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NY-Sen-B: Kennedy to Withdraw From Senate Bid (Updated)

by: James L.

Wed Jan 21, 2009 at 7:24 PM EST


NY Times:

Caroline Kennedy has withdrawn from consideration for the vacant Senate seat in New York, according to a person told of her decision.

On Wednesday she called the governor, David Paterson, who is making the selection of who should succeed Senator Hillary Clinton. Her concerns about Senator Edward M. Kennedy's deteriorating health (he was hospitalized after a seizure during the inaugural lunch on Tuesday ) prompted her decision to withdraw, this person said. Coping with the health issues of her uncle, with whom she enjoys an extraordinarily close bond, was her most important priority; a situation not conducive to starting a high profile public job.

She was planning to issue a statement on Wednesday evening.

According to the Times, Paterson will be announcing his selection on Saturday. I'm glad that Kennedy is doing the right thing by clearing the way for DavidNYC.

UPDATE (David): Now there are conflicting reports, with some anonymous family members allegedly saying she has not pulled out. Governor, my transition team is getting antsy!

LATER UPDATE (James): It's official:

I informed Governor Paterson today that for personal reasons I am withdrawing my name from consideration for the United States Senate.

(Hat-tip: Jeremiah)
James L. :: NY-Sen-B: Kennedy to Withdraw From Senate Bid (Updated)
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NY-Sen-B: Kennedy to Withdraw From Senate Bid (Updated) | 91 comments
Good
Face saving move on her part.  That's probably why Patterson waited.
Thank You, Caroline
For saving us all the embarrassment. But I can't help thinking; yesterday Uncle Teddy collapsed at the Inauguration and now Caroline's taken herself out of an entry into politics. Now that Obama's President, is this some kind of sign that the Kennedy era has finally passed the torch to the next generation?
you changed your mind too?
a few days ago you were very vocally supporting her appointment. I would like to see Caroline start somewhere lower, like the New Yrk City council, or the state senate, then work her way up for a few years, that's if she really wants to be in politics.  

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus
[ Parent ]
Excuse Me?
you must have mistaken me for someone else. I was against the Caroline appointment from the beginning (i.e. my response when I first heard it? HELLLLLLNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO). I'm more for someone like Andrew Cuomo. When did I say I was for Caroline? Because I was either high that time or I simply don't recall.
[ Parent ]
you must have been with
me arguing against some people for it. I don't like the Cuomo appointment either, but, hey, what can you do?

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus
[ Parent ]
not sure what happened that time
But if I was involved with you in some conversation with other people regarding the potential Caroline appointment, I definitely would have been on the side of "No way, hosie."
[ Parent ]
DavidNYC?
Oh please. Everyone, please bow down to future Senator-designee Fran Drescher.

22, Democrat, AZ-01
Peace. Love. Gabby.
Man
I am so having you thrown into the prison below the Capitol the moment I'm sworn in.
[ Parent ]
good, he can stay in the
creepy underground room with the bathtubes and tombs for somebody. (believe me, I've been to the secret, dusty, dank, ancient cobwebed lined underbelly of the capitol with the security guards. Tourists aren't allowed their,m but, fortuantely, pages are.  

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus
[ Parent ]
I'm grand-emperor of the Universe
I'll throw you in my inter-galactic torture chamber (we make Guantanamo look like Bermuda ;))

(This should explain why the universe is such a f*&$ed up place to live)

Politics and Other Random Topics

24, Male, Democrat, NM-01, Chairman of the Atheist Caucus, and Majority Leader of the "Going to Hell" caucus!

[ Parent ]
o/t but
Is someone else impersonating the esteemed David NYC or does he have a second life.  I found a David NYC commenting about old brands of NYC area beer and hot dogs on roadfood.com.  I was just rying to find the words to the Rhinegold jingle when out tumbled David NYC.  He's everywhere.
[ Parent ]
This just goes to show...
...How successful his campaign has been thus far. Huge and unprecedented levels of name ID amngst electiom-, beer- and hot-dog junkies.
[ Parent ]
reingold is my beer
the dry beer
[ Parent ]
hah, yeah, David.
Are 30 years of age? I thought you were in oyur late 20s. Oh well, I'm sure it will be Cuomo, though there has suddenly been some discussion of Rep. Kirsten Gillenbrand, who Patterson recently had discussion with, and whose name is still aparently on the list. So is the mayor of Buffallo, but I don't think that he's a very serious option, not well enough known, or experience enough in national politics.

