Senator Kirsten Gillibrand stopped by the View Monday. She gave a report on her visit to her friend Rep Gabrielle Giffords, views on Sarah Palin's comments and she also re-stated her commitment to marriage equality.
At about the 3:00 minute mark, Gillibrand is asked by Elizabeth Hasselbeck about Sarah Palin's comments
"I don't think the comments were helpful and I think they were inappropriate."
Hasselbeck can be heard chriping her agreement, "yep."
On the prospect of the bi-partisan seating, Gillibrand says:
"Many of us, we're just going to do it."
Asked about her main issues for her 2012 re-election on to discuss how important it is to work on jobs and the economy, saying when "The stated unemployment is at 10%, real unemployment is higher.."
5:48 "But there are other issues, I also want too work on marriage equality. I want to make sure everyone in this country can be married to the people they love."
The comment is met with great applause and even a affirmative head bob from View Co-host Sherri Sheppard, whose had a rocky relationship with the gay community, on Prop 8 and the issue of men on the down-low. Sherri? We embrace your evolution.
Sherri asks her how Gillibrand if it bothered her that in the wake of her Vogue magazine profile, that Harry Reid called her the hottest member in Congress?
But Gillibrand moves graciously past any sexist implications saying, "He was trying to be sweet, he was trying to be nice, and funny." She moves on to praise his leadership on 9/11 bill, and Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal.
Here's hoping this is a sign that Gillibrand may be ready to join fellow New Yorker Jerry Nadler's House effort to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. Nadler introduced H.R.3567 - Respect for Marriage Act of 2009, that would repeal DOMA in full. More on this bill here from Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry. The Senate could use a champion on this issue as no one ever introduced a companion bill.
And of course, there is the unofficial bully pulpit she holds in the Empire State. LezGetReal is reporting that State Senator Tom Duane intends to file the marriage equality bill "within weeks" and push for a vote by June. Melanie Nathan says Hopes are High for Marriage Equality in New York:
However, now Duane and other marriage equality supporters believe with the election of Gov. Mario [sic] Andrew Cuomo, his call for the legalization of same-sex marriage in his State of the State address earlier this month and his appointment yesterday of Erik Bottcher, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s liaison to the gay community, to a newly created cabinet post, the dynamic has changed to their favor.
They also see Cuomo’s poll numbers as a big plus for their cause... 68% of New Yorkers say they trust him to do the right thing for the state.
“I think the governor is starting in a strong political place with the people on his side and the wind at his back,” said Ross Levi, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda.
Nice to know we have the Senator in our corner. She is credited with helping Senior Senator Chuck Schumer evolve into supporting marriage equality.
Certainly, there are few people in the Empire State that won't pick up the phone when their assistant says, "Senator Gillibrand on line one."
And, if history's any indication, few people will hang the phone up unpersuaded.
Update: The last few days have been a Gillibrandapoolza. She appeared on Meet The Press on Sunday, video below, courtesy of Scarce:
She also made an appearance on Face The Nation. (Embedding disabled by CBS.)
Enjoy.
Update 2: Good day for marriage equality. Good news on the Front Page on the fast moving polling on this issue. It amazes even me how quickly people are moving on this issue. Conventional wisdom that marriage equality is a loser with racial minorities seems to be in question.
In other news, the Supreme Court of the US told foes of marriage equality in DC they can stuff it. They rejected their challenge to the law, and request that marriage equality be put up to a popular vote via ballot initiative. JPMassar has more details here.
Update 3: Got ahold of a transcript. Sorry for the delay.
Barbara Walters: After Hillary Clinton was appointed Secretary of State her senate seat was filled by Kirsten Gillibrand, who quickly distinguished herself. She was instrumental in passing the 9/11 First Responders bill and repealing the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. You may have been reading more about her recently because her personal life was touched deeply by the recent tragedy in Tucson and the Senator just left the bedside of her dear friend Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Please welcome the junior Senator of New York, Kirsten Gillibrand. [Applause] I should also mention in passing that you are the mother a seven year old and a two year old... who you’re bringing up perfectly, right?
Kirsten Gillibrand: Well, yes. They’re wonderful children. Henry’s the two year old, and Theo’s the seven year old. They love trains, they love trucks, anything with wheels.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck: Traveling back and forth to the District.. is that impossible to keep on top of their schedules and everything?
KG: Well, we try to keep it as normal as possible. So my schedule is a little different during the week. I really try to bring them to school every morning, pick them up in the evening, read them their books, give them their baths, and put them to bed.
BW: Let’s talk about the Congresswoman because you were with her when she opened her eyes for the first time. Tell us about that, and also bring us up to date – how is she doing?
KG: Well, she’s doing great and she makes so much progress every day. I just talked to her husband Mark a couple nights ago, and she’s really doing wonderful. And I think her courage and her strength is really inspiring the whole country.
BW: Did she recognize her husband yet?
KG: Yes, absolutely. She understands what’s going on around her. When we were there in the hospital room we were there with her mother, her father, her husband, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Speaker Pelosi, and she knew what was going on. She was holding my hand, and we were talking to her.
