Tag: Candidates

I was asked about Kirsten Gillibrand and the short answer is that, like many liberals, I do not forgive her for her opportunism in going along with the despicable Republican attack against Al Franken. Before I comment, here’s what other Democratic donors have said about what she did.

“I viewed it as self-serving, as opportunistic ― unforgivable in my view,” said Rosalind Fink, a New York donor. “Since then, I have not purposely attended any fundraiser where she was there. And there is absolutely no way I will support her.”

Fink said she condemned Franken’s behavior, but she believed the Senate should have investigated the allegations thoroughly before forcing him out.

“I think it was a big mistake,” said Irene Finel Honigman, another Clinton donor from New York, adding, “I was not that impressed with her to begin with. I think she certainly had potential, but as for many people, this kind of sealed the deal.”

Another donor, who like many others asked to remain anonymous in order to speak candidly, called Gillibrand a “ruthless opportunist.”

“That’s the knock on her, and that’s what this proved,” he said. “She saw an opportunity to be out front, and regardless of the ramifications, she took it.”

Susie Tompkins Buell, a major Democratic Party donor who has championed female politicians, also said she was reconsidering her support for senators who called for Franken to resign.

Huffington Post

Note that this blatant, cynical abuse of the #MeToo movement was originated by a political hack: a Republican who was a Fox talking head. She started off by tweeting a picture that she claimed was of him groping her. Look at it. Note how his hands are nowhere near her, he’s mugging for the camera, and she doesn’t look like she’s even asleep. He’s a comedian clowning around, not a sexual predator.

Franken’s reaction was not to try to sweep it all under the rug, but to ask for due process. He requested to be investigated formally by the Senate Ethics Committee, confident that the accusations would not hold up to careful review. He never got his day in court, so to speak, because Gillibrand threw him under the bus, leading a couple of dozen spineless Democrats into a circular firing squad to force him out.

Below is a photo of the entire squad, and it includes presidential hopefuls such as Brown, Harris, Sanders, Booker, and Warren. I hold this against all of them, but I might be willing to forgive anyone but the ringleader.

Gillibrand is dead to me. We already have a soulless opportunist in the White House; we don’t need another. If she would sell out Franken, she would sell out the country. We can do better than this, and we should.

Oh hell no!

Tulsi Gabbard just announced her presidential bid, but she’s completely unacceptable because of her track record of bigotry. It’s 2019: bigotry is the near-exclusive domain of the Republicans.

So, what did this DINO do?

In 2003, she voted against a bill to oblige hospitals to “provide emergency contraception immediately” to survivors of sexual assault, because it did not contain a “conscience clause,” to allow providers with a religious objection to opt out. She supported government surveillance efforts, warning that the “demand for unfettered civil liberties” could make the nation vulnerable to terrorists. And she joined her father’s battle against what she called “homosexual extremists.” In 1998, Mike Gabbard had successfully pushed for an amendment to the Hawaii State Constitution, to permit the legislature to ban same-sex marriage, which it did. Six years later, Tulsi Gabbard led a protest against a bill that would have legalized civil unions for same-sex couples. That same year, in the Hawaii State House, she delivered a long, fierce speech against a proposed resolution meant to target anti-gay bullying in public schools. She objected to the idea of students being taught that homosexuality is “normal and natural,” and worried that passing the resolution would have the effect of “inviting homosexual-advocacy organizations into our schools to promote their agenda to our vulnerable youth.”

The New Yorker, 2017-11-06

Really, there’s not a lot for me to say here. There is no walking back from this, no evolving, no excuses.

Sure, all things being equal, I’d prefer a woman, but not this one. We can do better. I’m keeping an eye on Klobuchar because she has mid-west appeal without being on the wrong side of the culture war.