Blue-Dog Democrat Named to Clinton Seat

by John Nichols, Nation

New York Governor David Paterson's decision to name centrist Kirsten Gillibrand to the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton highlights a number of the problems with allowing governors to appoint senators.

Surrounded by many -- though not all -- top New York Democrats (and former Republican Senator Al D'Amato, a Gillibrand family friend), Paterson observed that not all states allow governors to appoint senators. (Wisconsin, Oregon and Alaska are among the exceptions.) He then took advantage of the fact that New York does allow such selections to be made and gave his blessing to Gillibrand.

The congresswoman, who admitted that most New Yorkers do not know who she is, then took full advantage of the opportunities that go with appointment.

Gillibrand, whose political ambition has been much noted in New York and Washington, delivered a smooth, campaign-style acceptance speech, complete with shout-outs to friends and foes in the state's congressional delegation and promises to "get to know" every corner of the state.

That's smart politics. And no one should begrudge Gillibrand for practicing the game ably.

But for those of us who have long raised concerns about the loophole in the 17th amendment that allows for gubernatorial appointment of senators -- when all House vacancies must be filled with special elections -- Friday's events offered a reminder of what is so unsettling about the process of conveying incumbency upon an unelected senator.

Gillibrand will have to work to keep her seat in the 2010 election. But she will do so from a place of strength when it comes to grabbing headlines and raising campaign money. But her appointment makes her an immediate frontrunner not just in the 2010 race but for a long career in the Senate.

So who will be representing New York in a Senate where the state's representatives have historically -- though not always -- pushed the debate to the left?

Gillibrand, a Democratic congresswoman who has just finished her first term in the House, is a rare northern-state member of the southern-dominated Blue Dog Coalition who describes her voting record as "one of the most conservative in the state."

In 2007, Gillibrand was the only member of the New York delegation in the House to back the Bush administration's request for te extension of Iraq War funding. Though she served on the advisory board of the Brennan Center for Justice, she backed the Bush administration's rewrite of legislation to permit spying in telephone calls. Gillibrand has said she backs proposals to renew Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. And she sparred with former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer on the issue of immigration, whipping up opposition to his plan to allow them to obtain New York drivers licenses.

Gillibrand's allegiance to the National Rifle Association is such that one of her Democratic colleagues, Carolyn McCarthy, a Long Island Democrat, says she is prepared to mount a 2010 primary challenge to the appointee on the issue of gun control. (Congresswoman McCarthy's husband was killed when a gunman opened fire on a Long Island Rail Road line in 1993 and she entered politics in order to battle the NRA and its anti-gun control line.)

No wonder veteran union activist Jonathan Tasini, who has been organizing a push to fill Clinton's seat with a progressive, says, "David Paterson's choice to fill the U.S. Senate in New York is an affront to the people of New York. New Yorkers do not deserve a caretaker Senator who is anti-immigrant, anti-gay rights, and proudly carries the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, an organization that is uniquely responsible for the death and injury by gun violence of hundreds of thousands of Americans."

Why did Paterson pick Gillibrand?

Of course, the governor offered the usual denial that the choice had anything to do with politics. "I believe that I have found the best candidate to become the next U.S. Senator from New York," the governor declared. "This decision was not made based on gender, geographic location, race or sexual orientation, it was based on [merit]."

The reality, however, is that when a governor is preparing for a tough race to hold on to his job, the choice of an appointed senator has everything to do with politics.

After inheriting his job following Spitzer's unceremonial exit from the position, the governor must run for election in 2010. He feels reasonably confident that his own strong ties to the liberal community and his roots in New York City will secure his left flank. But he worries about appealing to upstate voters and centrists and conservatives. He also wants to score points with women who, rightly, suggested that it was important to address the continuing gender imbalance in the Senate by filling a seat being vacated by a woman with a woman.

By most measures, Gillibrand's selection makes sense as a political calculation.

Unfortunately, it does not make a lot of sense to those who would like to see a the senator from New York take a lead in promoting the progressive policies embraces by past Empire state senators such as Robert Wagner, Robert Lehman, Robert Kennedy and Charles Goodell.

Had the Clinton seat been filled in a special election -- as Gillibrand's House seat must be -- it is very likely that a more progressive contender would have taken it.

