of intellect and knowledge to become President. She's just trying to ride in on the coattails of #MeToo.
12
I could not be happier to see this, not only because of the despicable Franken episode, but because of her close relationship with ex-Sen. Al D’Amato. I did a double take when I saw him as the emcee at the time her appointment was announced. If you don’t know his background, do a Google search and you’ll see what I mean.
32
Wow. I see what you mean.
Yeah, the company you keep matters.
9
She lost my vote after Franken; as a matter of fact, she lost my attention.
41
After the opportunistic way in which she threw Al Franken under the bus, she is the one who should have resigned. Not only is her presidential campaign a non-starter...so is any thought she has of running for another term in the Senate. I can assure you, I will not vote for her again.
39
I voted for Clinton but would never vote for Gillibrand. Since I assume most people feel the same way, it would be a bad idea for her to brandish the feminist card.
14
I met Sen. Gillibrand a few years ago. I was excited to meet a a person who I thought was a champion of women's rights. We had a brief breakfast together where she only paid attention to the wealthy, well-connected people at the table. She struck me as disingenuous and I was incredibly disappointed by her shallowness. If she can't get the support of liberal women like me she wont get anywhere.
47
@M
No sincere champion of women’s rights would have so happily shared her campaign stage with an accused rapist.
3
Her campaign is struggling because those who helped her most--pro-gun voters in her House district; the Clintons; and Al Frankel--were all thrown under the bus by her for personal gain. Her only principle is ME ME ME.
30
I assume she is reading these comments, 90% of which are negative. And guess what? It won't make any difference because of her terrible traits of opportunism and narcissism, and loving the TV appearances and the free trips around the country.
She will be eliminated from the campaign by the DNC because of her 0% poll rating and the lack of the required donors. Kicking and screaming, of course. Probably will blame misogyny.
24
"...she had an A-rating from the National Rifle Association and spoke against illegal immigration..."
The Franken fiasco exposed Gillibrand as a hypocrite. The woman who had been generously given a pass for conservative pandering in a former life as an upstate rural politician could not find it in her now suddenly pure heart to forgive a fellow senator for his adolescent misbehavior in his former life as a clownish entertainer.
One suspects that Gillibrand would have emerged as a viable presidential contender if instead she had said to Franken something like this:
"We have all made mistakes and grown from them. I have made mine and you have made yours. While I cannot condone what you have done, I accept that you now have seen the error of these past behaviors and moved on."
Gillibrand is now uncomfortable being judged by her own harsh and demanding standard. She has no right to complain.
26
I thought the Franken thing would be her rightful undoing. Now I am not so sure. Have you ever listened to her speak on the campaign trail. She is just plain boring, mouthing cliches as if from a Hollywood script writer. Gillibrand is a former blue dog Democrat from upstate NY who jumped the line and was appointed Senator by an unelected Governor amid tremendous backlash against her appointment. Her incumbency got her re-elected in a Democrat State. But she was never ready for prime time.
23
Another political chameleon from New York. It is hard to fathom a less-interesting profile.
9
is she original and authentic in ways that make her a "must have" for the nomination ?
is she outstanding and charismatic in some ways...in any ways ?
lots of issues....
Trump will be hard to beat.....she is not the one
7
My teenaged daughter follows the Democratic women - and their dogs - on Instagram. We have been to Warren and Harris events in person as well.
My daughter feels that Gillibrand gives off a clueless, entitled vibe - Cross Fit, Dartmouth, idly rich husband. Not appealing.
Oh, and Warren's dog Bailey is cuter.
21
Senator Warren is probably the smartest person in that bunch about many other who are also very smart.
7
A lot of the comments on this thread show ire towards Gillibrand for her calling on Al Franken to resign. "If only thee democrats had stayed strong, he would still be in the senate!" one might say.
But then all you're demonstrating is that you'll go to any length to justify anything when your team does it, and savage the other team when a member of theirs does it. The partisanship on display is pitiable, and any one with any sense of consistency would be entirely unsympathetic to your arguments about all the horrible men on the other team when you make them.
I don't care at all about Franken. A political seat's earned, not given, and if he made bad decisions that caused others to question his ability to keep that seat, the fault's his.
5
The women who accused Franken disappeared after he resigned. Doesn’t seem like it was anything other than an attempt to oust him.
31
@Dufu
I totally agree. Certainly I miss Franken. And Gillibrand has clearly been an opportunist as her political career developed.
But on this issue I think she was correct. She knew that Democrats would be seen as hypocritical for calling out Trump if they did not call out Franken and Clinton as well, even though they're not as bad as Trump.
I don't support Gillibrand for President, and I think she should quit the race sooner than later. but I don't think people should demolish her over Franken.
2
I don't think Franken had ever been accused of throwing himself onto a teenage woman, holding her mouth shut and trying to force himself on her. I don't think he ever bragged about grabbing women by, you know. I don't think he had ever suppressed women's careers because they were women.
12
Other than that she's an opportunist, the argument for her being in the race is what? She and de Blasio....I think they've overjudged their broad appeal.
27
Her Righteous wrath towards SNL's senior comedian Senator Al Franklin may be forgiven by other righteous, judgmental women,
but it will never be forgotten by mankind.
18
She has 2 strikes against her:
1. She pledged to serve her full term (am I the only one who remembers?)
2. Al Franken (enough said until we get some dirt on her)
Woman or man, I only want DJT out of the WH. She doesn’t make the cut.
24
Her political career has always been entirely self serving. Franken was just the low water mark. I, for one, will not be serving her campaign in any way shape or form, and my sincerest hope is that she bows out very soon
29
Her treatment of Sen. Al Franken exposed her to all as the opportunist she's long been. She's beyond redemption. She would make a lousy president or vice president. After she drops out I don't think she should even write a book about her being victimized - no one will buy it.
I was disappointed that so many of the top polling progressives followed her lead to oust Franken, including Sanders, Warren, Harris, Booker...
23
Could there be a creeping, silent feeling, unsaid but palpable, that a woman cannot win? It would be of course instant death in this woke age for any democrat to say such a thing out loud. I suspect (but cannot prove of course) that many of the big donors believe this.
3
Hillary Clinton actually won the popular vote and would have won the election if not for Russian interference, so that disproves your theory.
8
Gillibrand disqualified herself when she went on a self-righteous and successful crusade aimed at Al Franken. His absence in the Senate has deprived us of a desperately needed voice of resistance and sanity.
46
Senator Gillibrand is a political opportunist who has always supported policies she believes will help her politically or financially from shilling for tobacco companies and gun manufacturers early in her career to her push to force Al Franken out of the Senate without a hearing or any due process to try to push herself into the front of #metoo.
It's likely she will try to take over reproductive rights issues to give a boost to her failing campaign, currently polling at around 0%.
