Is Kirsten Gillibrand Having a ‘Tracy Flick’ Moment?
Rumors are beginning to circle around U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and her presidential aspirations for 2016. And New Yorkers want to know, is she running for a full six-year term in the Senate this campaign season, or is she planning to abandon her district to pursue a presidential run in 2016?
Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long is demanding that Gillibrand tell New Yorkers which office she is actually running for.
Long said, “Kirsten Gillibrand needs to come clean with New Yorkers – is she running for U.S. Senate or President? Judging by her non-answer, answers and well documented history of flip flops it is impossible to tell where she stands or if she is committed to serving a full term in office,” said Long.
Long is responding to a number of reports that she may well be a worthy replacement in 2016 should Hillary Clinton decide not to run.
(In) an August 9th interview with NY1 Inside City Hall, Washington Post political reporter and “The Fix” blogger Chris Cillizza commented on the idea of a 2016 Gillibrand run, saying “you have Gillibrand in there if Hillary Clinton decides not to run.”
A chapter in Cillizza’s new book, The Gospel According to the Fix: An Insider’s Guide to a Less than Holy World of Politics, speculates on potential 2016 candidates including Gillibrand.
Long then proceeds to take a shot at Gillibrand, referring to her hopes of a 2016 presidential run as a “Tracy Flick” type of ambition.
Continued Long, “Gillibrand’s Off the Sidelines campaign and efforts to promote extreme liberal women candidates around the country are part of her broader agenda to create a national network of supporters to promote a 2016 bid. Unfortunately, as a result of her ‘Tracy Flick’ like unbridled ambition she regularly puts the needs of her national political agenda ahead of the needs of hardworking New Yorkers. New Yorkers deserve the truth – not another flip-flop.”
The reference has been made before, when a Politico report in 2009 indicated that the New York congressional delegation had given her the nickname – “a not-so-flattering reference to the over-eager, blonde, bubbly and viciously competitive Reese Witherspoon character from “Election.” For those unfamiliar with the role, we offer the following video clip…
Indeed, the question now remains, is Kirsten Gillibrand upsetting New Yorkers? Putting her blind ambition ahead of the needs of her own constituency? Is she running for her Senate seat in 2012, or is she already looking ahead to a national platform in 2016?
Mental Recession 