Gillibrand: An Elephant in Donkey’s Clothing

Gov. David Paterson (D) has shocked progressive New York today with his pick of Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate.

Gillibrand’s conservative credentials may have been neatly scrubbed off Wikipedia (more than 50 edits in the last 24 hours), but they won’t remain hidden. She has called her own record “one of the most conservative in the state,” and has voted for such right-wing legislation as the repeal of the D.C. semiautomatic weapon ban. Her positions on immigration, gay marriage and the Iraq war are all questionable. And that’s just to name a few.

Gillibrand may represent her conservative district fairly, but she has no place holding statewide office in a state like New York, which voted 62 percent for Obama. Paterson has guaranteed a contested Senate primary in 2010 and is continually opening himself up for a primary challenge.