People know a fraud and a phony when they see one. There are a number of candidates who truly care about reproductive rights and I hope they will come forward.
I hope nobody will be fooled by Gillibrand's cynicism. Over her political and professional life she has reversed herself so many times on so many important issues that I wouldn't trust on this.
Gillibrand is no leader. She's an opportunist. We need real leaders right now. One will emerge and it won't be her.
18
With the exception of Obama and the total accident of Trump, most Presidents have Governor experience.
I think some of these candidates would be well-served to get a job where your impact can be more clearly defined. Governors, Cabinet Secretary, Business or Large Ogranizational Leader....etc.
If you lack that executive experience, then you better have great oratory skills and have a very compelling background in a field like national defense, constitutional law, foreign policy or economics.
1
Gillibrand is another New Yorker candidacy no one wants or needs. Ms Clinton already broke barriers by becoming the first female major party presidential candidate and winning the election (and losing the electoral college). Gillibrand's focus on woman issues leaves out half the electorate, and ignores the important questions of income equality, healthcare stagnation, immigration, healthcare, climate change. She is probably for it if asked, but that is not in her message to the voters. Looking at her competition, Senator Warren is a candidate with great policy ideas who also happens to be a woman. Senator Harris is a woman of colour and feels like a more groundbreaking candidate. Both outshine Gillibrand in every aspect and leave her no room to stand out.
7
Abortion rights must be the rallying cry for every Democratic candidate. We are in a dire situation and need every Democrat to stand up for women. We also need every one of them to pledge to support whoever is the Democratic party nominee and to pledge to do everything possible to defeat Donald Trump. No equivocation.
6
Abortion-rights must be defended. They should not, however, be the rallying cry for Democratic candidates unless you want another 4 years of trump. People support a woman's right to choose, but they do not, as a whole, support a radical abortion agenda which is what some of the Democrats seem to be putting forth. We need to focus on economic issues and Healthcare. People don't like to hear this if they are Ultra liberal or Progressive. I am even to the left of both of those positions but I do not want another 4 years of trump and I live in the real world.
1
It’s struggling in part due to the male-dominated media, which has basically deemed Biden and a few other males as “electable” and largely ignored the voices of women and minorities running. The media is positioning this race more than any campaign could ever hope to.
1
Agreeing with many of the comments already listed. I was a fan of Senator Gillibrand until Senator Franken was forced to resign. To not let the process play out was beyond the pale. And, as Senator Franken stated , he was being forced to leave office while the serial assaulter got to remain in office. I will never consider voting for her.
22
Considering the way she threw Al Franken under the bus, Gillibrand deserves to be low in the ranking of contenders. I think she's manipulative and has no inner core. She just changes her positions to the fashion of the day.
10
How is her position on this issue different than any other Democratic candidate?
Tone?
Not enough to make the difference. She, and others who aren’t gaining traction, should drop out now.
3
All these candidates should be forced to return donor money at the end of the campaign, win or loose. Running should not be a spring board for a future post , a book deal, or whatever.
2
With all due respect she has no chance. It’s time for family and friends to intervene.
9
Even if Sen. Gillibrand were to take time from her campaign money hustle to read these NY Times readers' comments, I doubt they would they penetrate her shield of "me-too" opportunism. What goes around comes around. And that goes for her clueless campaign advisors. I miss Al Franken, the senator who, among other notable accomplishments, called out Judge Gorsuch for his insane dissent in the frozen truck driver case. We are stuck with Gorsuch. We have a choice with Gillibrand. No way, Senator.
24
From your article, I gather Senator Gillibrand lacks bankable charisma, has a vexing knack for bad luck and sways whichever way the wind blows.
I sure hope she gets the nomination.
She can forget about it. After the Franken Fiasco I have written her off. A lifelong Democrat from a family of the same, I couldn’t even hold my nose to vote for her. Finished before she even started.
12
When she infamously described herself as a young mother on national tv, I thought this older woman has no sense of reality. Not a candidate for me.
13
Gillibrand has zero charisma, and her quick disposal of Senator Franker is not winning her any real support.
12
Sorry, but Gillibrand has been a very effective senator for the entire State of NY - her major problem has been making herself heard above the fray of too many candidates.
Warren proved herself unworthy again - letting rip a bunch of anti-Semitic tropes attacking the worthy generous Sackler family, rather than the a company family members hold a large stake in.
(An action that, in itself, shows that like the NYT, she has no concept of the crisis caused by a social environment that has led many pale-skinned members of the human race to turn to the needle, ling embraced by either their marginalized closer cousins or their more-distant relatives with darker skin.)
Gillibrand, as the state’s junior senator has run a well-crafted constituent service operation - showing a concern for the people who elected her.
Warren played the ethnic card - and then, when the Aboriginal American community dissed her, failed to demand Trump hand the Cherokee nation the $1 million he promised her ‘favorite charity’ if his (derogatory name dropped) proved she had any aboriginal genes.
So the best female hope has twice shown herself subject to foot-in-mouth disease.
KG will not win nomination - but is fantastic vice-presidential material - especially as an active President pro-tem of the Senate.
She knows Washington and remembers she is a servant of the people, not their master.
As #2 to a really seasoned statesman - Pelosi or Biden she’d do our nation well.
1
@Eatoin Shrdlu
Gillibrand as a VEEP nomination would be Sarah Palin levels of terrible. Every time she opened her mouth there would just be questions about Al Frankin and her bungling of the sexual harassment case in her staff. And arguably rightly so since that's 99% of her presidential platform.
3
Well maybe she should then run as vice-president
I think her message was genuine but not sustainable politically. She may be back sometime but now 22 prospective nominees need to be left behind. It's not a black mark on any of the ones that withdraw or are rejected. They may each in their own way add a small bit to whoever gets the nod. The process is supposed to do that and I hope who ever takes on Trump gathers the best from the brightest and becomes better for the process.
What makes her unsustainable? The male-dominated media that had already deemed some candidates such as Biden “electable” rather than covering each campaign fairly and equally?
1
Few 2020 Democrats have been planning their run for as long as or with more focused determination than Sen. Gillibrand. Her current straits are a comment on that candidacy. While many may feel she was wrong and self-serving in her pursuit of Sen. Franken, that is a merely another point in a political career that often seemed to choose calculation and self-advancement over less conspicuous but substantive efforts. Oscar Wilde, burlesquing Dr. Johnson, seems to have had it right: "Ambition is the last refuge of failure."
11
She needs to step off the stage. She does not have an authentic, strong voice. With the taking down of Al Franken, and jumping on as a "leader" of the #MeToo bandwagon, she showed she's an opportunist through and through. As a female candidate, she doesn't do us much justice. There's no real substance to her worth.
