Kirsten Gillibrand

Twenty Women In The United States Senate In The 113th Congress: All Time High!

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The 113th Congress will have TWENTY women, the highest number in American history!

The 112th Congress had seventeen women, 12 Democrats and 5 Republicans.

The 113th Congress will have 16 Democrats and 4 Republicans, with Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, both Republicans, retiring!

Five new women will join the Senate—Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts,.Tammy Baldwin of WIsconsin, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, and Deb Fischer of Nebraska, with Fischer being the lone Republican. Fifteen women Senators will remain, including three Republicans—Susan Collins of Maine, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The twelve returning Democratic women include: Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Diane Feinstein of California, Barbara Boxer of California, Parry Murray of Washington, and Maria Cantwell of Washington.

Also, three states have both Senators being women—New Hampshire, California, and Washington!

And to top it off, New Hampshire not only has two women Senators, but also both House members are women, and the new Governor is a woman, the first state to have an all female representation in Congress and the Governorship!

How far America has come as we enter the year 2013!

The State Of The Democratic Presidential Field As 2012 Ends

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This author has already, earlier today, made it clear that only four Republicans have any chance to be the Republican nominee in 2016, and, conceivably, to win the next Presidential election, although the odds against them are massive.

What about the Democratic field in a future election where the Democrats have a tremendous edge?

Realize that the likelihood of Barack Obama presiding over a greatly improved economy by 2016 will be a major boon to whoever is the party’s Presidential nominee.

So what is the state of the field?

There are three tiers of candidates, as things now stand.

First Tier—Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, both extremely qualified and experienced, and the best of friends, and if either or both become candidates, they will be the so called “800 pound gorillas” in the race, very hard to overcome. But, of course, if they challenge each other, they could weaken each other and help a third candidate to gain the edge, someone with less experience, and significantly younger, which might be an appealing factor.

Second Tier—Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Virginia Senator Mark Warner, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren–with all four being strong alternatives, and with one of them possibly able to challenge the two leaders, Clinton and Biden, if they both choose to compete, If neither Clinton nor Biden ends up a candidate, which is conceivable, then these four could be involved in a major competition.

Third Tier—Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, if he becomes Governor or Senator from New Jersey; San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, if he becomes Governor or Senator from Texas; Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick; Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar; New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand; all potential candidates of minority or gender diversity, but all of them less likely to have the opportunity to run, based on others who are competing, and difficulty raising money and supporters against others who are much more described as “heavy weights”, but they all could be possible Vice Presidential running mates.

So this is an early judgment on the Presidential race, and needless to state, there will be much more analysis of these potential candidates as the Presidential race begins in earnest in the second half of 2013, after the first hundred days of the new term! There will be no lack of news emerging on a regular basis, and the fact that this author and others are discussing the race only 30 days after the last Presidential election demonstrates, yet again, that there is no respite from politics, or speculation about the Presidential office and its present and future occupants!

Speculation Seriously Begins On 2016 Presidential Competition

Ronald 2 Comments

Eight weeks away from the Presidential Election of 2012, but with the obvious trend toward Barack Obama emerging, political pundits are starting to speculate on who might compete for the Democratic and Republican Presidential nominations in 2016, when if Barack Obama is reelected in 2012, we will be certain to have a new President.

The field of potential nominees is long in both parties. Among those being discussed are the following:

Democrats

Vice President Joe Biden from Delaware
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from New York
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar
Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill
Virginia Senator Mark Warner
Newark New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker
Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren

Republicans

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Florida Senator Marco Rubio
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul
Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham
South Dakota Senator John Thune

So there are, theoretically, 12 Democrats and 14 Republicans who can be seen now as possible competitors for the Presidential nominations, but of course, some of these conceivable candidacies are based on election results yet to occur, including whether Senators Claire McCaskill, Scott Brown, and Lindsay Graham are reelected, the first two this year, and Graham in 2014; whether Cory Booker runs for New Jersey Governor and defeats Chris Christie, with the result eliminating one of those two candidacies; whether Elizabeth Warren can defeat Scott Brown, which would eliminate one or the other of those two candidacies; and whether the “old timers”—Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Jeb Bush—decide to run or stay out of the race, leaving the battle for the nominations to the “new generation” of leadership that is emerging in both political parties.