But, now, Kirsten Gillibrand, a smart, tough political operator, will move quickly to secure her hold on the seat. In that pursuit, she will have the advantage of incumbency -- not an incumbency accorded her by the electorate but by appointment at the whim of one man who happens to be the governor.

The Progressive New York movement, which has been endorsed by Tasini, Barbara Ehrenreich and a number of labor and peace activists from around the state, describes the process as a case of "Democracy Lost" and argues that, "The flurry over the past couple of days has made it clear why so many people find so disturbing the entire process of annointing someone to take a Senate seat, without the consent of the voters."

That is, indeed, the case. But it is not a unique problem to New York state. Whenever senators are appointed by governors -- rather than elected by voters -- the process is defined by private political calculations and unfair advantages that are by their nature at odds with democracy and the progressive ideals that underpin it.

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Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, citing Gillibrand's opposition to gun control, vowed to challenge her in the 2010 Democratic primary, or to find another candidate to do so. McCarthy came to Congress after her husband was killed and son wounded during a shooting rampage on the Long Island Railroad in 1993.

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In Selection Mess, Paterson Dug Hole Deeper

Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

By DANNY HAKIM and NICHOLAS CONFESSORE

Published: January 23, 2009
ALBANY — When Gov. David A. Paterson began consulting with his aides about picking a replacement for Hillary Rodham Clinton, they had one overriding message: First do no harm to yourself.

Gov. David A Paterson and Kirsten E. Gillibrand took a telephone call from President Obama during a news conference announcing Ms. Gillibrand's appointment to the Senate on Friday. More Photos »
The potential benefits of any choice were few and fleeting, they said. But the potential costs of mishandling it — to the governor’s stature, to his political authority and even to his election chances — were immense.

Two months later, some of Mr. Paterson’s own advisers say their worst fears have been realized. A process that they had hoped would elevate the governor, demonstrate his statesmanship and introduce him to the nation instead damaged his credibility and divided his party. Its final days were by turns intensely secretive and astoundingly public, culminating with personal attacks on Caroline Kennedy from the governor’s camp that astonished the state’s political establishment.

In the aftermath, many top Democrats and even friends of Mr. Paterson see his governorship as reeling and troublingly disorganized. They believed that this was to be his defining year, one in which he could move beyond the unusual circumstances of his ascension to high office and prove he could lead the state through a perilous fiscal crisis.

Some were unusually open in questioning the approach — and judgment — of the governor and the people around him.

“If we have royalty, it’s the Kennedys,” said Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera, a Bronx Democrat and chairman of the Assembly’s Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force. “The way she was treated, the backbiting and the attacks, it was insulting,” he said, adding that the extended selection process “was reflective of individuals who are not ready for prime time” and “demeaning to a lot of people.”

Even as Mr. Paterson declared at a news conference on Friday that his selection for the Senate seat, Representative Kirsten E. Gillibrand, was “an extraordinary New Yorker” he chose after thoughtful consideration, he found himself apologizing for the process.

“In retrospect, I wish I had not showed all of you the wrestling match,” he said.

Before the governor had even announced that he had selected Ms. Gillibrand, the pick ignited turmoil within the party, especially among more liberal downstate Democrats. Representative Carolyn McCarthy, an ardent gun-control activist who was elected to Congress after her husband was killed in a gunman’s rampage on the Long Island Rail Road in 1993, said Friday that she would start raising money next week for a potential primary challenge to Ms. Gillibrand, a centrist Democrat endorsed by the National Rifle Association.

Though Mr. Paterson assembled a large crowd on the stage, it was as notable for who was absent as for who was present. The vast majority of the state’s congressional delegation stayed away, signaling how much resistance there could be to Ms. Gillibrand’s elevation. Similarly, almost none of the other top contenders for the job came.

Note was also taken of the absence of Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, a potential primary challenger to the governor who was passed over for the post. One Democratic political consultant, who requested anonymity to candidly assess the governor’s performance, said Mr. Paterson had inadvertently pulled off something staggering: alienating three of the most powerful political families in state and national politics at the same time.

“He’s managed to anger, in one fell swoop, the Kennedys, the Cuomos and the Clintons,” the consultant said, arguing that Ms. Kennedy’s family would be furious at the governor over the leaks against her, Mr. Cuomo at being passed over for the job, and Mrs. Clinton at the governor’s willingness to consider Ms. Kennedy in the first place after she endorsed Barack Obama in the presidential race last year.