37
It'll be the final nail in her political coffin. I find her to be one of the worst Democrats running.
22
I feel X is bad really should be followed by an explanation - you may have good reason - so say why.
That’s the beauty of this forum!
@Eatoin Shrdlu
Gillibrand led a mob to oust Al Franken from the Senate, ignoring his request for an ethics hearing - which was his right.
Gillibrand was the ringleader and the hysterical public face for forcing Franken's resignation with no due process.
Al Franken was a strong advocate for women and an intelligent, hardworking progressive senator. We know nothing about the veracity of the accusations against Al Franken and likely never will. Many of us think he was ambushed by GOP dirty trickster Roger Stone.
The voters of Minnesota should have decided Al Franken's fate, not Kirsten Gillibrand.
12
It takes a unique brand of denial for Gillibrand to ignore the anger democrats still have over her treatment of Al Franken. How she can believe she has a path is simply astounding!
There are so many good choices in this race - we don’t need another woman candidate who has mortally wounded herself. We need to win.
48
Frankin was fed up with the role he sought for so long.
He could have easily held out because his “crime” was so petty, especially given personal animosity between the two performers involved, one who has again vanished from view after using her 15 minutes to destroy a good senator, because he was petty under stress of a USO service tour.
Gillibrand has proven herself a solid senator committed to serving as he diverse people of NY, from the cities to the apple orchards of the poor Southern Tier.
Her major problem is explaining to the nation of that New York State is a microcosm of the nation - with a rustbelt and upper Appalachia above the glory and suffering of the nation’s First Capital.
2
Gillibrand like so many others now and before her run for presidency knowing there is no chance of it happening. They do this for media attention, followed by book deals.
9
Who told her to run for the President?
She thought since she treated Senator Al Franken so badly, she might get a sympathy vote from Me Too movement supporters. Well, where is that support Senator?
I would suggest that she should start worrying about her senate re-election. I hope she remembers what happened to former Senator Chris Dodd.
23
If they could turn the tide on reproductive justice, I would not hesitate to put aside any personal discomfort over a candidate.
It can't help if you replaced Hillary Clinton in the Senate and in a lot of ways come across as Hillary-Lite. She doesn't hold much appeal to me and comes across as insincere the times I've seen her interviewed. Also, right or wrong, she's still facing a lot of blowback for throwing Al Franken under the bus in the name of #metoo. Franken was extremely popular for his intelligence and tenacity and while the things he did were tasteless and tacky he wasn't exactly a Harvey Weinstein. I still think he resigned prematurely and more or less just got caught up in the whirlwind of that historical moment.
25
@Bookpuppy
"It can't help if you replaced Hillary Clinton in the Senate and in a lot of ways come across as Hillary-Lite."
Especially if you then throw Hillary under the bus when it's politically expedient.
7
More ambition than anything else here, and that is saying something in this overstuffed field full of overstuffed egos. There are currently more than a dozen delusionals and at best six or seven credible candidates here and she is not amongst the latter. Also: not a "young mom". Talk about trying too hard. I don't know enough about Al Franken's behaviors while in office to judge... but then, neither did Senator Gillibrand.
10
Gillibrand doesn’t even crack the top three of the women who are running
I would vote for Warren, Harris or Klobuchar before Gillibrand.
Gillibrand destroyed her career when she destroyed Al Franken. There are no other elected posts she can win. If she had a decent challenger in NY she would lose.
39
She can't undo what she did to Sen. Al Franken. It was a test of her character and she failed.
34
Gillibrand has always been a political opportunist with no moral compass, switching her positions on issues when it is politically expedient. She proudly boasted of her A rating from the NRA and expressed Trump-like views on immigration when she was a rep from upstate, then "evolved on the issues" when she was appointed to the Senate, and had to play to downstate voters. She also promised NY voters, as late as last October, that if reelected Senator she would not seek the Presidency. She has no authenticity, and most primary will voters reject the idea of opposing a Republican con artist with a Democratic one.
11
This reminds me of that old Madison Avenue joke in which an ad firm runs all kinds of studies and focus groups to find out why a brand of dog food just isn’t selling. Finally, someone pipes up in a meeting and simply says, “Dogs don’t like it.”
25
I echo most people. She made a grievous error in her handling of the Al Franken affair. She will not recover and she is DOA for 2020.
23
The candidate I wanted to back for the presidency had to resign because of her opportunism. Al Franken should be a 2020 candidate.
30
Ms. Gillibrand will probably never be able to recover from the Al Franken disaster.
I’ll certainly never vote for her, and it has nothing to do with her gender, as I would be thrilled to vote for Elizabeth Warren.
Gillibrand was on the NY ballot for the senate in 2018. I looked at her Republican challenger, decided she was too extreme and left the senate ballot blank.
Of course she was re-elected in a landslide.
Just like Kentucky will never get rid of Mitch McConnell, New York will never be free of Gillibrand, until they retire or die.
7
Maybe some day she will figure out that simply put, there is just something about her that renders her unlikable.
8
“It is surprising to me she hasn’t resonated with the electorate,” said Patti Solis Doyle... “She’s had the resources, she’s had the time, she’s also had a national profile, particularly on issues that truly resonated at least in the 2018 midterms..."
If there's anything voters hate, it's the feeling that they're being manipulated. All of this polling and 'being right on the issues' betrays a lack of genuineness.
For better or worse, we know who Sanders, Warren, Biden, Harris and even Buttigieg are. We don't know who Gillibrand is. It seems to be a moving target.
There are others we don't know yet--Inslee and Hickenlooper--that may still rise. Genuineness and commitment is more appealing than polling and triangulation.
9
What makes her a stronger candidate that Elizabeth Warren? She needs to address that. And true, she got over zealous about Al Franken. There's a lot that can be done in the Senate. She should keep that in mind.
3
'Due process' is a legal principle that goes back to "Magna Carta". It enters American law in the 5th and 14th Amendments and involves both fairness in procedure as well as in enforcement methods. It is an essential legal principle that you abandon at your peril because vacating such a precedent would be used by the powerful at the expense of the powerless.
Any candidate seeking public office who abandons basic legal principles cannot possibly win my vote.
15
I think Sen. Gillibrand's past is following her around like Jacob Marley's chains: she was conservative when she needed conservative Upstate votes and liberal when she needed liberal votes from the big blue downstate districts. That smacks of a lack of authenticity. Pile on the Al Franken fiasco and some of us wonder if this is all blatant political opportunism, as does rushing down to get some face time in on the abortion issue.
Meanwhile, she is running in a very strong field of men and women. Let's see how this all shakes out. There is plenty of time for all the candidates to do some face plants on the way to November, 2020.