(Just watch it be the Mayor of Bufallo though, just because I said it wouldn't be and that he wouldn't be a good choice its going to be him).  

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus

Cuomo
I understood that because Patterson can't be sure he'll get a suitable replacement at AG out of the legislature that he may avoid Cuomo.  Any reality to that speculation?
[ Parent ]
I've heard
that if Paterson taps Cuomo, DavidNYC is the clear front-runner for the AG gig.
[ Parent ]
I've heard
that the musical chairs would be:
Cuomo: to Senate
Spitzer: back to AG
DavidNYC: to Slate Magazine
[ Parent ]
Slate?
You cruel, cruel man. Will I have to wax Mickey Kaus's chrome dome?
[ Parent ]
I'm starting to sound like a broken record
But I really hope Paterson doesn't pick a sitting House member, ESPECIALLY not Kirsten Gillibrand. The DCCC doesn't need to start stretching its budget, however mammoth it may be, this early on.

Male, 23, DC-At Large
House member
Someone like Carolyn Maloney would not be a problem.  But Gillibrand would be terrible both for holding the seat and for having a real progressive in the senate.
[ Parent ]
I like Maloney too.


My blog
Twitter
Scribd
28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
For some reason I have antipathy toward Cuomo.
I don't know what I read that planted it, but I have the impression that he's an asshole.  (Perhaps he was an antagonist to both Spitzer and Paterson from the right(ish)?  Would that be accurate?)

I'm still of the Carolyn Maloney persuasion.  Although Christine Quinn would be pretty cool.  That is strictly identity politics on my part though and not really to be taken seriously.

28, gay guy, Democrat, CA-08

Christine Quinn wouldn't survive a primary
and it has nothing to do with her sexuality. New York City HATES her for the term-limit thing.  

Liberty Avenue Politics - a place for politics in Southern Queens
[ Parent ]
I'm guessing Paterson
Told her he's leaning or going in a different direction and gave her this option to save face.

I'm guessing Cuomo will be the pick, but with Kennedy out of the picture I wouldn't totally dismiss the darkhorse options of Gillibrand or Byron Brown.

If Cuomo's the pick, I doubt Peter King runs. Against Kennedy he could use the populist angle, and he could use it against Cuomo as well but it wouldn't be anywhere near as successful.

I concur
Cuomo would be a much stronger statewide candidate to hold the seat, name ID among other reasons. But I like Gillibrand as the appointee; she is young, a female, can raise money, attractive, sufficiently progressive (the gun issue is a faux distraction) and not as outwardly ambitious or brash like Cuomo.

The fact that her district may be taken over by the GOP should not preclude her appointment. Obama carried it and hopefully she's recruited a strong replacement for the DCCC to support.  

Indepedent/Lean D. Dude.
All 5s (now TX-5; frmly VA-5 and CA-5)  

[ Parent ]
It's not guns
Check any political assessment system. Gillibrand is just more conservative than most New York Democrats.
[ Parent ]
For argument sake
My feeling is that she would be a more progressive Senator than Congresswoman.  She has to keep a somewhat moderate record to hold a swing district like NY-20.  If she had a much more liberal constituency she'd almost certainly move well left.  I'm not saying I want her as the pick.  We need her to hold NY-20.  
[ Parent ]
While with Maloney
We'd have no trouble at all holding NY-14. Not sure about the new PVI, but the old PVI is D+26. Not much DCCC cash needed here.

My blog
Twitter
Scribd
28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
Maloney would lose
a lot of seniority going from a chamber with faster turnover to one full of old lions. I agree that Gillibrand's "conservative" positions are necessitated by her holding a marginal seat but I honestly don't see her as that right leaning. Her words about hunting rights and guns was the same thing HRC said during the campaign. Besides she is supposed to represent NY State, not the NY Democratic Party. If she was in a few miles down in Virginia or Pennyslvania she'd be a mainstream Democrat, if she was in my neck of the woods they'd call her a wide-eyed NY liberal, even if she could shoot a target 2 miles away with one hand tied behind her back...LOL!

