A New York State Of Mind

You know, she probably is doomed, and I don't like her stand on immigration, and I was a big Caroline Kennedy booster, but I really like Kirsten Gillibrand. She is the kind of moderate Democrat that helped us win back control of congress. Of course I like her pro-gun stance, even though that is what likely will doom her here in NYC. There really is an urban/rural split on this issue and it is as wide a chasm as the one separating people on abortion. Here in NYC, her stance will garner mostly ridicule and contempt if she doesn't moderate it, and I hope she doesn't.

She will face a primary full of angry people who think they were passed over for the job, as well as McCarthy of Mineola who will go after her based solely on her gun record. Bloomberg is already opposed to her, and she will very likely face Rudy Giuliani in the general election if she gets past the primary. Tough mountain to climb.

But they are already comparing her to both Clinton and Palin, and I heard someone call her an "Obama-style politician," and that means she must be a formidable campaigner and fund raiser.

Hell, I'll give her twenty bucks.

An interesting point on the coverage of Gillibrand. The New York papers and the networks, including the New York Times, are all referring to her as a "centrist democrat." But on NPR last night they called her "Conservative Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand" about ten times in as many minutes. They are focusing strongly on her 100% approval rating from the NRA and her reputation as a deficit hawk. To the New York Times she is "Centrist" but to NPR she is "Conservative." Interesting: that says to me that the editorial board of the Times, which is notoriously anti gun (like most of NYC) still looks on her as middle of the road. NPR, which lives further out to on the left than the Times, can lambaste her as being conservative.