180
@Khal Spencer I agree 100% - and I'm from NY.
12
@Khal Spencer
I agree except for the part about "running in a very strong field." Hillary Clinton got a lot of criticism for her 2016 campaign but it remains to be seen if Democrats will do better in 2020.
2
@Khal Spencer
I wonder what it is about Kristen that makes it so obvious she is a charlatan, considering that about 95% of America's politicians are.
I mean the DNC primary is essentially and brand building and book sales event at this point, just like the GOP one in 2016 was. Almost 25 candidates now!
7
Gillibrand lost me a long time ago with the role she chose to play with Franken. It reeked of political opportunism.
45
She is struggling because the media keeps the limelight focus on Bernie and Biden, totally missing the that this is a political moment we want to hear from and about women, esp. women of color. I am truly baffled why these white has been men are getting the media attention they do, when the sparks are coming from the female candidates. There is an gender bias clearly permeating the news media. And what do we get when we do not have women in power? Not parental leave, affordable daycare... we get the worst maternal mortality rates in the developed world (related to healthcare policy), women bogged down by unpaid care taking, and a national reproductive rights crisis. COVER THE WOMEN.
1
@Midwife
Baloney. The first ad I saw from Gillibrand was a facebook ad crowing over how she ousted Al Franken. Then her office encountered a sexual harassment accusation and covered it up and let go the woman accuser. Only when the press found out about the witnesses her office never questioned did she terminate the harasser's job.
Gillibrand talks a good game but when it came time for her to walk the walk she dodged it like everyone else. Every single stumbling block she's encountering literally is a result of some short term tactical move she decided to make.
9
@Midwife
Could you please tell us 3 things that your favorite candidate Gillibrand has done for her state as a senator?
I certainly am in favor of abortion, but Ms. Gillibrand's attacks on Al Franken were really foul. And it seems they have backfired because, in fact, instead of catapulting her to prominence, Gillibrand is yesterday's news.
Too bad. She had potential -- despite her proclivity for shape shifting.
22
Gillibrand's campaign is haunted by the ghost of Al Franken. I'm OK with that.
39
There's no shortage of problems/causes. The workable solutions are in short supply.
2
Shocking. A totally unqualified and somewhat disliked candidate that represents the far left wing of an increasing liberal party is drawing thin crowds. And this after restarting her campaign for a second time!
6
@William: How in the world can you consider a former Representative and multi-term Senator with an impeccable educational background “totally unqualified”?? You may not “like” her (a test to which male candidates are rarely subjected), but to argue that she is “unqualified” is illegitimate.
Gillibrand's treatment of Al Franken was unforgivable and showed extremely poor judgment.
46
Her best path forward is drop out and not try to turn herself into a President Uterus-in-waiting. Just like her backstabbing of Al Franken backfired spectacularly, so too will this latest attempt at reinvention. The problem with Kirstin Gillibrand is not that people don't know anything about her - it's that people know plenty and her approach to politics - craven and Machiavellian, represents everything most people hate about it.
41
I'll reconsider her candidacy the day after she issues a public apology to Al Franken,
30
@Joel
Not even then. Al Franken's political career is over because of her.
She should apologize to Franken and resign from office. I don't want her to gain politically from another craven, cynical act.
8
I’m surprised that she doesn’t realize that most Democrats will never forgive her for spearheading the ouster of Al Franken. I remember the NYT comments section when it happened, and 95% of the posts were furious.
62
@Kb Yep - and almost 95% of these comments are negative towards her too. And almost all of them mention Al Franken as the exact reason.
11
She can campaign on any issue she wants but she lost any bit of support from me when she railroaded Al Franken. I will smile a little inside when someone comes up with some dirt on her.
35
Senator Gillibrand should not be surprised by her poor showing. A glance over the terrain she has trod to get where she is shows us many, shall we say, missteps. I mention only a few.
She began her tenure as a Senator, after years defending big tobacco in lawsuits, with former Senator Al D'Amato by her side - along with the political chameleon, Senator Schumer. Where is Senator Pothole (D'Amato's nickname) now? Where is Schumer? They've left her.
From the start she seemed unsure about whether she should be a moderate, conservative or liberal. Such scrambled self-esteem bode ill. She squared off against former Senator McClaskill over the military's handling of female soldiers' complaints of sexual harassment & rape; she lost as she stood largely alone & McClaskill had support.
She took a stand on a Playboy model's complaints about Senator Al Franken that seemed harsh, unforgiving, doctrinaire - like the anti-abortionists she now pillories. She won with support from many Senate colleagues, except from Senator Schumer, & was criticized for not giving Franken any due process; her win looks like a Pyrrhic victory.
Senator Gillibrand has championed women's rights, but has done so more like a gadfly or firebrand than a reliable advocate. She spent 10 years building a poor image.
8
Kirsten Gillibrand is a weather vane.
Changing every past position that she had that conflicts with the black African American female liberal progressive heart, mind and soul of the contemporary Democratic Party.
Gillibrand is much too New York deja vu. A ghost shadow of Hillary Clinton.
8
Gillibrand should not have attempted to run for President but the reasons for not doing so are not clear to her. She thought that the #MeToo movement would produce a huge majority of women voters who would elect the first woman President, herself, in reaction to the male dominance of politics, and that that would be enough.
When Al Franken was accused of rude and sexually related antics, she was right up front insisting that he resign from the Senate, to show that no disrespect of women would be tolerated nor any consideration of relative degree of egregiousness would be allowed to reduce the severity of the consequences. By doing so she raised the ire of many who disapproved of Franken's acts but did not think they required expelling from the Senate someone who stood up to the Republicans and advocated for women's rights. But her behavior also showed a lack of concern for the consequences of her acts, the kind of arrogant self absorption that did not consider others.
She has not got the stuff to be a competent President.
226
Gillibrand is either deluding herself or lying to the rest of us when she blames her lack of financial support on “mega donors blacklisting” her for refusing to “stay silent” on Franken. I was one of her small dollar donors in an earlier Senate campaign, and I’m a woman who has endured her share of gender bias and harassment. What Gillibrand did to Franken really turned me off her. It was not “brave;” it was ill-considered and showed lack of respect for process and poor judgment.
We don’t need another person in the White House who shoots first and asks questions later (or not at all). There are great women running for President. Gillibrand is not one of them.
330
Her early campaign ads bragged about Franken and were spectacularly tacky. Plus she has no allies in her state. She apparently thinks you can rule alone or something. By the time her hypocrisy concerning harassment in her staff came to light I was actively cheering her failure as a candidate. thankfully there are other capable admirable women running. Gillibrand needs to drop out.
36
@al
Totally agree! While I'd vote for my neighbor's dog over Trump, I will never vote for Gillibrand in a primary. Never.
