Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is headed for a big promotion this afternoon, with New York Gov. David Paterson expected to tap her as the state’s next senator. But aside from her experience on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate run — and her summer job in the office of very Republican former Sen. Al D’Amato (NY) — what do we know about her?
Aravosis points out her less-than-stellar record on gay rights and stunning 100% rating from the National Rifle Association. But here are a few more votes where New York’s new senator showed her centrist stripes as a House Blue Dog:
– Gillibrand split from the majority of fellow Democrats in 2007 to support a $100 billion Iraq funding bill without a timeline for troop withdrawal. (Clinton opposed the bill, along with President Obama.)
– Gillibrand was the only Democrat voting against Rep. Maxine Waters’ (D-CA) proposal last year to help states purchase foreclosed homes and offer them at discounted rates to low-income families.
– She did stand apart from 41 House Democratic centrists in 2007 to oppose the “bipartisan” Protect America Act, which enabled the Bush warrantless wiretapping program to continue with minimal judicial oversight … but Gillibrand voted last year to give legal immunity to telecom companies who had assisted the wiretapping regime, despite her earlier vow to oppose such a shield. (President Obama, it should be noted, flipped his stance in the exact same fashion.)