“That’s a pretty good trifecta,” the consultant added. (Mr. Cuomo and Mrs. Clinton, it should be said, issued press releases on Friday effusively praising Ms. Gillibrand.)

Some basics of appointment protocol and discretion appeared to have been abandoned; Mr. Paterson talked openly, sometimes playfully about the field of candidates, frequently teasing during radio and television interviews that he had made up — or was changing — his mind.

Representative McCarthy said the governor “obviously ticked off an awful lot of people.”

“He’s going to be upset with me, I understand that, but this was not done correctly,” she added of the selection process. She said that Mr. Paterson exacerbated the situation by indicating he knew whom he wanted to pick days before he revealed the choice.

“It wasn’t fair to any of the candidates who were out there,” she said.

Assemblyman Rory Lancman, a Queens Democrat, said, “The way he handled this process feeds into the perception of him lacking discipline.”

“A year after he came into office, the governor hasn’t made himself into the leader of our party,” he added. “When the governor himself is sending six different messages a day, it’s impossible to unify the party.”

Mr. Paterson allowed that he had been perhaps too open about his thinking over the last weeks.

“I think that I may have just, in an attempt to be as transparent as possible, publicly gone through the back and forth of my decision,” Mr. Paterson said. “If that in any way confused anyone, I was not trying to mislead anyone.”

H. Carl McCall, the former state comptroller and a Democratic candidate for governor in 2002, defended Mr. Paterson’s handling of the appointment, pointing out that Ms. Kennedy’s own uneven performance and the intense worldwide scrutiny of her bid were factors beyond the governor’s control.

“I think that to look at his governorship in the light of this situation would be terribly unfair,” said Mr. McCall.

Mr. Paterson certainly received plenty of national attention, but not the kind he wanted. “That’s No Way to Treat a Kennedy!” was the headline of The Drudge Report, while The New Republic asked in one of its blog headlines, “How Big a Clown Is David Paterson?”

In light of his recent stumbles, the question for the governor now is how diminished he has been by the process, and whether his weakness will embolden rivals and potentially prevent him from winning election in his own right next year.

Clearly, if this was to be a pivotal year, it has not begun well for the governor. The first sign of trouble seemed to be in his State of the State speech Jan. 7, an annual address that opens the legislative session and sets the tone for the entire year.

Despite clocking in at more than an hour long — no easy task, given that the governor is legally blind and must memorize his speeches — Mr. Paterson offered few new ideas. In a year when the state faces a $15 billion deficit, his signature proposal was to tax nondiet sodas and ban trans fats in restaurants, steps borrowed from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the state of California. The day after the speech, after it was pilloried by some editorial boards, Mr. Paterson was himself making excuses for it, explaining that he had felt dizzy and ill.

The governor’s efforts to jump-start the budget process — by releasing his own spending plan early — seem to have generated little momentum, too. Some wonder if, months after the departure of his top aide Charles O’Byrne, who resigned after it was revealed he had failed to pay taxes, Mr. Paterson still does not have steady hands around him to help him lead.

Still, some of his allies maintain confidence in the governor, and point out that he is often underestimated.

Asked whether Mr. Paterson would be able to reassert himself and bring the party behind his choice by next year, June O’Neill, the state Democratic chairwoman, said she was not worried.

“There’s a long time between now and the next election in 2010,” Ms. O’Neill said. “It’s a lifetime

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From Queerty

Why Gov. Paterson Should Have Named Lesbian Randi Weingarten to the Senate


Enough already. This week's fiasco over Caroline Kennedy, whether the result of "personal concerns" or the simple fact that New York Governor David A. Paterson had no intention of ever appointing her, has highlighted not only the dysfunctional state of New York politics, but also a failure of political imagination. Kennedy's appointment, had it been made, would have been the ultimate bit of stunt casting. Today we know Paterson selected NY Representative Kirsten Gillibrand for the seat. This is a failure of imagination of another kind. Her colleague Rep. Carolyn McCarthy has already said that she won't support Gillibrand — and for good reason: Gillibrand scored an "A" rating with the NRA last year for her extreme views on gun control. Says McCarthy:

"I've spent 15 years trying to prevent gun violence in this country, and if he does pick her and if no one goes and primaries her, I will primary her. I will do that. I'm not going to give up on this. I'm not going to let New York State get represented by someone who gets a 100 percent rating from the NRA. I will not show any support whatsoever. The majority of New Yorkers are trying to reduce gun violence. I just feel that everybody should know what her record is. If she changes, let's see it."

