Our fantastic female senators are not getting their due, not getting the attention they deserve. It is not that surprising that the media is focused on the male candidates, but that should not be happening here at Daily Kos. I like Senator Klobuchar, but I understand why she is not a favorite here at Daily Kos. She is more of a moderate, more centrist. That is the main reason why I myself have her fifth in my list of choices. However, Senator Gillibrand has a great record as a progressive fighter in the U.S. Senate. I feel she really should be getting more support and attention than she is. She must be considered a top tier candidate, especially one of our top female choices. I know there are 23 candidates for president in the Democratic primary. However, she is very progressive, has a strong progressive record to run on, and should be considered a top contender. The one thing she is not, is male. This is the main objection that I can see to her; every single president that this country has ever has been a male. Despite Hillary’’s policy list and ranking as more progressive than Barack Obama, she was portrayed as too conservative according to Kossacks and too liberal according to conservatives. There can be no such concern about Senator Kirsten Gillibrand being a “neoliberal corporatist” senator. She has been the leader for women fighting against sexual harassment and sexual assault. She stuck her neck out and led on this issue even when it could cost her politically. Even a person who opposed her call out can and should recognize that she is a strong female progressive leader for women. I also understand that when there are this many candidates, it is difficult for certain candidates, especially females to find traction. However, there are only four major female candidates and six overall. Considering where she is ideologically (right there with Senators Warren and Harris), even if she is not your first choice, I believe she should definitely get a chance on the debate stage. Again, there are only six total female candidates, only four female senators, and she fits ideologically close to the most progressive two, Senator Warren and Senator Harris. Even a one time dollar contribution will help her get on to the debate stage She certainly deserves that much at least. I would like to review several reasons why is worth putting on the debate stage.
In 2017, Senator Gillibrand was ranked as the fifth most progressive senator. She was the single most progressive female senator in the US Senate. Senator Warren, for comparison, was number 81. On progressive punch, on crucial votes she was sixth at 96.28 for her lifetime, ahead of Bernie Sanders. She is twelve points more progressive than one would predict based upon Trump’s numbers in the state. She is 11th most progressive in her lifetime score at voteview .
At a time when we are fighting for choice, she has the strongest record of voting against President Trump’s judicial nominees. She has the strongest anti-Trump record in the senate. I learned through texting a campaign leader, Senator Gillibrand supports impeachment. She supports the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. She is not taking any PAC money. These three stances are hallmarks of a true progressive — impeachment, Green New Deal, and Medicare for All- and she passes all of them!
She fights for women, fought against sexual harassment and rape in the military, is 100 percent pro-choice, and has a new five point family plan that she recently put forth. Even though she is in New York , she voted against the bank bail out twice. This is a progressive. She supports transparency and make her official meetings public. That is good government.
She was criticized for bucking Washington conventions, but instead of backing down, she went further—making her personal financial disclosures and earmark requests public, too. In the Senate, she wrote and secured the passage of the STOCK Act, which finally made it illegal for members of Congress, their families and their staff to profit from insider information and trading. In 2010, Kirsten was a leader in the effort to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and finally allow LGBTQ people to serve openly in our military. She’s fiercely fought for commonsense gun safety measures like universal background checks, closing loopholes, stopping gun trafficking and banning assault weapons. She also believes that it is the responsibility of white people to share the burden in the fight to dismantle racism and expand opportunity. She’s been committed to amplifying voices that have been ignored or silenced for too long in the continuing fights for equal rights and justice, including the fights for reproductive rights, voting rights, criminal justice and immigration reform.
She first entered Congress by beating a popular incumbent in a district that was 2 to 1 Republican. She won anyway. She represented her constituencies’ views at the time, but almost immediately grew to represent the state’s views once she became the junior senator from New York and now has an F rating from the NRA. She isn’t the first to grow in that issue and she represented a heavily republican district before, but immediately upon entering the senate a decade ago became a strong supporter of gun reform legislation. It can’t be just Bernie who is allowed to grow on the issue; Bernie voted against the Brady Bill and other gun reform legislation 50% of the time. Senator Gillibrand has had a strong record for gun reform the entire time she has served in the U.S. Senate. Her electoral history shows an ability to win in republican districts. She won NY-23 and has won the greatest percentage of the vote in the history of the state of New York.
In summary, here we have a strong female champion of both progressive values and women themselves. On issue after issue, she shows she is as progressive as anybody in the race. She is a fighter and has led the #metoo movement. Isn’t it time, we support a women with the courage to lead on women’s issues and fight back against misogyny and sexual harassment ! Women know their own experiences best. Truly, only a woman can fully understand the challenges and opposition that they face. For that reason, a woman is in the best position to know what is needed to change the culture and right the wrongs. She is the woman to give voice to the experiences of women and to fight back ! No other female elected officials have led on these issues like Senator Gillibrand who has been a champion for women ! We Democrats regularly lose the male vote to the republicans who long to return to the male patriarch dominated society, but win elections because of women who back Democrats often by 20 points and make up 53% of the voters in national elections. We have had an unbroken chain of men who have served as president. Some here objected to Secretary Clinton because they said she was too moderate and too corporatist. Let them prove that their vote and voice was not from misogyny by supporting a female leader for women, Senator Gillibrand, since it can never be said that the woman who opposed the bank bailout and wrote and supported the STOCK Act and served with transparency is a “corporatist” . She certainly deserves to at least be on the debate stage with less qualified and less progressive men. Let’s put her up on that debate stage !
I am at the auto mechanic shop now. So, I apologize in advance if I do not get back immediately to your comments. I will respond as soon as I am able to. Even though Senator Gillibrand is not my top choice (that’s Senator Harris followed by Senator Warren), I strongly believe that all the strong, female progressive Senators should be at the debate.
Even a single dollar counts ! She needs 65.000 donors with at least 200 donors from at least 20 states. The amount raised is not part of the requirement to get to the debate stage. So, a dollar donation helps her get to the debate stage. Many people can afford a one time donation of a dollar and shouldn’t all the strong, progressive women, especially those in higher office like senators, get to the debate. It should not be 18 men and only 2 women at the debate stage ! That would look like the republican party. Therefore, all strong, progressive women senators should be at the debate. It will look really bad to many of the female Democrats outside of Daily Kos if well-qualified women don’t make it to the debate, but less qualified men do. Women prop up the Democratic Party. If only men voted, Democrats would not win national elections. We would lose badly. We win because of women voters. And since they make up a majority of the voters, then they are the ones to whom we should direct our appeal. Part of that has to be including women as the leaders of the party and in our electoral representation.
This is where you can make your contribution to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand ! Even a dollar helps a lot ! Thank you !!!!!!