As of now, there is plenty of diversity in the potential race, with the following statistics:

7 women in the race–Hillary Clinton, Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand, Claire McCaskill, Elizabeth Warren for the Democrats, and Nikki Haley and Kelly Ayotte for the Republicans.
2 African Americans in the race—Deval Patrick and Cory Booker for the Democrats.
1 Hispanic-Latino in the race—Marco Rubio for the Republicans.
2 Asian Americans in the race (both of India heritage)—Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley for the Republicans.

On the Democratic side, there are three potential candidates from New York—Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Kirsten Gillibrand; one from New Jersey (Cory Booker); one from Delaware (Joe Biden); one from Maryland (Martin O’Malley); two from Massachusetts (Deval Patrick and Elizabeth Warren)–a total of eight of the 12 potential candidates from the Northeast, with one from the South (Mark Warner of Virginia); two from the Midwest (Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Claire McCaskill of Missouri); and one from the West (Brian Schweitzer of Montana).

On the Republican side, there are four potential candidates from the Northeast—Chris Christie of New Jersey, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, and Rick Santorum from Pennsylvania; seven from the South and border states—Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Nikki Haley and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio of Florida, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, and Rand Paul of Kentucky; and three from the Midwest—Paul Ryan and Scott Walker of Wisconsin and John Thune of South Dakota.

Additionally, there are many Catholics running, startling when one considers that this nation has only had one Catholic President (John F. Kennedy), and one Catholic Vice President (Joe Biden).

Also, the Democrats have four Governors, one Mayor, and seven former or sitting or potential Senators on their list; while the Republicans have six Governors or former Governors, seven Senators, and one Congressman on their list.

Speculation starting already makes the 2016 Presidential race seem ever closer even though it will not begin in earnest until mid to late 2014, and particularly so after the midterm elections of 2014!

Eric Cantor: Promoting His Own Wealth Through Loophole In “Insider Trading” Legislation: A True Mark Of Corruption!

Ronald 2 Comments

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is a true disgrace to the chamber he leads, and is a constant threat to the survival of Speaker John Boehner, should Boehner ever attempt in any way to “go off the reservation”!

Cantor, an extremely ambitious and ruthless politician, has been implicated in a scandal, although his party may not think that it is that, by inserting a loophole in the House version of the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act, which is designed to prevent any advantage for members of Congress in stock market transactions because of “insider’ information available to that institution, and was passed in April, with the purpose of restoring faith in the Congress on the part of the American people.

The manipulation by Cantor was not made evident to its Senate sponsors, Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who were shocked to discover that Cantor had inserted an exception for spouses and children of Congressional members.

Now under fire, Cantor claims he is willing to make changes in the legislation, but had slipped in these corrupt exceptions with the clear hope of having no one notice it!

For this obvious transgression, Eric Cantor should face investigation and possible censure, but of course, it will not happen.

Still, John Boehner had better have “eagle eyes”, as there is nothing that Eric Cantor will NOT do to advance his own ambitions, and enrich his own pockets and fortune, at the expense of the American people!

Oh No! Speculation About 2016 Democratic Presidential Nomination Already? And Involving New York?

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It is hard to believe, but Politico has published an article speculating about two possible candidates for the Democratic nomination for President in 2016 almost seven months before we settle who will sit in the Oval Office on January 20, 2013!

And get this: the two political figures mentioned are both New Yorkers, a state thought by many to have no role in the future of Presidential races, but anyone thinking that would be wrong!

The two are Secretary of State and former Senator Hillary Clinton, wife of the 42nd President, Bill Clinton, and Governor Andrew Cuomo, son of former Governor Mario Cuomo, himself the subject of much speculation for President in the 1990s, but never running.

Speculation is rampant, although Hillary denies it, that she might be tapped for Vice President in place of Joe Biden, or that she will just retire for two years, write a book, relax, and then come back and run for President, but with Andrew Cuomo not allowing that to stand in the way of his own ambitions.