Al Franken was railroaded out of the Senate thanks to her. Meanwhile, GOP... well you where they stand on all of this.
35
@al
Ditto here. I'm in the same demographic as you. Female, feminist. The Al Franken thing makes it impossible for me to consider her. And there are better women candidates running. And men too.
35
It she had a shred of intelligence or decency, she would drop out now. Maybe take de Blasio with her. She has leas than a zero chance in this primary. Right now this is a narcissistic demonstration of how futilely she can blow other people’s money.
There are plenty of strong women’s rights advocates in this race who didn’t push a beloved Senator off a cliff to help her own far fetched presidential run.
The article is right - New York is a deep blue state with many Democratic donors. The fact that I don’t know a single person giving one of our own Senators a dime should tell you all you need to know.
84
@Solaris Mayor Bill has the NYCHA to lead his tenement POTUS project and dispels any air of competency concerns. “We’ll get the lead out” proclaims the campaign chair who also says the backlog of past sins are remaindered to then court of a higher purpose.
Park Slope Y his Campaign HQ to reduce in-transit times.
Shelly Silver and Dean Skelos to run his finance and fundraising Campaign from Sing Sing.
Mayor Bill’s excellent adventure!
2
@Solaris @Solaris Mayor Bill has the NYCHA to lead his tenement POTUS project and dispels any air of competency concerns. “We’ll get the lead out” proclaims the campaign chair who also says the backlog of past sins are remaindered to the court of a higher purpose. Park Slope Y his Campaign HQ to reduce in-transit times.
As you expect, Shelly Silver and Skelos the campaign fund raising co-chairs.
It seems that in October 2018 Kirsten Gillibrand pledged that, if returned to the Senate seat gifted her by HRC, she would serve out her term---yet now we see she is actually running for president after all! Could it be that she's trying to help with the shortage of Democratic candidates? Is that the circumstance that forced her to break her pledge? Really, at this point we have only a few more than twenty!
But all "kidding" aside, I must say that I can never again look at Gillibrand without utter contempt after her opportunistic, attention-grabbing rush to undermine any chance that Al Franken, a great senator and human being, might have had to save his career. Kirsten's needlessly hurried demand that Al resign was a huge help to Sean Hannity's friend, LeeAnn Tweeden who, taking advantage of the climate of the moment, interpreted a joking, silly photo for the basis of her charge against him. As far as I'm concerned, Gillibrand is not one bit better than Tweeden. They were both cohorts in a great injustice, one that to this day still upsets me.
81
@Jim Weidman
Yes, but why wasn't that episode fully investigated? As I recall, she associated with Roger Stone, who had predicted that something was coming down on Franken days before she made the allegation. That picture had been around for years. Why then? Also, the other incidents seemed suspicious, yet no one delved deeper. I still believe it was all a setup.
15
@dba
Many believe Roger Stone set Al Franken up with Tweeden's help. It's not like Roger Stone hasn't used dirty tricks before to ruin political opponents.
I'll be happy when Roger Stone is in prison. It won't be justice for Al Franken. But at least it will be karma.
10
If she’s near the bottom of the polls, the next step should be the very bottom.
She offers nothing to the nation in general, nothing to New York State, and was so eager to push Senator Franken off the cliff.
I’d like to say, “Go home,” but unfortunately she represents my state.
Kirsten, while you’re at it, take Bill de Blasio with you. He’s another worthless pol.
69
I have graduate degrees in transnational feminist studies and clinical psychology, and specialize in women with sexual abuse trauma. My deceased mother was a nurse practitioner in Planned Parenthood from 1980-2012. Gilliband is a political opportunist, and I question if she would have ever stepped foot in Alabama otherwise. Her crusade against Al Franken (a strong senator) was about her political career not the country.He was willing to go through ethical review, willing to have a discussion, and supports women rights despite his stupid decision--he isn't Trump or Weinstein. She also has flipped flop on so many issues, and seems to lack integrity. Warren is obviously very invested in white and women of color, and has solid policies to support how she might change our policy that favors wealthy men. I agree that women candidates are seriously undercut, but political consistency is far more important than empty identity politics. Aside from Biden, I am confident that all the top tear candidates will protect women's reproductive rights.
165
@Allegra
Let's remember on abortion, women don't get pregnant all by themselves. In each case, let's look at the man involved!
6
It's not a coincidence that Gillibrand was appointed to take Clinton's Senate seat and this article quotes multiple people who worked on Clinton's presidential campaign saying how fab Gillibrand is.
Or that while Gillibrand is characterizing lack of support following Franken's ouster as "blacklisting" because she "refused to stay silent."
Clearly no one in Gillibrand's circle thinks she did anything wrong regarding Franken, or no one she'd believe if they tried to tell her. She sees what she did as an act of courage.
Gillibrand and her band of supporters are completely clueless, while also endlessly ambitious. And willing to throw people under the bus.
That's why she has no support. It's not misogyny.
75
Two words: Al Franken
78
Uh, her low poll ratings are because she's not a good candidate and never will be. She doesn't have a chance, even at a VP spot. She's a weak senator and doesn't deserve to be president.
32
The only way she can redeem herself is by giving up her senate seat and handing it to Al Franken.
70
Two words: Al Franken
49
She may be a fighter and an optimist. But she doesn't have wisdom.
And she's for justice except when she isn't, then she's a hypocrite ... as with Franken.
She's not worthy. Hope she is eliminated quickly.
43
We lost a fantastic Senator in Al Franken and one with some heavy brain power. She is a back stabber. No way will I vote for her.
84
Gillebrand really lost me when she hung Al Franken out to dry without a hearing. She strikes me as a phony without any true convictions. No one cares what she has to say. The sooner she steps aside, the better.
60
She is the single least compelling candidate in this terribly overcrowded field of narcissists.
22
@William
Get to know Bill De Blasio.
4
Kirsten Gillibrand simply has no message.
Being "for women" is not enough of a reason for anyone to vote for her.
She is trying to grab onto a sliver of identify politics, and compared to some more far-left progressives, she comes off as only half-baked.
Time to stop the charade and admit she is in over her head.
She is lucky enough that she was appointed senator.
That's enough privilege for someone who fundamentally hasn't accomplished much.
31
Maybe Sen. Gillibrand should have spent some of that money polling the popularity of sandbagging Al Franken. It appears that she has accumulated a lot of opposition from that charade. Or maybe she can tell Joe Biden to leave the race and resign the Vice Presidency after the fact for his touching incidents.
36
The issues is that in a crowd of 22 (?) candidates she simply does not stand out, and if you don't stand out, you are toast.
12
She's struggling because she's opportunistic to the extreme and the queen of gender grievance. And, she writes men put of the future.
No further explanation is needed.
