Hillary Clinton Senate Replacement Named - Good News!

[GrillKing]

From Foxnews:

New York Gov. David Paterson will name Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, an upstate Democrat, to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate, a Democratic official with knowledge of the governor's decision told FOX News on Thursday night.

Gillibrand, elected in 2006, represents the state's 20th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is the first Democrat to represent the district since 1978 -- and the first female representative of the district.

Paterson is scheduled to formally announce his pick Friday.

"I'm honored just to be considered," Gillibrand told FOX News earlier Thursday.

But some New York City Democrats are skeptical of Gillibrand, who voted against the financial rescue package last fall. And the National Rifle Association has endorsed Gillibrand -- another cause for concern among some Democrats.

In defense of the endorsement, Gillibrand told FOX News that she come from a "hunting family" and "wants to support hunter's rights."

[TxDrifter]

Yes, but hunter's rights does not always translate to gun rights in its other forms: concealed carry, open carry, semi-auto rifles, etc. I will say it is better than someone that will take them all away though.

[HighVelocity]

Could've been worse.

[boomerang]

Could've been worse.

Cuomo comes to mind.

[GrillKing]

Could've been worse.

That was really my point. Could have been much worse....

[bubba1876]

It's so funny that the NY governor appointed a republican instead of the usualy suspects (Cuomo, Kennedy....). I love it.

[cowboymd]

Could've been worse.

Though she is a democrat at least she is not totally antigun. Hopefully her pro-hunter rights will carry over to all gun owners.

[bubba1876]

It's so funny that the NY governor appointed a republican instead of the usualy suspects (Cuomo, Kennedy....). I love it.

I'll correct myself.......... I saw the abbreviation "Rep." and thought it was republican. Sorry, but still a good choice. Not that I really care about NY.

[ELB]

From Yahoo News/AP

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who wasn't among the 10 to 20 people Paterson said applied for the Senate appointment, immediately criticized the expected pick. The Democratic congresswoman, whose husband was killed and son wounded by a gunman on the Long Island Railroad in 1993, said Gillibrand's support of more conservative issues such as gun ownership rights was out of step with most New York Democrats.

McCarthy, 65, vowed to challenge Gillibrand herself in next year's primary or find a younger candidate to do so.

"I will certainly raise my voice and run if no one comes forward," McCarthy said in a telephone interview Friday. "Believe me, this is a personal issue for me. I don't think someone with a 100 percent NRA rating should be the next senator from New York."

During the news conference, Gillibrand complimented all of the state's female House delegation, offering an olive branch to McCarthy who she said has "provided outstanding leadership in fighting against gun violence and keeping our children safe. I pledge to work with her on her signature bill for updating background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals."

Near the end of her statement, Gillibrand again brought up the issue again, saying she would support gun control "but also protect our hunters' rights."

Prediction -- she will roll-over on AWB, "Gunshow Loophole" and all the rest to help her in the next election (in two years, I believe), because the national Democrat machine and the NY state Demo machine is anti-2nd Amendment. She will continue to support "hunter's rights" since you can still hunt even if you have to check out your single-shot hunting rifle and three rounds from the Sheriff's armory. As long as she was in an area that had a lot of conservatives/Republicans, and she was only representing a piece of NY, she her stance was tolerated. Now that she's at the national level, the Demo leaders will sit on her, and if she doesn't "behave" they will support that McCarthy. As I recall, Al Gore was allegedly pro-gun, as long as he was Senator from a state that was largely pro-gun, until he became Clinton's VP pick, at which point he obediently threw his principles and former constituents under the bus so he could please the rest of the party and be Veep.

I would love to be proven wrong, but I am not counting on it.

BTW, one of the other political analyses I read said the district she is from, the one with the most conservatives & republicans in NY state, is set to be gerrymandered out of existence by the Democratic NY state legislature. Double bonus for the Dems -- they get rid of a problem area and she has no district to go back to if she does stick to her current positions...