Kennedy/Obama Supporters Diss Gov. Paterson for Selection Process

New York Congresswoman Kirstin Gillibrand and Gov. David Paterson, Photo credits: PostStar.Com, Glens Falls, NY

Diehard supporters (read Obama supporters) of Caroline Kennedy’s bid for Hillary Clinton’s U.S. senate seat are taking their anger out on Gov. Paterson; Paterson had the gall to appoint Congresswoman Kirsten Gillilbrand, an upstate centrist who has paid her dues in New York politics.

There continue to be odes to Caroline across the media today. After all, she who withdrew from the running before Paterson’s announcement of his pick had special status:

CAROLINE’S A FRIEND OF OBAMA AND THE KENNEDY FAMILY. SHE WOULD HAVE HAD THE PRESIDENT’S EAR, THE BACKING OF THE KENNEDY MACHINE, AND MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!!

Listening to David Brooks and Mark Shields on Jim Lehrer’s NewsHour at PBS last night, I relied on Buddhist mindfulness training – attending to my breathing while half-smiling - to remain calm when Shields testily complained about Paterson’s process for making the selection.

The Left of course continues to take shots at Gillibrand. But scanning the online coverage, I was surprised to discover Brian Keeler’s favorable remarks (Huffington Post), and Keeler’s link to Casey Morris’ piece (Daily Kos) that is also supportive of Gillibrand.

Keeler explains that when both he and Gillibrand ran for office in upstate New York in 2006, their districts overlapped, and they wound up at some of the same events where he got to know Gillibrand as a candidate. Keeler writes:

“In those events, I'm here to report that she was the first one to arrive and the last to leave... answering every question and showing real interest in people's lives. I was very busy myself, but my admiration for her grew as I watched a confident, attentive, ambitious, candidate evolve into a quality Congresswoman who represented her District with passion and dedication.

“I know many on this site {the Huffington Post} are disappointed in this decision, but, when I heard about the opening, my first thought was of Congresswoman Gillibrand. In fact, when all is said and done, I can't think of any other appointment who:

“Has legislative experience;

Can raise the kind of money that will need to be raised over the next 4 years;

Has broad popularity upstate;

Has the support of the woman she is replacing

“There will be plenty of time to debate upcoming votes and everyone will have a chance to contact the Senator and voice your opinion... and, I can guarantee that she will listen.”

Read more of Keeler's post here.

Over at the Daily Kos, Casey Morris begins:

“Kirsten Gillibrand is my Congresswoman. And it seems that she is poised to become my next Senator from New York, which will no doubt make many progressives nervous, if you look at her on paper alone.

“But those scorecards don't tell the whole story, and when you look at those scorecards and how she fares on the Democratic Purity Testing Scale, you would do well to remember one very important thing: Kirsten Gillibrand is a Democrat representing a Conservative Republican district.

“It's a district that she has won twice. The first time she won it with a bit of a nudge of Republican Frat Boy extraodinaire, John Sweeney. But the second time she won it, she was the number one target of the NRCC, she ran against a self-funder who spent $7 million of his own money, against the $5 million she raised, and though he ran one of the slickest and most D.C.-type top level consultant expensive campaigns I have seen, she still beat him.

“She beat him comfortably.

“Below the fold I will tell you what I know about her, how I know it, and how this committed Democrat beat back two different Republicans in a conservative Republican district."

Go here for Casey Morris's diary; it’s well worth reading.