Indepedent/Lean D. Dude.
All 5s (now TX-5; frmly VA-5 and CA-5)  
[ Parent ]
NY State is pretty liberal
I tend to figure that the 'represent the state, not the party' thing is misdirection. If you're elected on a platform other than 'not following my party', the voters knew what they were getting.

Still, she might improve, but it's not the hunting comments that bother me - although as a gun-owner, the NRA make me feel ill. I think she can probably keep those up. But she doesn't have a reputation for boldness on economics, and we already have one Schumer representing New York.

[ Parent ]
A shame
She was smeared by a lot of people who had no idea what they were talking about, and were hypocrites on the experience question.
my bet
gillibrand. shes the only one who really stands out from the cadre of reps. woman, upstate, amazing fund raising ability. cuomo would allow a vacancy that i believe the house gets to appoint and theyre not too cozy w paterson right now. none of the mayors stand out that much, either. im still sad, though. im from mass and the kennedys r royalty here. no senator sweet caroline gives me sad face

25. gay jewish male. amherst, ma
I've just read that MSNBC and Ben Smith are reporting that she has NOT withdrawn
I'm going to look for the links to confirm this now.  
Here:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/...

UPDATE: Democrat close to Kennedy, however, says "she is not" pulling out. None of her spokesmen immediately responded to a request for comment.

UPDATE: I still haven't confirmed this, and people quite close to Caroline continue to deny it. Indeed, her New York City inner political circle appears to be out of the loop. But the story appears to be coming from Paterson's camp in Albany, so details aside, the effect is the same.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28...

sources tell NBC News that there may been a miscommunication

[ Parent ]
Too late
damage has been done. It will look indecisive if she gets it. NYtimes still says she's out

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01...


Indepedent/Lean D. Dude.
All 5s (now TX-5; frmly VA-5 and CA-5)  

[ Parent ]
Or it looks like shoddy reporting by the NYT
Seriously, her candidacy is failed because someone misspoke?  Especially when it wasn't CK herself?  You're joking.  
[ Parent ]
Indecisive?
If this was disinformation from another camp, how does that make her look indecisive?  If that turns out to be the case, if anything, it might strengthen her chances since people will believe she was the victim of a dirty trick.
[ Parent ]
Not indecisive on CK's part
but with the Governor later appointing her after this the whole process will look messy. I find it hard that the NY press, NYTimes included, will go with this without checking and double checking their sources (not just one source who may have an agenda). There aren't that many anti-CK folks in ALL the NY Press.

I suspect, and I'm not anti-CK personally but anti-dynastic politics, she got word she was not the pick and was given a way to save face by saying she has withdrawn but her political people and possibly members of her family were not given advance notice and a trying to save the name by saying she hasn't withdrawn. I didn't believe she would get the appointment before this and I would be shocked if she did after this.

Indepedent/Lean D. Dude.
All 5s (now TX-5; frmly VA-5 and CA-5)  

[ Parent ]
The Governor already looks bad
what makes him look even worse is that unlike Colorado and Delaware, he didn't have a candidate ready knowing for almost two months this seat was going to be vacated.

Paterson's approval in New York is plummeting and a lot of people feel like he's taking too long to pick a Senator and playing games with the process. Some people are questioning if he's pulling a Blagojevich and looking for a bribe.  

Liberty Avenue Politics - a place for politics in Southern Queens

[ Parent ]
If This Is An Indication
of her decision making skills, then I would not trust her to hold my place in the queue to the bathroom, let alone be my Senator.  
[ Parent ]
You guys are really trying to spin this hard aren't you?
This is hilariously absurd.  
[ Parent ]
You're in luck.
Because Stephen Harper can't appoint her anyway.
[ Parent ]
That's Right
He's already filled the 18 vacancies in OUR Senate. And besides, putting Caroline in would just give the Liberals another vote anyway in that particular body (read signature carefully).
[ Parent ]
I'm thinking Maloney

yeah
I also think it'll be her, with Gillibrand and Weingarten as other possibilities.  I just feel like he'll appoint a woman, although I do like a number of the contenders.
[ Parent ]
Maloney
And now Maloney is saying she will challenge Gillibrand in the primary, if Gillibrand is selected.  I wonder if she'd challenge Weingarten as well and is going to run in 2010 regardless, or if this has more to do with Gillibrand's conservative/moderate positions?
[ Parent ]
...
McCarthy is threatening to primary, not Maloney.  Wrong NY Congresswoman, they just sound so damn similar.
[ Parent ]
H/T Senateguru
http://publicpolicypolling.blo...

