Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has been repeatedly mentioned as a possible presidential candidate for 2020.
In a speech at an NYU conference on democracy and technology, Gillibrand let loose a few “F” bombs, guaranteeing a blizzard of media coverage and letting the white working class know that she speaks their language.
Or something.
Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s message about helping the public took on a bold tone Friday morning when she told a crowd at a conference on technology and democracy, “If we are not helping people, we should go the f— home.”
In an out-of-character move, the New York senator dropped the f-bomb a handful of times during a speech at the Personal Democracy Forum at New York University, which explores technology’s impact on politics, government and society.
Speaking about President Donald Trump’s accomplishments in the White House, Gillibrand said, “Has he kept his promises? No. F— no.”
This is not the first time that Gillibrand has used the four-letter word. She also uttered it during an interview with New York Magazine in March, saying of her push to pass legislation to protect seniors against fraud, “We’re here to help people, and if we’re not helping people, we should go the f– home.”
When asked if Gillibrand considered it acceptable to use such language publicly, a spokesperson for her office said: “I think it’s appropriate for a senator to be exactly who they are — Kirsten is going to continue to be exactly who she is and always has been.”
The spokesperson additionally emphasized that Gillibrand’s change of tone is not part of a bigger image shift, despite the buzz that the senator might consider a White House run in 2020. He pointed to Gillibrand’s 2014 book “Off the Sidelines” as an example of the senator using similarly colorful language.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez used similarly spicy language during the party’s recent “unity tour” — some of which he was heavily criticized for.
With children on stage behind him, Perez told an audience in Las Vegas in April that Trump “doesn’t give a shit about health care.”
(Warning: Video contains expletives)
https://youtu.be/Y3XcsCu9uRs
I criticized Trump for his language so it’s only appropriate that I excoriate Gillibrand for it. As my mother used to remind us, there are 500,000 words in the English language — so it’s inexcusable that Gillibrand couldn’t find another word to express her thoughts.
Mother was right. Trump and Gillibrand should be ashamed of themselves.
I would say watching the clip above that she is, indeed, running for president. By the time it becomes known there’s a “buzz” about your presidential intentions, it’s almost a certainty that the candidate has already reached out to professionals for advice on how to get the project off the ground.
Gillibrand’s situation is interesting. She was born rich and her family lineage includes the political mafia in Albany. Her maternal grandmother was a leader of Albany Mayor Erastus Corning’s powerful political machine that basically ran the state for 40 years. More significantly, she worked on Hillary Clinton’s first Senate campaign in 1999 and sees the disgraced candidate as something of a mentor.
Gillibrand ran for Congress and won in 2006 in a conservative district. But when she ran for the Senate in 2010, she had made the journey from cautious moderate to flaming liberal. Her positions on the issues have moved drastically farther left since she started remaking her personal personae to appeal more to Bernie Sanders voters.
If Democrats are going to commit suicide and run a northeast liberal in 2020, they will almost certainly nominate Bernie Sanders instead of Gillibrand. But Sanders may decide that with all the cash he’s been raking in since the campaign, he wants to retire to one of his three houses. (Ah! The wages of socialism!)
If that were to happen, who else could those progressive Democrats turn to except the foul-mouthed New Yorker who comes readymade with Hillary’s blessing and good relations with Bernie Sanders supporters?
Stranger things have happened.
