Also at The Albany Project
Last week, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) unofficially launched her primary challenge of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand by attacking the Senator in an interview on NY1.
This week, Maloney sat down with the Daily News editorial board and repeated the NY1 attacks, adding some extra mud.
Details, below.
The headline tells the story: "Rep. Carolyn Maloney takes aim at Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's 'character'".
Here's how Maloney got the headline she wanted:
During a meeting with the Daily News Editorial Board, one member noted Maloney had questioned Gillibrand's philosophical grounding and willingness to shift on issues. Maloney interrupted to say her criticism was about something more basic.
"Character," Maloney said.
The brief comment marked an escalation of the upper East Side congresswoman's attacks on Gillibrand.
There is nothing in the story about Maloney's own record; apparently, the session was all mud all the time, with special emphasis on "flip-flopping" and guns.
Maloney also repeated the attack line she used twice on NY1 (scripted, much?):
"Some people run to get elected," said Maloney. "She's, to my knowledge, never passed anything. She spends all her time fund-raising. I spend my time doing things."
A Gillibrand spokesman tries to clean up after Maloney's messy smears:
Glen Caplin, a Gillibrand spokesman, dismissed the criticism. He said "These personal, negative attacks are unfortunate" and Gillibrand is focused on working with President Obama to "create good-paying jobs and turn this economy around."
Caplin also refuted Maloney’s statement that Gillibrand hasn’t accomplished anything legislatively.
Last year, President George Bush signed a bill sponsored by Gillibrand that requires colleges and law enforcement agencies to develop procedures for investigating violent crimes. More recently, President Obama signed into law an amendment that Gillibrand co-sponsored that protects renters from being thrown out of their homes after a foreclosure.
Not bad, considering that Gillibrand was a freshman in Congress last year, and is just five months into her Senate career.
Maloney's relentless negativity is reflected in some of her supporters/staffers' comments here.
One guy, with a suspiciously high UID, questioned whether Gillibrand has a conscience in his third comment ever.
When called on it by yours truly, he responded with a string of nasty personal insults.
I suspect he's a Maloney staffer, in part because of the coincidence of his arrival here and the beginning of Maloney's campaign, but also because he sounds just like his boss -- all negative, all the time.
It's really a shame that Maloney has evidently chosen to end her political career like this.