Reply #7: I'm happy, however it happens, but Gillibrand's taking the lead on this is very

[No Elephants]

conveeeeenyent.

Like her potential rival, fellow "centrist" DLC Chair Ford, plans to run for Senator of NY seems to have changed a lot of the positions Gillebrand had espoused when running for Congress from a relatively conservative district. Both candidates have to carry NYC, which is thought to be liberal, despite years of electing Guiliani and Bloomberg.

So, I don't like the apparent cynicsim. Still, change for the better is far, far better than change for the worse, and I like her current positions. (She even voted against the unconstitutional ACORN bill.) Nonetheless, I will recall her history:


"In 2007, Gillibrand received an 80 out of 100 rating from the LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign—the lowest score out of New York’s Democratic representatives.<74> She declined to cosponsor legislation repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. She voted against legislation to grant same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents the same immigration status of married couples.<75>

In an interview with the editorial board of the New York Times following her appointment to the Senate, Gillibrand insisted that she had supported same-sex marriage since shortly before her re-election to the House in 2008.<76> On the morning of her appointment to the Senate, she called the Empire State Pride Agenda<77> to reiterate her full support for same-sex marriage.<73> According to the ESPA, as a member of the Senate, Gillibrand will also support a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.<77> On April 16, 2009, Gillibrand endorsed Governor Paterson's proposed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in New York.<78>

In July, 2009, Senator Gillibrand announced she was considering introducing an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would impose an 18-month moratorium on the discharge of gays serving in the military.<79> She ultimately decided against introducing the amendment, as she could not amass the 60 votes required to avoid a filibuster, but told the blog The Daily Beast that she was able to secure the commitment of the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold hearings on "don't ask, don't tell" in the fall of 2009.<80> However, the hearings were postponed<81> and began on February 2, 2010.<82>

In December, 2009, the LGBT publication The Advocate, citing Senator Gillibrand's position on gay marriage and her work toward repealing "don't ask don't tell", declared her one of its five "People of the Year".<83>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Gillibrand




As of roght now, though--Go, Gillibrand!