Gillibrand's Campaign Not Going According to Plan

[DonViejo]

June 17, 2019 at 11:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard

The Atlantic: “People working with her campaign acknowledge that she clearly underestimated how much her being out front in calling for Al Franken to resign from the Senate was going to haunt her—even though that was a year and a half ago, and despite the fact that all the other senators in the race called for him to go too. Among primary voters and partisan media outlets that put a premium on purity, no one is letting go of her past pro-gun or anti-immigrant positions.”

“The media spotlight she gets in New York and Washington only makes it more shocking when insiders in those cities realize she’s largely unknown to almost everyone else.”

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https://politicalwire.com/2019/06/17/gillibrands-campaign-not-going-according-to-plan/

[hlthe2b]

1. Gee, a handful of prominent posters in this forum excoriated me for making that same prediction...

In fact, a few show up on every single thread where Gillibrand or Franken is mentioned to make the same tired comments, for whatever reason.

Franken was beloved and well respected. Going after him in such a way that allowed him no honorable way to stay and defend himself, was unconscionable. Whodda "thunk" in this era that people would feel strongly about that and more importantly, NOT FORGET? Well, at least a large proportion of DEMS do.

[ret5hd]

2. TY.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. If you're a Minnesotan you sure as hell haven't forgotten.

If Gillibrand gets as far as Super Tuesday she'll pick up exactly zero votes in this state (not that it's an important state, but still). We haven't forgotten or forgiven.

[Bradshaw3]

12. Well said n/t

[Polly Hennessey]

14. Oh, yes, I was chastised

for the same thing. How dare I not genuflect at the Gillibrand alter. I am glad others are expressing the same opinions I expressed. By the way, where have all those Gillibranders gone?

[wyldwolf]

20. she has fans here? and they're "prominent posters?"

[Merlot]

4. I'd say even without the Frankin incident she wouldn't go far

It's not a "premium on purity" to note when a democrat has a recent past of being pro-gun or anti-imigrant.

And much as I love Colbert, announcing your campaign on a late night-talk show just doesn't scream "serious contender."

[DrToast]

6. Agree. She's not gaining traction because there's 20+ candidates

And she doesn't really have anything in her background to differentiate her.

[TheFarseer]

22. Also true. Nt

[bigbrother05]

7. Some did ok with a Late Night announcement, she looked calculated

[MineralMan]

5. She was toast from the beginning.

[Wellstone ruled]

11. Yes she was.

People are not as stupid as she thinks.

[sop]

8. Gillibrand didn't benefit from her Franken stance, but it's not the reason her campaign's a dud

Last edited Mon Jun 17, 2019, 02:08 PM - Edit history (1)

In her defense, she had been actively fighting to reform the way sexual harassment and physical attacks were being ignored by the military, holding hearings to allow victims to share their accounts and introducing legislation. I imagine Gillibrand felt obligated to speak out against Franken so as not to appear hypocritical. I thought she and others were wrong, Al should never have resigned.

Gillibrand isn't a particularly exciting candidate, she doesn't stand out from the crowd. I'm not really sure what issues she's fighting for, and can't imagine why voters would support her over Warren, Harris or Klobuchar. I also suspect she's using the Franken thing as an excuse for her inability to get any traction.

[TuxedoKat]

9. What I'm wondering

is how she made it into the first debate being so unpopular.

[hlthe2b]

13. Arguably Tulsi Gabbard is even more so and she's in.

[peggysue2]

10. We've gone round and round on this one

Whether it's fair or not, Gillibrand takes the lion share of blame for Franken's forced and messy resignation. Yes, there were other candidates who eagerly hopped on the bandwagon of condemnation but the perception is what it is: Gillibrand led the charge and we lost a valuable member of the Senate.

I'd read before that both Gillibrand and her campaign admitted that the Franken debacle had hurt support and donations. Why they're feigning surprise or saying they underestimated the blowback is beyond me. Also the 'premium on purity' line is a real hoot considering how self-righteous the zero-tolerance finger-pointers were at the time of the incident. Most Dems saw the Franken attack as a political hit job engineered by the Republican right-wing.

Gillibrand miscalculated Franken's popularity. Dems have not forgotten. Nor forgiven.

[Indykatie]

15. I Believed From Day One Gillibrand's Campaign Would Be DOA For Several Reasons

Franken is but one of the reasons. She is generally seen as being an opportunistic politician who purposely amassed the most liberal voting record in the Senate so she could run for POTUS. When you're consistently vote to the left of Liz Warren that takes some doing. I know politicians evolve but her shifts always struck me as being manufactured. Her turning on the Clintons does help either in my book. She might fare better with voters in the General but engaged Dem voters will shun her in the primary. She hasn't registered 2% in any of the major polls that I've seen.

[peggysue2]

18. Turning on the Clintons was not a good look

They helped her at the beginning of her political career and she shivved them for political expediency. People don't forget that sort of thing either.

Gillibrand made her own bed. She can now toss and turn in it.

[TheCowsCameHome]

16. It's going according to my plan.

Going nowhere, and fast.

[keithbvadu2]

17. Good!

[brooklynite]

19. What's the explanation of the failed plans of everyone else?

[USALiberal]

23. Nice try! Nt

[IndyOp]

21. Al