Nothing on here yet and this was posted on the NYTimes website at 3:17 AM EST:
Gov. David A. Paterson has selected Representative Kirsten Gillibrand, a 42-year-old congresswoman from upstate who is known for bold political moves and centrist policy positions, to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to a person who spoke to the governor early Friday.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
IN a prelude to the teeth gnashing this will cause a lot of folks here, the Times notes this:
If Mr. Paterson was hoping to quiet the tumult over the selection process by picking Ms. Gillibrand, there were indications that he may not get his wish. Ms. Gillibrand, who has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association, is controversial among some of the party’s more liberal leaders downstate ....
and notes quite ironically in the next paragraph (my emphasis added):
Representative Carolyn McCarthy, a Long Island Democrat and ardent gun control activist, said Thursday that if Ms. Gillibrand got the job, she was prepared to run against her in a primary in 2010. Ms. McCarthy was elected to Congress after her husband was killed in a gunman’s rampage on the Long Island Rail Road in 1993.
And who is Kirsten Gillibrand? Wikipedia notes:
. Gillibrand is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.
. She strongly opposes gun control.
. She supports extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for middle tax families; stem cell research; and the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act.
. Gillibrand opposes attempts to partially privatize Social Security.
. She strongly supported passage of the 2008 Farm Bill.
. Gillibrand broke with former Governor Eliot Spitzer on the issue of illegal immigration, opposing his plan to issue New York State drivers licenses to illegal immigrants.
. On gay rights, Gillibrand has received an 80 out of a 100 rating from the LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign, which is the lowest score out of New York’s Democratic representatives
Well damn. And I thought The Field's diary last night was very much on target.
It is indeed tough to be a progressive in this world.
And as for Caroline Kennedy? No more than this:
On Thursday, an aide to Ms. Kennedy, offering the fullest explanation so far of her exit, said a personal problem had emerged on Wednesday.
Speculation remains just that- but she obviously decided the personal sacrifice she would have to make for the seat was not worth it- despite what her father implored of Americans 48 yeas ago.
As for my own lament on Kennedy not taking the seat, I must say yet again here- I had a sick sort of longing to see the daily apoplexy another Kennedy in the Senate would have brought the Rushbots across the land.
UPDATE:
Casey Morris has just published an excellent diary onGillibrand. It is a very nice endorsement of her.