PPP Burr-Shuler match up.  

Burr Approval

Approve 33
Disapprove 30

Shuler Favorability

Favorable 21
Unfavorable 21

Head to Head:

Burr 39
Shuler 28

Noted in the article, this is reflective of an early Dole-Miller PPP poll from 2008.  

yes, this is all
disgraceful pandering to disrupt the smooth behind the scenes transition of DavidNYC's elite staff of blogosphere politicos and Canadians.  

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus
Weee!
Step 1: Hillary Clinton nominated as Secratary of State

Step 2: Among other candidates Caroline Kennedy expresses interest in Senate appointment. She has served as a close adviser to uncle Ted Kennedy known as the "liberal lion" and lays out progressive positions on the issues including support for marriage equality.

Step 3: Liberal blogs are outraged, DYNASTY they cry.

Step 4: Paterson decides not to appoint Kennedy, she withdraws.

Step 5: He appoints a Blue Dog, Kirsten Gillibrand to Clinton's Senate seat. She goes on to continue her moderate voting record and Democrats lose her House seat.

Maybe I'm overreacting and this still has not all been decided  but I'm not particularly happy with how this has gone so far. If Gillibrand ends up being the pick that will be extremely frustrating.

Paterson had a easy choice that could have avoided all of this, DavidNYC.  

The more I think about it
The more I'm convinced it'll be Cuomo. It seems like the only advantage Gillibrand would have over Cuomo is the fact that she's a woman. Things mentioned as strengths of Gillibrand like electability and fundraising wouldn't really be there in comparison to Cuomo.
[ Parent ]
Upstate too
that and Hispanic seemed to be the three things Paterson wanted most.  
[ Parent ]
It won't be Cuomo
Paterson doesn't want another battle with the state legislature over who replaces him as Attorney General.

Paterson is in enough battles as it is.  

Liberty Avenue Politics - a place for politics in Southern Queens

[ Parent ]
But he'd also
Get his only significant potential primary opponent out of the way.
[ Parent ]
I'm looking forward
to kos slamming Senator Gillibrand for being a blue dog after destroying Caroline Kennedy.  

Liberty Avenue Politics - a place for politics in Southern Queens
[ Parent ]
Speaking of New York
Hillary Clinton's Secretary of State nomination was approved by the Senate 94-2.  The two who voted nay were Vitter and DeMint.  I really hope we rid the Senate of that assclown Vitter, but I'm not holding my breath.
Clearly he's trying to win Rush Limbaugh's favor.
For the power-play in the Louisiana primary.  
[ Parent ]
I find it odd that Jim DeMint suddenly changed his mind about Clinton.
Wanna bet Vitter, being the pussy that he is, asked DeMint to buddy-system him on the roll call because he was too scared to be the only 'no' vote?
[ Parent ]
Another chicken
Is Cornyn.  He's consistently bashed Hillary's nomination for a good while now.  Then when push coems to shove he votes in favor of confirmation.
[ Parent ]
Vitter
WaPo's "The Fix" is reporting that Vitter voted against Hillary because he is afraid of a right wing primary challenge in 2010.  DeMint, supposedly, wanted to burnish his national cred as the most right wing of the wingnuts who is pure at heart.  The Fix said that DeMint is too extreme to have national ambitions beyond a form of street cred.

I just love telling people why Vitter is called "Diaper Dave."  It brings instant disgust.  Then I add his bootlicking of Bush's "relief" efforts in the immediate aftermath of Katrina.  Home run.

Having DeMint and Vitter vote against you is a badge of honor.

[ Parent ]
The seat is
officially vacant:

According to Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate office, she has resigned as a New York senator after taking the oath of office as the nation's 67th secretary of state.
For the record, the oath was administered at 5:29 p.m. by Kathleen Oberly, Associate Judge, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, in a private ceremony at her office in the Russell Senate Office Building.

"This letter is to inform you that I resign my seat in the United States Senate effective immediately in order to assume my duties as Secretary of State of the United States," Clinton wrote in three identical letters sent to the President of the Senate Joseph R. Biden, the Secretary of the Senate, and New York Governor David Paterson.

Two of the letters were handed delivered. Paterson received his letter via fax.


Well, it's official:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/...