17
@Wine Country Dude - "And, she writes men put of the future." What on earth does that mean? That this Comment has so many Recommendations is causing me to think the Gillibrand bashing is cynical. Beto O'Rourke lost a campaign against Ted Cruz (!) and he seems to be more popular than Senator Gillibrand. God help us.
@Jenny
Do some online research about her tweets before you act so astonished.
May the ghost of Al Franken haunt her for the rest of her career.
101
If she really wished to improve her standing with Democratic voters, she could withdraw from the race and encourage Al Franken to get in.
63
“It is surprising to me she hasn’t resonated with the electorate,” said Patti Solis Doyle, a Democratic strategist and campaign manager for Hillary Clinton in 2008. “She’s had... a national profile... on issues that truly resonated.. in the 2018 midterms:...sexual harassment and women’s issue’s writ large.”
Yikes, and to think Patti Solis Doyle gets paid to give candidates advice like this (!). I strongly believe that Trump can't be defeated by a candidate who stresses issues such as this, for numerous reasons. Which for Kirsten Gillibrand may be an inconvenient truth. But if she hasn't figured this out yet, I think she fails the judgment and strategic thinking tests already.
21
The Franken episode has consequences. And her close proximity to Hilary Clinton doesn’t help either.
35
Never forget: Al Franken!
64
Running on the corpse of Al Franken is apparently not such a great idea.
55
Franken should be running for president, not Gillibrand.
99
@sj
Al Franken could have defeated Donald Trump. We are all paying for Gillibrand's mess.
11
@sj
"Franken should be running for president, not Gillibrand."
Hollah!
4
This is positively delightful news! Good riddance to corporate puppet. I hope she also loses her senatorial election next.
30
Al, Franken, where are you? Read the article and read these comments. Get past Gillibrand. As the article makes clear, most of us already consider here a careerist non-entity. I suppose that's some modicum of justice after all.
But, Al, we need you. We miss you. Please come back! Run for president, host Meet the Press, whatever, just get your voice back out there!
85
Regarding all of the comments about Al Franken, I wonder about a double standard. She took a very hard line on a senator who misbehaved. Trump won the presidency despite being a mendacious sexual predator and accused rapist. Obviously they are entirely different people with different bases. But what of the differing standards? Trump has ruined people’s livelihoods, and, in some cases, their lives. I am not looking to defend (or condemn) her actions with Franken. What I am concerned about is the grudges held against the female candidates that the male candidates don’t face.
1
@Sarah - There is no comparison. Franken as a comedian acted in a way that was silly and perhaps ill advised, that's vastly different from a man who brags about sexual assault and as a long history of mistreating women.
20
@Sarah
When asked about differing punishments for differing behaviors, Gillibrand said that it would shame her to tell her daughter that any kind of a gray area existed.
She openly and loudly advocated for zero tolerance to mean maximum punishment, and eschewed any kind of institutional system to hold Senators responsible for their actions. Her judgement was enough for a maximum punishment in her view.
None of the other women running for president have this issue, none of them chill me the way Gillibrand does in her absolutism and her inability to see why what she did is not healthy for the country. Gillibrand is unique in this.
2
Tone-Deaf 2.0: “'It is surprising to me she hasn’t resonated with the electorate,' said Patti Solis Doyle, a Democratic strategist and campaign manager for Hillary Clinton in 2008."
49
Gillibrand turned me off when she led the charge against Franken, an articulate progressive whose voice we needed — but instead he was forced to resign without even the benefit of an investigation. I thought the entire equating of his actions as a comedian with the truly disgusting behavior of Trump and a myriad other sexually harassing men was ridiculous, and I believe I am not alone in this. Gillibrand's stance in this reeked of showcasing ambition. Plus, she's a Blue Dog at heart. There are many far better candidates.
56
Some of my questions regarding Gillibrand's positions were answered in a recent interview with David Remick on The New Yorker Radio Hour podcast. I remembered her as the politician who switched her views on guns, losing her A rating from the NRA. That had impressed me. And her interview impressed me. She's aggressively anti-Trump in all the ways I'd want a candidate to be, and very clear and strong in her views, which I agreed with. On the basis of what I heard, more than any other Dems running at the moment, I would seriously consider voting for her.
But Gillibrand sabotaged her trustworthiness, as well as our desperately needed progressive agenda, when she decided it was a good idea to be the self-righteous arbiter of Al Franken's moral failings. It is sad. And for once, I mean that in the non-ironic definition of the word.
117
@Round the Bend You may have noticed that Remnick avoided asking her anything about Al Franken, only saying at the beginning that she fiercely responded to that report.
That was disappointing, since her connection to Al Franken's resignation is the first - often the only - thing commenters here mention.
She is definitely not Presidential. Kobuchar, Harris and Warren are in a different class than Gillebrandt.
17
Why are we examining the ups and downs of each candidates polling numbers at this stage? Let all the announced candidates have their say during this period regardless of their position in some silly poll. No one has made up their minds yet.
3
While Gillibrand is pledging to nominate only justices who'd uphold Roe v. Wade, Warren is calling for a pro-choice law voted by Congress and thus not dependent on SC justices. Warren is absolutely right.
In France we have had a pro-choice law voted by parliament since 1975!
22
I am one of Sen. Gillibrand's constituents and I voted for her last year.
The Senator repeatedly promised that she would serve if re-elected and now she rarely shows up for work to serve her constituents anymore. Yet she happily cashes her paycheck on the backs of taxpayers. That’s not brave.
53
I was frustrated with how Gillibrand dealt with Franken, but I would be glad to revisit her candidacy if she can move the needle on this fraught issue. With Roe dangling by a thread, we're pretty much at the point where anyone's ideas deserve to be on the table.
2
"Ms. Gillibrand’s argument that she is the advocate in chief for women ". This is what turned me off about Gillibrand. When you start with identity politics at this level, you automatically exclude other identities like my 2 sons. My preference is for Warren who has not only articulated consistent policies to help the remaining 90%, but has done so in a manner to help everyone. Its irrelevant to me that Warren is a women. Its her performance and her policies that matter.
26
I was walking on the Hill and overheard some staffers talk about how “toxic” she was. They probably shouldn’t have said that in public and I shouldn’t have overheard it, but it makes sense.
Her rush to condemn the Clintons and demand Franken’s resignation is the tip of the iceberg. In my opinion, she is opportunistic, power hungry and lacks any core principles. People can sense her lack of genuineness and it explains why she’s at the bottom.
224
I was appalled, along with many other people, with the way she lead the attack on Al Franken. Her former stand on gun rights was also very self-serving. I will not vote for her.
44
She's not my cup of tea...ah, upstate NY apple cider. I much prefer Kamala Harris or Amy K. Both were splendid in the Kavanaugh hearings (as was Sheldon Whitehouse for that matter).