And then, outside of the Politico article, there is speculation that Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York will also wish to move ahead and seek the Presidency in 2016!

Imagine New York being a center of Presidential speculation, and we don’t even know if the President in office will be leaving in 2017 (Barack Obama), or be finishing his first term in office (Mitt Romney)!

Early Speculation On 2016 Presidential Nomination Contest For Democrats!

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With the decision of the New York State legislature, with strong intervention by Governor Andrew Cuomo , to put gay marriage into law in the third largest state, the speculation has begun on who might be front runners in the 2016 Presidential Election on the Democratic side, and Cuomo is at the top of the list!

Along with Cuomo, the son of former NY Governor Mario Cuomo, others speculated about this early include:

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to replace Hillary Clinton, and then was elected to the seat.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, who won an easy re-election in his state.

Virginia Senator Mark Warner, former Governor, who considered running for President in 2008 but backed out of the race.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who has made a great impression on many in the Democratic Party.

Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, who faces a tough re-election challenge in the “Show Me” state in 2012, but is seen as a future leader of the Democratic Party.

Political junkies never find it too early to think more than an election ahead, so the speculation is rampant and will grow as the months and years go by!

The Heroes And The Goats Of The “Lame Duck” Session Of Congress

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The recent “lame duck” session of Congress saw some real heroes and some real goats.

The heroes would include Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York; Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut; Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont; Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana; and Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Schumer and Gillibrand used their talents and persuasive abilities to accomplish the passage of the September 11 First Responders Medical legislation. Gillibrand, particularly, became noticed as a truly courageous figure, after much doubt about her after being appointed by Governor David Paterson over more well known and prominent candidates to succeed Hillary Clinton.

Joe Lieberman proved how useful he can be, pursuing the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the military with a fierceness and principle rarely seen in any Senator.

Bernie Sanders proved how wonderful a human being he is, fighting for the common people, and against the corporations and the wealthy, and his eight and a half hour filibuster was inspiring.

Richard Lugar gave evidence again that he is one of the best Senators of modern times, pushing for the START Treaty, supporting gays in the military, and being one of three Republicans to support the DREAM Act. Unfortunately, he will probably suffer a primary challenger as a result in 2012, but he is in so many ways, a Senator’s Senator, much like Ted Kennedy was in the recent past!

And Lisa Murkowksi found a new independence as a result of her tough re-election contest as an independent, and courageously supported gays in the military, the DREAM Act, and the START Treaty.

At the same time that the above Senators showed conviction and decency, the following demonstrated how disgraceful some political figures can be, and can be termed as “goats”: Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, Senator John McCain of Arizona, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.

All of the above demonstrated bitterness, anger, pettiness, narrow mindedness, and extreme partisanship at a time when a group of Senators of their party actually displayed bipartisanship on the START Treaty, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ending in the military, and the September 11 First Responders Medical legislation.

So congratulations are in order for the first group of Senators above, and a chorus of boos for the second set above!

Fascinating Possibility: Former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. Considering Senate Run In New York!

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Former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., who lost a bitter Senate race in his home state in 2006, and then moved to NYC and became a commentator for MSNBC, is now considering a challenge of appointed Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the upcoming election of 2010 to fill out the remainder of Hillary Clinton’s term.

This is a very interesting and fascinating possibility, as Gillibrand was never seen as an ideal choice by NY Governor David Paterson, and has only recently changed her conservative voting record as a Congresswoman, including the issues of gun rights and immigration.

Many prominent fundraisers are behind the possible move by Ford, who has stated that he will declare his intentions by mid February.

Ford is a very attractive, well spoken centrist, and the fact that he is African American and has had congressional experience behind him gives him a great opportunity to compete for the Senate seat.

The fact that he is a “carpetbagger” is no issue in New York, as he has lived in the city for three years now, and New York is famous for electing Hillary Clinton and Robert Kennedy, who had far less residence time in the state before running for the Senate.

Ford’s opposition to same sex marriage could be a problem for him in New York, and he would have to deal with the likely opposition of Senator Chuck Schumer, who has fully backed Kirsten Gillibrand from the beginning, even before she was officially picked by Governor Paterson.