Kennedy Spokesman

I informed Governor Paterson today that for personal reasons I am withdrawing my name from consideration for the United States Senate.

Thought so
Maloney, I say, Maloney.  
[ Parent ]
Thank goodness
As she seemed to be the candidate that Republicans most wanted to run against, I'm glad we're not picking a weak candidate.  
[ Parent ]
I agree
I hope that without Kennedy, Peter King decideds its not worth it risking a Senate run and stays in the House.

A cat can have kittens in an oven but that doesn't make them biscuits.
[ Parent ]
King's in regardless
he announced his intention to run for the Senate before Caroline Kennedy was even considered.  

Liberty Avenue Politics - a place for politics in Southern Queens
[ Parent ]
From what I've read
He's said he wants to run, he intends to run but to my knowledge he hasn't done anything official yet.

If he's running in a race where he starts off 20 pts behind, is he really going to on that kamikaze mission?

[ Parent ]
Why Not Now?
King has been in the House for 16 years. Maybe he's ready for something new. Maybe he'd rather take a shot at changing chambers than staying in the House minority party for the foreseeable future. If he's going to move to the Senate, this would be his best chance even if it's not a very good one. And if he loses, then he can do something else in the private sector (and probably make more money).

I'm not going to assume politicians love being politicians for their entire lives. There can be many personal motivations for people to do what they do.

[ Parent ]
That could be true
But King strikes me as the type of guy who loves being in the spotlight. He's always on TV and in the papers and he's contemplated a statewide run twice before. His background and past lead me to believe that he is not the type of guy who's just going to run for the sake of running and then just become a lobbyiist.
[ Parent ]
Just Speculating
I don't know King at all, so your evaluation may be accurate. I was just speculating at what might be a plausible scenario. It doesn't make much sense to me that any House Republican interested in staying in Congress would run for the NY senate seat against any moderate Democrat; I think NY is just too Democratic-leaning these days. But maybe a moderate Republican would think he has a shot. It would make more sense if he were just tired of being in the House, which is why I floated the possibly flawed hypothetical.
[ Parent ]
Kay Hagan and Jeff Merkley
started way behind too...not that King would win in that fashion, but it's never really impossible.  

Liberty Avenue Politics - a place for politics in Southern Queens
[ Parent ]
Difference being
NY vs those other 2 states. Dole always had mediocre approval ratings and with Obama on the ballot NC looked like it might be competitive. Oregon was a Dem state.

Its one thing to start off behind, that can be overcome. But when you also have to run against the partisan make-up of your state, without some sort of scandal or other external factor its next to impossible to do.

On the flip side, if some poll showed Dan Boren down 20 points to Tom Coburn, I think Boren would be a damn fool to run.

[ Parent ]
Higgins
I still like Higgins.  A dark horse for sure, but he's been a great asset to WNY and would be great for the state as a whole.
His district would be a likely hold
In 2004 he only won the open seat by about a 51-49 margin.  But New York has changed a lot since then.
[ Parent ]
The Real Problem
The real problem is that the "special" election that would allow voters to have their say regarding the seat isn't scheduled until the 2010 general election.

If there had been an appointment with a special election for the seat to follow in 90 or 120 days, then the appointment wouldn't have taken on so much import. And it would have been far less embarrassing for all involved. And fairer to the people of New York too.

Sometimes, it's better for elected official's own benefit not to have still more power. I think this power to appoint a senator for nearly two years may be one of them.

For a state racking up
A big deficit, is a special election that will cost the state millions of dollars really the best option?

From that perspective, the best option is a caretaker who promises not to run in the election.

[ Parent ]
A Drop In The Bucket?
I've been drawn to the notion of a caretaker senator as well. Let those who are interested in the job fight it out in a primary; seems fairer than having the governor give someone a considerable advantage through appointment. But Paterson said he wasn't interested in that option, citing seniority concerns (though I don't see how a few seats-worth of seniority could make that much of a difference, since NY would still be at or near the top of the incoming Senate class due to its population).

Still, a special election, though necessitating an unfortunate expenditure in these times, wouldn't make or break the state budget. And it might have been worth it to promote democratic values and avoid the circus of the past month.

[ Parent ]
I've heard a special election
In a state like NY could cost upwards of 50 million dollars.
[ Parent ]
Worth It
Fox News says that the NY Senate Minority Leader "acknowledges a special election could take three months and cost as much as $20 million."