13
@LMT - Amy K.'s high staff turnover is more than an indication of appallingly bad manners and poor people skills, it's a sign of incredibly bad management. She's not presidential material.
8
@DR. That hurt DJT too. /s
1
Gillibrand made a mistake with Al Franken, a big mistake. At a time when we needed all hands on deck, she led the charge against a very good senator. No way could I donate to her.
88
Al Franken.
Too bad, because Gillibrand checked all the boxes on the progressive agenda. I supported her.
But the Bill of Rights is a big deal for me. Particularly the Sixth Amendment on rights of the accused.
27
I think in this election women's issues which Gillibrand seems to champion are on the second tier of issues. For Democrats the three main issues appear to be preserving democracy from an authoritarian takeover led by Trump, addressing climate change, and addressing income inequality. It is a little mystifying why there are other good candidates at around or less than 1% while Joe Biden is close to 50%. It would appear to me that most Democrats are making the decision based solely on who can defeat Trump and Biden appears to score highest on that. I think Gillibrand like many other candidates are a victim of the way Democrats are choosing candidates to support. The primary apparently is not to get the best potential president but to nominate the candidate who has the best chance of defeating Trump.
1
For our purposes the best candidate is the one who can massively defeat trump. Without the demise of trump and republican CONtrol no
Positive change will occur. While Biden doesn't excite me, IF he can squash trump, I'm fine with that. It's crazy to have so many democrats running 23? Circular firing squad. Most of them are in it for their ego to 'build their brand'.
15
Nobody cares what she has to say. She will always be remembered for Al Franken, who as actually good at his job, while she is not. Sorry sister, it ain't about anything else.
223
I agree. I absolutely loved Al Franken. He IS a comedian. Much of his hilarious book addresses the difficulty conservatives have with irony/comedy. The me too outrage about him was similarly misunderstood. I am a female by the way.
64
@thewriterstuff. She also shilled for Big Tobacco and helped the hide the results of damaging tests results on the dangers of smoking. And then there is that 100% approval rating from the NRA. She is running in the wrong party. First Gillibrand , now DeBlasio. What are they smoking in New York?
39
@thewriterstuff
I surely Miss Al Franken & Charlie Rose could they have been that sexist? I sure dunno ,only what I read on the web.
Can someone really contributing to our culture and living ever get a second chance?
4
If she's this unpopular now, imagine a general election. She needs a to take a hint.
88
To everyone that claims that a woman, any woman would be the best choice as the Democratic nominee for a presidential run, Gillibrand is the prime example of how wrong you are. Women are no better than me when it comes to being a self enriching weathervane willing to throw a far superior senator under the bus. We lost a lot with the departure of Al Franklin, for what was a immature act but hardly could be considered assault by any definition.
Ms. Gillibrand disgusts me, and cannot be trusted to do anything that isn’t in her own interest.
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@Paulie I totally agree. I'd vote for her (unhappliy) in a general election if the chocie was her or Trump, but there are far better and more deservng candidates. What she did to Al Franken was naked opportunism at it's worst and we lost far more than we gained by her self-serving, foolish action. She needs to go away.
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@Forsythia715
"I'd vote for her (unhappliy) in a general election if the chocie was her or Trump, "
As weird as it feels to say this, I don't think I could. I'd have to vote 3rd party or leave it blank.
Gillibrand is an absolutist for whom zero tolerance means maximum punishment. She is a hypocrite on her most loudly championed positions, has alienated all her working contemporaries, has no strategic sense about her, blames other people for her failures, and most of all she doesn't believe in the institutions of government when she wants her way with something.
While her policies may align more with my priorities than Trump's do, I consider her almost as dangerous as Trump.
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I feel that way about Biden. I’m not the only one. Biden is not always pro choice.
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Daughter of a political dynasty––even if was matrilineal, opportunistic even before knocking out Franken just to call herself a champ, brings nothing that isn't also supplied and better by other candidates: in short, no reason except her own ego and ambition. She's going to leave the race eventually so she should better serve her country and especially her party by getting out of the race as soon as possible, so precious resources now squandered on her can be better allocated elsewhere––and commit herself to being the best senator she can be for NY. If there's any chance at redemption for her, she's going to have to accomplish something new and big and not so transparently self-serving. The best she can hope for is a gradual reduction of the numbers of people who feel nothing but contempt for her. Among everyone I know who shares this contempt, not one feels it any less vehemently with the passage of time; her contention for the nomination just inflames it further. Maybe those of us who think this are just a little echo chamber, but I'd be surprised if her internal polling doesn't show this. People who work on her campaign could get out now and still have a chance to support someone more worthwhile.
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She could rise from the Hudson on a clamshell bearing free college vouchers for everyone and she's still not winning. If leading the charge against Senator Franken felt good at the time, then at least she has that memory.
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@Blair Great comment. Thank you.
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The only good thing to happen to Gillibrand since she announced was DeBlasio announcing - at least now she’s guaranteed to have someone less qualified and lower in the polls than she is.
Agree with the posters who decry her attack on Sen. Franken, who we see around the city now and then. Can we speed up residency requirements and get him on the NYS Dem primary ballot to run against her? Please?!
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@Ec Please tell me this is being talked about seriously in New York. I love it.
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@Ec Oh, I never thought of that, of Al moving to New York and primarying Gillibrand out of her seat in the Senate---we have, I believe, until 2024 to accomplish this. How I wish it could happen. It is so rare to see any justice in this world that is real and complete. And I'll bet it might actually be possible!
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@Ec That would be awesome.
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In 2017 she wanted to "demand" that Donald Trump resign because of alleged sexual harassment by many women. But she had two problems - Al Franken and Bill Clinton were in her way.
So she railroaded Franken out of the senate before he could defend himself against "inappropriate hugging," and stated her former good friend Bill Clinton should have resigned in 1998 because of the Lewinsky scandal.
Of course if the governor of Minnesota were a Republican who would have chosen Franken's replacement, she never would have gone after him. And if Hillary Clinton were president she never would have gone after Bill Clinton.
Combine that with being a loud and proud A-rated NRA and to the right of Trump on immigration when she represented an upstate congressional district.
Will the abortion issue help her? Yes. I predict she will go from 0% to 1% in the polls. That is her ceiling.
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Gillibrand needs to accept that a large majority of her potential backers feel the evidence against Franken showed only a vulgar SNL comic, not a harasser; that Franken was a vastly influential and important senator whose commitment, intelligence and hard work dwarfed Gillibrand's own; that she made a major mistake in pressing hard for his resignation and needs to own that mistake, conspicuously, contritely and in public. Everyone makes mistakes; what makes character is acknowledging and accepting them.