If Governor Paterson had been serious about appointing a lawmaker that would have made headlines and helped him get reelected, there was only one viable choice: United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who just happens to be a lesbian.

An anonymous source within the Paterson administration reached Queerty and expressed frustration that the gay and lesbian community had not done more to support her as a viable candidate for the Senate seat, saying "It's time for the gay community to make some noise in support of a lesbian." Considering that one candidate had already seemed like a shoo-in and collapsed, we'll make the case, since in New York, like the weather, if you don't like a political certainty, just wait a few hours.

As one of this nation's top labor leaders, Randi would have had no problem raising the money to run for election in 2010, then again in 2012.

Gillibrand must now realize that she needs to begin campaigning immediately. Appointed legislators almost always lose reelection since voters prefer a candidate of their own choosing. If he wanted his choice to have any lasting impact, Paterson's selection needed to be someone who is not just qualified to represent the state, but also capable of running a strong campaign on their own. As President of the UFT and American Federation of Teachers, Weingarten commands an army of 160,000 teachers statewide and 1.4 million across the country. She is widely regarded as one of the most powerful women in New York. Crain's New York Business listed her in their 'Power 25' in 2007, saying at the time:

"To get what she wants, Randi Weingarten uses a tireless advocacy, loud voice and deft skill for crafting partnerships with city officials.Since 2002, the UFT has raised salaries for union-represented employees by 43%. "We must continue to debate how to bring teachers the respect they deserve," she says.

While trying to gain greater stewardship of schools for educators and parents, Ms. Weingarten continues to lobby for fair wages and better conditions for teachers. "Our salaries were not competitive with those in the suburbs," she says."

New York Magazine puts it more succinctly:

"As head of both the UFT and the Municipal Labor Commission, a union coalition with more than 365,000 members, Weingarten has influence that reaches beyond the schools: She can swing close to a half-million votes."

It would have sent a strong message had Paterson named a lesbian to the Senate seat.

As you're no doubt aware, gays and lesbians have had a rough going the past few months, while simultaneously learning the valuable lesson that speaking up loudly for equality and inclusion is the best strategy for change. Boycotts and protests have had an effect on the actions of politicians and business leaders.

Now that Paterson's selected Kirsten Gillibrand for the Senate seat, gays and lesbians should vocally protest the decision. She is a poor friend to the gay community. She has the lowest HRC LGBT rights score of any New York State Democratic legislator: when she was asked to support a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, she refused; when she was asked to support extending employer health care coverage to domestic partners, she refused; when she was asked to extend naturalization benefits to domestic partners, she refused; when she was asked to extend Medicaid to cover low-income HIV-positive Americans, she refused.This would be a deplorable record any time, but Paterson's now sent the single-worst Democrat in New York on gay and lesbian rights to the Senate in place of Hillary Clinton.

Were Paterson to have selected Weingarten, the Senate would have had its first openly-gay member ever. The decision would have been historic, but it would also put a human face for gays and lesbians in the Senate chamber– a decision that could have a positive influence at a time when it's likely that the Senate will be voting on several LGBT rights measures. Milk's axiom that they will vote for us if they know us applies to the Senate chamber as much as it does anywhere.

As president of the UFT, Randi Weingarten would have brought an expertise on education and children's issues to the Senate.

We would not support Weingarten simply because she is a lesbian. She brings a broad range of expertise to the Senate and her acumen on issues of education, children's rights and labor are second to none. Gillibrand, pales in comparison. Her House committee positions are in Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry, the Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces and the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats. Weingarten's union career has put her at the forefront of education reform. She has fought against school vouchers and private tuition tax credits and negotiated a controversial, but innovative contract that awarded bonuses to teachers when their student's scores rose. Her skills at the negotiating table have shown her to be a woman capable of sticking to her guns, but capable of compromise.

New York politics have been a freak show in recent years. Were Paterson to have grown a pair and appointed Weingarten, he would not only have made history, he would have selected the best person for the job.
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