But even if it were $50 million, what's the cost of allowing one person to hand-pick an individual who will have an overwhelming advantage in running for and keeping that seat for the foreseeable future, regardless of what the people of NY would have wanted?

Sometimes temporary fiscal problems should take a back seat to fundamental principles of governance.

[ Parent ]
Take out a row of bleechers
Considering how badly taxpayers in New York are getting screwed over by Yankee ownership they could probably remove a few rows of seats from the new Yankee stadium and save $50 mill.
[ Parent ]
I disagree completely.
Even if I were to go along with your premise that "Sometimes temporary fiscal problems should take a back seat to fundamental principles of governance", is this really the best time to do that? Especially, since I honestly don't think most people care all that much.
[ Parent ]
Short Term/Long Term
Maybe people don't care that much, but I don't think that's a reason for doing something that harms a fundamental principle of democracy.

New York State's population is over 19 million. So if the $20 million figure for a special election is correct, that averages to a dollar per person. Certainly it would be less than $2 per eligible voter. I think that's a cheap price to pay so that the will of the people prevails instead of the will of a person--even if that person happens to be the governor (who wasn't even elected to that position).

We fund police and judges during recessions. We don't lay off legislators. Representation chosen by the people is a core principle of our system of government. I think it's worth the little added debt that a special election would require. It's a short term cost, while having one person appoint a senator can have a long term cost since it's likely that that person will hold the seat for as long as that person wants to. When that long-term position is at stake, I think the people should decide.

[ Parent ]
I've had this argument
With many people over the past couple months and were just going to continue going in circles.

Bottom line, I don't agree that this harms a fundamental principle of democracy and I think most people probably agree with me.

[ Parent ]
those are YOUR values
they are not mine.  appointed senators are a fact of life.  senator wicker and barrasso are the most recent.  senators mondale, ervin and stevens were also appointed and were quite effective representing their states.  other appointed senators have been ineffective, but the same is true of elected senators.

and there is no cost if gov paterson appoints a person who does a good job representing the people of NY and serving the nation.  if that person holds the seat for as long as he/she wants to that's not a cost - that's a benefit - and a very big one.

for democratic governors to give up the power to appoint while GOP governors exercise it widely is like the democratic party tying one hand behind its back and calling for a fight.

[ Parent ]
Process Matters
appointed senators are a fact of life.  senator wicker and barrasso are the most recent.  senators mondale, ervin and stevens were also appointed and were quite effective representing their states.

I'm not denying that appointed senators can do a good job. But why not let them be selected by the people in a primary fair fight? And even if they can do a good job, perhaps others could do as good or better job and be selected on other than political considerations by the people.

if that person holds the seat for as long as he/she wants to that's not a cost - that's a benefit - and a very big one.

As I wrote before, I think any of those commonly mentioned as candidates would hold the seat without much trouble--which makes it all the more important to me that the person be selected by the people and not by one person. If the people pick someone who holds the office for a long time, that's a lot different to me than having one person pick the person who will hold the office for a long time.

[ Parent ]
it's likely we will have an experienced democratic politician
to hold this seat and run for it in 2010.  and i like that.

cuomo, gillibrand, maloney all look pretty good to me.  and does paterson really care who the assembly picks for AG?  i mean compared to how much he cares if he has a serious opponent in a primary in '10?

kennedy is a nice person and in some ways an attractive candidate, but her shyness and lack of interest in running for public office - even this year - made me think that she was a very risky choice.  and why do we need to take risks?

Don't Leave Out Steve Israel
I think any of the major contenders would hold the seat with little difficulty in 2010.

On pure ability, I'd prefer Congressman Steve Israel over Maloney.

[ Parent ]
Sadly...
NY Times is reporting that Gillibrand is the front-runner now:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01...

Let's hope she gets more progressive in the Senate. Would rather have Mahoney or Israel of course

[ Parent ]
Arggg...
We're going to have a brutally tough special election in NY-20 if that happens.  We better have a darn good candidate waiting to run there.
[ Parent ]
She would be a horrible choice
for a whole host of reasons.  
[ Parent ]
Ewww, another Feinstein.

[ Parent ]
NY-Sen-B: Kennedy to Withdraw From Senate Bid (Updated) | 91 comments

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