Posted on 01/27/2010 6:32:48 PM PST by neverdem
Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand sharply objected Tuesday to Harold E. Ford Jr.’s characterization of her as “a parakeet” and accused him of engaging in a “fraudulent” campaign for her Senate seat.
Ms. Gillibrand’s remarks came a day after Mr. Ford appeared on an Albany radio show and suggested that she lacked the independence to be a senator.
“Understand that you’re not elected to the United States Senate to be a parakeet or to take instructions from the Democratic leadership,” Mr. Ford said, a jab at Ms. Gillibrand, who was appointed to the Senate last year to fill the seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton.
In response, during an interview on Tuesday, Ms. Gillibrand depicted Mr. Ford, a former representative from Tennessee, as a political scion who had benefited handsomely from his ties to powerful insiders. Although he is positioning himself as an outsider, she said, he inherited his father’s Congressional seat and runs the Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist policy group that is a major player in Washington.
“It is fraudulent for him to claim he is an outsider,” she said. “He literally grew up in Washington, D.C., while his father was a congressman. And then he waltzes into his father’s Congressional seat and now is a vice chairman of Merrill Lynch.”
“On top of that, he runs the most insider Democratic organization, the D.L.C,” she said, continuing, “For him to say he is an outsider and an independent is laughable.”
The tart comments from both sides suggest that a Democratic primary between the two would be quite a rumpus. It is highly unusual for a United States senator to directly attack a rival who is not even officially in the race, let alone with such personal edge.
But Ms. Gillibrand made clear that she thought Mr. Ford had crossed...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Chuck U and Gillibrand have been running interference for each other. Either Pataki, King or Giuliani could change their minds later. It's still early. A lot of things could happen with the change in the electoral landscape. Someone needs to take out Schumer.
Chuckie wants the parakeet to stay, because he likes finally being the senior senator; Ford would probably overshadow him.
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