If she doesn't "adapt" here's hoping she loses to McCarthy in a landslide in the 2010 primary. It's one thing if you get elected to a state-wide office as a conservative Democrat but when you're appointed it seems to me you have even more of a responsibility to represent the majority, and, God knows, the majority of New Yorkers could never be accused of being conservative.

If Gillibrand was smart enough to figure out how to win as a Democrat in a Republican district, I'm sure she'll be smart enough to figure out how to win as as Democrat in a Democratic state.

Given her prodigious skills as a fundraiser, I can't imagine her being primaried out, short of her going onto the Senate floor to speak with a shotgun in hand and blasting a hole in the roof.

Read the political tea leaves, folks, and think about why Schumer was so in favor of this. The Democrats are in the process of reconquering upstate NY, a reconquista started (in part) by Gillibrand's victory. Appointing her Senator rewards that (making recruiting other good upstate candidates easier for the Dems), it pleases upstate NY voters (something that helped Clinton immensely). Gillibrand will hold that Senate seat forever (the NY Repubicans always nominate a conservative) and help with fundraising for House candidates.

True, but it is refreshing to NOT have the entrenched elite (the household names) all the time. Good to shake it up and now is a great time for that.

There is always the possibility of her becoming a Charles Goodell. For those of you who don't remember him, he was the Representative appointed to fill Bobby Kennedy's term. He was a Republican with a very Conservative voting record, but once he was in the Senate he became one of the most progressive members, even being the first Senator to introduce a sense of the Senate resolution calling for Nixon to be impeached for his invasion of Cambodia and Laos.

Gillibrand might take the same path. In her case it would be moving with her party instead of against it. (Goodell split the progressive vote with the lightweight Democrat Richard Ottinger, which resulted both in James Buckley becoming Senator and in Buckley v Vallejo.

paterson's handling of this has been shameful.

Very disappointing all around. She represents a very Republican district and already many other Repubs are organizing early with hopes to outseat her in 2010.

Why the heck did it take Patterson so long to make this pick? Mayor Bloomberg was spot on when he said a couple of weeks ago we shouldn't let this drag on so long...but Patterson did. His 'excuse' that he wanted to wait till Clinton was officially confirmed as Secretary of State is ridiculous. Other seats were filled before the proceeding person was confirmed for their new job.

Some say Blago acted more responsibly in this regard!

I realize I'm in no position to criticize anyone else's governor, but Paterson's handling of this whole situation has been underwhelming.

linda@11.11a is spot on about Paterson's handling of this choice. I hope he's voted out in next year's Dem primary.

...how to win as a Democrat in a Republican district, I'm sure she'll be smart enough to figure out how to win as as Democrat in a Democratic state. -lampwick

I don't think the qualifications for winning statewide in a mostly Democratic state are the same as winning in a most Republican area of that state. One requires pandering to the right, the other frowns upon it.

I don't know what everybody's griping about. She looks like an excellent appointment to me. The Dems should continue to hold that seat for quite some time.

I'm no fan of Paterson, but he did exactly the right thing by waiting for the last minute. And I'm thankful that this Caroline Kennedy nonsense is behind us as well. That was a disaster.

As a New Yorker, my biggest concern in the Senate is that my state gets its fair share of stimulus spending, because I'm sure that Obama will short change us. As an experienced, savvy politician, Gillibrand probably is the best person for this task, even if she is handicapped by being an appointed, junior senator. Kennedy would not of been capable.

I'm no fan of Paterson, but he did exactly the right thing by waiting for the last minute.

I don't disagree about the last-minute part, but the leaks, the waffling, the defensive statements, the "I need more time!" wailing...none of that was an image burnisher.

Agreed, shortstop. The waiting was fine, but Paterson looked borderline incompetent at times. In truth, he probably is a little bit better than that.

It's good to know that the reason I didn't get chosen is because I lack the necessary.. um, requirements.

She represents a very Republican district

Let's not forget that Gillibrand won her seat against John Sweeny, who was caught up in the Abramoff scandal, and had accusations of wife beating. I think he also had a DWI. In any case her election was not an ideological switch in her district.

If Gillibrand was smart enough to figure out how to win as a Democrat in a Republican district...

Well, if having police reports concerning your favored incumbent opponent's alleged attempt to strangle his wife released in the middle of the campaign is smart, Gillibrand is a frickin' genius. This is a reasonable Democratic pick in Alabama, for New York it's horrible. Paterson has really been a disaster thus far.

Just an aside to this - Last evening, I, for the first time in ages, switched to listen to BillO rant about Gitmo - However, he led with some Murdochian Post hack "journalist" pushing the affair theme. BillO cringed and said, "The Factor does not indulge in rumor", then, let the hack continue - O'Arrogantone, also, had his flunkies put up photos of Kennedy and Shulzberger. Of course, BillO's real intent was to smear the NYT.

Then, sat through the garbage of Laura Ingraham telling all how the US is no longer safe, due to the Gitmo decision and that the Inauguration speech was disparaging to Bush. If, BillO's entertainment "news" hour is not the most vapid on TV, feel free to add any other.

Danp: Sweeney apparently had a good deal of scandal that was revealed-- and yet Gillibrand still only beat him by a relatively small margin. That tells you just how conservative her district is.