Until then, she's just another vain, selfish politician who won't and perhaps can't admit mistakes. A female candidate in the mold of Donald Trump is still in the mold of Donald Trump, dramatically overshadowing any advantage she may otherwise enjoy because of her gender.
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@NLG
Well said.
I would only disagree with your remark "overshadowing any advantage she may otherwise enjoy because of her gender." Being female is never an advantage in politics; only a series of obstacles and double-standards.
Anyone who believes misogyny isn't a factor in politics need only look at the results of the last presidential election.
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Didn’t Hillary get more votes than Trump? So, it’s clear that Americans are willing to vote for a female candidate.
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Right on the mark. I’d love to have Al Frankenstein involved in our debates and so should the party. Our country is in so much trouble that self righteous single issue candidates need to be called our as incredibly selfish
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It doesn't make any difference what she does. She will be known forever as the one who pushed Franken off the cliff.
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I agree, and I voted for Gillibrand, with Patrick from Wisconsin. I am a long time feminist, but I will carry until my dying day resentment at Gillibrand's outrageous response to Al Franken, whose departure from the Senate was a crime committed against us. From the little we know, the charges against him were silly. I'd slap the guy in the face and have done with it. I do sympathize with her cries about sexism, and I think she has a point when it comes to the machines that rule our politics, but she comes from a privileged background and has had many a hand up the political stairs of New York State. Be a great senator, would you? Then I will entirely respect you. Who are all of these folks running for president? Have they fallen in love with their own PR? I am exasperated.
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Just another fungible talking head, shunted in to her job just like Hillary was.
Next.
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@asdfj - I don't think there's any comparison at all between her and Hillary.
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Except that in Hillary’s second senatorial race, she won by a landslide.
Glad to have helped inform you.
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Two words why I would never support Kirsten Gillibrand: Al Franken.
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@Michael Simmons. That and three letters...NRA. for me.
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Given that the media has bee studiously ignoring Gillibrand all along (and downplaying the other women in the race), it's not a surprise that she's struggling, or that the Times would choose to focus on that.
Funny how that works - because Gillibrand would seem to be the kind of centrist Democrat so beloved by the punditry - especially since she angered so many of those 'dangerous' lefty 'extremists' when she (and many others) called on Al Franken to step down.
She's still paying for that - even though she has made mistreatment of women one of her issues from day one, and the other Democrats who also called for Franken to resign let her take the lead on it because of that record.
But that's largely what we hear about, if the press covers her at all.
This story illustrates how overly important money has become. If you don't have it, you don't have a hope.
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@Larry Roth - Gillibrand was more than happy to have press coverage for the Franken situation. She can't complain about it now and neither should anyone else.
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@DR And you know this how?
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
She would have been called a hypocrite for not saying anything about Franken 'because he was a Democrat' any time she tried to address sexual aggression against women in the future.
She would have made the women who had looked to her for leadership on these issues feel betrayed if she said nothing. She would have betrayed her own principles.
It wasn't just one incident with Franken - there were others. Gillibrand was not the only one to call for Franken to resign - but she's been made the target for it. Because of her prior record on these issues, the other Democrats in the Senate let her take the lead on Franken.
Now we know why. There's no percentage in doing 'the right thing' in politics these days.
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@Larry Roth - I know it because she looked perfectly happy grandstanding at every possible opportunity.
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Al Franken. That is why she is losing and should lose. Justice is a fundamental right in our society, and when a woman who labels herself a feminist, and demands justice for women, takes actions that denies justice to others, she makes a mockery of justice. This is what she did with Al Franken.
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It's not gender bias, and it's not blacklisting on the part of megadonors.
It's choosing not to give to her because of her despicable actions against Al Franken. Her name will always be intertwined with that opportunistic decision and tainted by it.
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@Hope Madison..adding to your point, if it were simply the megadoners disappearing, how does she explain that she doesn't yet have those 65,000 donations of as little as $1?
I'm a Minnesota voter. I should have been able to have a say in how Al Franken was treated. I would vote for him again in a heartbeat.
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@Gloria
Me too, from New York City !
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@Gloria I agree with you, Gloria, but I really thought the Minnesota voters would have rallied around Franken and told Gillbrand to pound salt. But the Minnesota voters didn't. I'm really puzzled by that issue.
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One thing. Al Franken. Enough said.
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Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar all have clearer motivations than Gillibrand. Her record shows a cynical flip flopper reacting too quickly to any slight shift in the bandwagon's direction. All of the other more qualified candidates strike me as standing for something as opposed to Gillibrand's hopping on the latest polling data and calling it character. I think people will be rolling off support daily and she will soon be deservedly out.
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Two Words : Al Franken.
She will be lucky to get into the Top Ten. Very lucky.
Uh, BYE.
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I watched her Town Hall. She obviously has a brain in her head and talent. However, so do 22 other candidates and she has nowhere near the powerful presence that Harris and Warren project.
In short, notwithstanding hailing from the Empire State, Gillibrand has no chance. Of course, neither do most of the other announced candidates.
It is noteworthy, for example, that none of the earnest young white guys have become serious contenders. That must have come as a shock to them.
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@Lefthalfbach
I disagree about the Town Hall performance. Yes, she is smart and experienced, yet she was clearly nervous, speaking rapidly and ending a lot of her sentences with a kind of uncertain "Did I do ok?" type of intonation. She was also unprepared--and admitted it--for two pretty basic questions. Points for honesty, but you can't say "I don't know, I haven't really thought about that" this close to election time. At least offer something--let us see how you reason when confronted with the unknown. But twice she had nothing, and it looked pretty bad for her. Not exactly presidential.
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@tom
ehhh- maybe. It obviously did not help her.
Honestly, everybody currently under 5% should just drop out. It is becoming somewhat of a farce.
Having said that, Klobuchar is still under 5% and I think she has some chops.
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She saw no distinction between Al Franken's antics as a professional comedian and real sexual assault. She had an A rating with the NRA but now she's a progressive on guns. She's an all-or-none thinker, which is the last thing we need in a politician.
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Nobody deserves attention, donations, or good polling. Gillibrand isn't a blank slate, and her cynical attack on Al Franken revealed poor judgement, opportunism, and an embrace of reactionary sexual politics.
As far as I'm concerned, she's said and done nothing to recover from that, and she's doubling down by blaming sexism for her poor showing.
There are already too many candidates; Gillibrand should drop out.
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@Patrick - Well said. I agree with you.
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Wow. I thought I was the only person who resented her attack on Al Franken. Based on the comments here, obviously I'm not alone.
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@Tom B.
She also represented when a lawyer ,that killer weed manufacturer aka big tobacco yah know
cancer stick cigarettes..what an industry to align yourself with.
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