The Two Kirsten Gillibrands

There are two Kirsten Gillibrands, a Congresswoman Gillibrand and a Senator Gillibrand. Leaving aside the name, they have very little in common. The Congresswoman is a Second Amendment supporting, anti-illegal immigrant backer of upstate New York. The Senator, however, is a New Yorker who claims to have only learned about the dangers of gun violence once she moved to the big Apple.

Ever since Gillibrand moved from the House to the Senate, political commentators have highlighted Gillibrand’s seemingly overnight transformation. Now as Senator Gillibrand attempts to establish her far-left bona fides, in advance of a presidential run, her fellow Democrats are no longer keeping quiet about her startling lack of liberal authenticity.

The latest to comment on Senator Gillibrand’s assorted flip-flops is Blue Dog Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-OR) who told McClatchy that Senator Gillibrand’s endorsement of a Democratic congressional challenger was a “BS… play for progressives” given her own less-than-progressive personal history:

“To Schrader, the endorsement smacked of political opportunism — especially given that Gillibrand, while a representative of a moderate upstate New York district, was once a blue dog herself. ‘She used to be a Blue Dog, and then miraculously turns around?’ said Schrader. ‘C’mon, man.’”

A common kiss of death for the ambitions of many politicians is the attachment of the label flip-flopper. With Congressman Schrader’s comments, Senator Gillibrand is now on notice that this will be an ongoing headache for her presidential dreams.