The Democrats are in the process of reconquering upstate NY

Reconquering? Aside from Buffalo and Rochester, upstate New York has been Republican since there has been a Republican party.

Gillibrand is difficult to figure out at this point. She's already shifting on gay rights, which is hopeful. Still, she doesn't seem like a good fit for the state's politics at this point.

I'm willing to give her a chance, but I do think that Andrew Cuomo now has a credible path to defeating David Paterson for the Dem nomination in 2012: capitalize on progressive unrest with Paterson about Gillibrand and his budget ideas while cementing the image of Paterson as a weak and indecisive leader. It's not like he won't have much to work with. Maybe even toss in that Saturday Night Live skit of Paterson tripping over stuff. May not work, but I think it could.

http://battlestar-pegasus.blogspot.com/

Reconquering? Aside from Buffalo and Rochester... - John

So true. And yet reconquering evokes that wonderful image of clubs coming down on Republican heads.

"If she doesn't "adapt" here's hoping she loses to McCarthy in a landslide in the 2010 primary. It's one thing if you get elected to a state-wide office as a conservative Democrat but when you're appointed it seems to me you have even more of a responsibility to represent the majority, and, God knows, the majority of New Yorkers could never be accused of being conservative. "

McCarthy would get destroyed. She'd be underfunded, the state party would side with the incumbent (most state parties require it in their rules), and there's no obvious base for McCarthy. Christ McCarthy was a Republican until 2002. She's only talking about running (and a Democrat) because Gillibrand has a 100% rating from the NRA and McCarthy has a particular emotional attachment to the gun control issue since her husband was killed. The AWB is the only reason she ran for office as a Democrat, because Dan Frisa opposed it.

You would think the progressive movement might be a little more committed to learning about more about these political ins-and-outs after they helped put a Blue Dog in place.

"Why the heck did it take Patterson so long to make this pick? Mayor Bloomberg was spot on when he said a couple of weeks ago we shouldn't let this drag on so long...but Patterson did. His 'excuse' that he wanted to wait till Clinton was officially confirmed as Secretary of State is ridiculous. Other seats were filled before the proceeding person was confirmed for their new job."

Patterson waited because he wanted to pick Gillibrand, but he had to wait out Kennedy. And it worked beautifully because progressives and the media knee capped her.

Heckuva job Hammie.

Reconquering? Aside from Buffalo and Rochester, upstate New York has been Republican since there has been a Republican party.

And Ithaca, and Syracuse, and Albany, but don't let the facts get in your way.

Syracuse's 25th CD has had a Republican congressman from 1971 through 2009. They now have a Dem.

Ithaca's 22nd CD has had a Rep from '83 to 2003. Now it has a Dem.

I'll give you Albany, though.

Benen: the likelihood of Democrats keeping the seat is remote

This statement is a bit at odds with the fact that Gillibrand won the district twice.

A couple of things. The NYS GOP is a joke. They have no viable candidates. She just beat a guy in '08 who would be considered a bigwig in the NYS GOP, and she beat him easily.

Also, the media and political analysts always, always talk about the voter registration numbers for this district, and how the numbers are overwhelmingly Republican. And yet, as I said before, Gillibrand won the district twice. Either those numbers are wrong, or we all have to stop assuming that people blindly vote their party.

the media and political analysts always, always talk about the voter registration numbers for this district, and how the numbers are overwhelmingly Republican.

Nate Silver at 538.com describes the district as R+3, which I believe means that either registration or voting history indicates a 6% advantage for Reps (53%-47% if there were no third parties). That's not huge. I may be misinterpreting Silver's methodology.

The Democrats NEED a different voice for a change. This woman seems more moderate/conservative on some issues- good. Dems. speak of their "broad base" but suddenly when it comes to a moderate/conservative, well, no outreach.

Yes, NY is a Democrat state thanks mostly to NYC which is pathetic in its non-balance. But she represents a more conservative area of the state. The world does not revolve around NYC though some think it does.

Either way, NY is a dying state like so many Northeastern states. NY is due to slink down to 29 electoral votes from its current 31 after the 2010 census as people flood out of here. Places like Pennsylvania, New Jersey are also due to lose electoral votes. The winners? The South and West. Being taxed to death( a soda tax??) and being liberal infested along with a continued deterioration of the upstate economy will/is increasing the exodus. To put it in perspective, NY once had a very powerful 45 electoral votes and Florida had 5. Now, both are due to be the same-29-after this next census. Yeah,NY, keep on taxing and spending and hitting us with tolls on every bridge, $10 on one bridge,etc. Soon the entire state will just consist of NYC and its super-taxed suburbs for the rich. Reality is hard to take.

Yeah, just what we need - another conservative democrat. We could have had Caroline Kennedy but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, the a$$hole democrats all come out of the woodwork. And you wonder why we lose elections. Stupid idiots!

Gillibrand's okay, but it'd be better if she was a babe like Nancy Pelosi
http://jumpinginpools.blogspot.com/2009/01/joes-babe-of-week_16.html

I'm not 100% sold in Gillibrand, but for now I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Paterson needed to pick a female upstater to placate two constituencies, and she was probably the most obvious. (The only other woman might have been Joan Mahoney, Onondaga County executive, who is being discussed as a lieutenant governor candidate for 2010 -- and perhaps Paterson perceives her as a good potential running mate and thus didn't want to put her in the Senate.)