On the other hand, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has not had good relations with Gillibrand and is seen as a close friend of Harold Ford, Jr., who is only 39.

Also of interest is that Ford, a few years ago, was thought of as a possible African American candidate for President in the future, before Barack Obama emerged as a leading candidate. The thought is, that had Ford won the Senate seat in 2006, he might have mounted a challenge for President in 2008, and therefore might have been a counterweight against Obama in that race, which would only further have muddied that unbelievable Presidential campaign!

Rudy Guiliani For Senate And Then The Presidency?

Ronald 3 Comments

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani apparently has decided to give up on a chance to run for Governor, partly on the basis that State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo seems set to run and is far ahead in the polls over Governor David Paterson and Guiliani, too.

Instead, it seems that Guiliani is now looking at the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, and filled temporarily by Kirsten Gillibrand, who is seeking to finish out the two years left after 2010 and then seek a full term in 2012.

According to the polls, Guiliani is substantially ahead of Gillibrand and would have an excellent chance to win the Senate seat. It makes one wonder why Governor Paterson made such a poor choice with Gillibrand, who it is hard to be enthused about. One could wish that other Democrats would challenge her, as she has always seemed to me to be a weak choice, and now may lose that seat for the Democrats.

But apparently, it is also the plan of Guiliani to use the Senate seat as a stepping stone for the White House in 2012. I think it should be required that Guiliani make clear that he will not seek the Presidency, and is not using a two year term in the Senate as simply an opportunity to promote himself. The state of New York should not elect someone who has no intention of staying longer.

Having said that, the odds of Guiliani, who is still, after all, considered quite “moderate” or even in some ways “liberal” in comparison to almost all other Republicans, winning a Presidential nomination after such a total disaster in his quest for the White House in 2008, has to be seen as next to zero!

So my advice, Rudy, is make up your mind that if you want to be a Senator, that you commit yourself to that position and set out to serve the people, rather than your own delusional ambitions for a job you will NEVER attain!

The New York Political Scene And Barack Obama’s Intervention

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New York is a strongly Democratic state, with all but two Congressmen now being Democrats, and two Democratic senators and a Democratic governor.

But New York has been tormented by controversy–first with former Governor Eliot Spitzer being forced out of office because of a sex scandal involving a prostitute; then the controversy over the replacement of Hillary Clinton in her Senate seat; and then with the quick rapid collapse of public opinion around Governor David Paterson, who succeeded Spitzer when he resigned.

Paterson has come across as inept and ineffective in the Governorship in the nearly 18 months he has been Governor, and there is real concern that the Democrats could lose both the Governor’s office and the Senate seat of Kirsten Gillibrand, Hillary Clinton’s appointed successor, in 2010.

The loss of the Governorship could hurt some Congressmen state wide as well, and that could affect reapportionment of seats both in the House of Representatives and in the state legislature, if the GOP wins control of the State Senate, which they briefly controlled this past summer when a couple of Democrats briefly switched parties before going back to the party that elected them. The state legislature came across as totally inept and chaotic, and New York does not present a very impressive image right now, which is an embarrassment to many who regard New York as one of the premier states of the Union.

The danger is that it is likely that former Mayor Rudy Guiliani may challenge Governor Paterson, and in any poll, wins over the governor, who only has in most polls about a 20 percent rating. Also, the possibility exists that former Governor George Pataki may challenge Senator Gillibrand, and has a lead in polls on that race.

This situation would greatly change if Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, son of the former governor Mario Cuomo, and very popular in all polls, was to be the nominee for Governor. The belief is that if he was the nominee and did not have to deal with a divisive primary race against Paterson, that he could beat any opponent, and that Guiliani might not even run if Cuomo was known to be his opponent. Also, Cuomo could help Gillibrand, and might convince Pataki not to run for the Senate, and hopefully, most of the congressional seats and state legislative seats would be safe, as well.

So the fact that there has been pressure from the Obama Administration for Paterson NOT to run may be embarrassing, but makes sense for the long term future of the Democrats in New York and nationally. The hope is that Governor Paterson will see the handwriting on the wall and will withdraw from a race for election, and maybe end up with some position that President Obama can offer him in 2011.