Sherri Shepperd: So she knew you were there?
KG: She did. And she was squeezing when we were talking about the fun things we wanted to do as soon as she got better. And when she heard our voices, and we were there telling her about... and I told her that she was inspiring the world with her strength. I wanted to give her the understanding that her courage mattered.
BW: How do you know she knew?
KG: Because she squeezed my hand every time I said something positive and wonderful about her... she could respond.
Joy Behar: She just can’t speak.
KG: Not yet, but she will. I know she will. We just have to keep praying. When I was speaking to her, she began to flutter her eyes. And that’s when her husband nearly leaped across the bed, and he just looked at her. He said, ‘Gabby, Gabby, open your eyes.’ And she opened her eyes, and he then he said, ‘Can you see me? Can you see me?’ He literally was just willing her across the finish line. His love for her is just extraordinary. And that’s what makes them such a beautiful couple because they love each other so much. He’s incredible, I mean he’s an astronaut and he’s going to lead the next space shuttle. He’s not only brilliant and interesting, but he truly loves Gabby. And that love was so ever-present in that room.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck: Sure. It’s so important to recovery; we hear so many stories like that. You know, this was a tricky incident because it became incredibly politicized and controversial. Last week Sarah Palin defended herself against the false accusations linking her somehow to the Tucson killer. She used the term, anti-Semitic slur, blood-libel... what are your thoughts on her comments? Certainly, she had a right to defend herself, but should she have gone that far?
KG: Well I don’t think the comments were helpful, and I think they were inappropriate. But that being said, this is a call to action for all of us as leaders. For her, for me, for everyone who represents different constituents in America. We have to be better than we are and I loved what President Obama said in his speech in Tucson. He said, ‘We have to live up the aspirations and the expectations of our children.’ And he used Christina Green’s life as a metaphor for all of our nation’s children. And I think that was so important I think it’s an opportunity for all of us to bring each other together, so we can get to the tough issues.
JB: I understand that at the State of the Union address you are pushing for a bipartisan seating.
KG: Yes
JB: Usually you have the Republicans on one side, and the Democrats on the other. This is a visual cue for bipartisanship. Are they going to go for it, do you think?
KG: Yes, yes. Many of us. We’re just going to do it. We’re just going to go down, and sit where we want to sit.
BW: What about when they say, ‘you’re in my seat, get out of my seat.’
KG: There’re no seats. First of all, everyone can sit where they want, it’s just tradition. So we’re just going to go down the aisle and instead of me going left, I’m going to go right, and instead of them going right, they’re going to go left. A lot of us are going to do it. It’s just an image, it’s a symbol of what is possible. For all the things we’ve been working on, bipartisanship really does matter. When we were able to finally get the 9/11 Health Bill done, that was because it was a bipartisan effort. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell – bipartisan effort.
JB: You know what, you’re still going to have radical voices from the left and the right. That doesn’t mean Congress is going to be like that. The American people don’t want that, we can shoot our moths off in the press. That’s not your job, in my opinion. The American people want results. So get to work all of you out there. Let Sarah Palin say what she wants.
KG: Exactly.
BW: So, run for office.
JB: I would like to one of these days, but I’m too old.
KG: I’ll help you... you are not too old!
EH: Speaking of elections... 2012, I know that you’re planning on running for re-election. What are your main issues?
KG: Well, we have to work on the economy. The biggest issue right now, when I travel in New York, every family I talk to, every small business owner... people are struggling. We have a 10% unemployment rate and that means that far more people are out of work. Because when the stated employment is at 10%, real unemployment is higher. You’re talking about families who can’t do the things they need to do for their children, whether it’s education of healthcare. So we have to create those jobs, we’ve got to get money into small business, get tax cuts for small businesses -- that’s the number one issue. But there are other issues. I also want to work on marriage equality. I want to make sure that everyone in this country can be married to the people they love.
SS: I want to change it up a little bit. In November, Vogue did a feature on you. They did a spread, you looked fantastic. So I want to ask, did it bother you at all when Senate Majority Leader said you were the hottest member in Congress? Did it bother you?
KG: No, no.
BW: He’s the hottest member in Congress.
KG: He was trying to be sweet. He was trying to be nice and funny, actually. But Harry Reid is an extraordinary man. He really helped with the 9/11 Bill and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. In the 9/11 Bill he helped to get the senior Republicans to the room to negotiate, to bring us over the finish line – as did Senator Schumer, he was an extraordinary closer in that issue. And on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell it was Harry Reid who, very early on, wrote a letter to the President and said, ‘We want you to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ And that really set us up for the President to put it in his State of the Union address. It allowed for Chairman Levin to agree immediately to hold a hearing. And so we were able to create the testimony and the record to repeal that very corrosive policy.
BW: But you know, looking at you. You are pretty hot.
KG: And so are you!
BW: But also, people can see why you are filling the Secretary of State’s seat and why you are running again. You and I go back a long way, and I am very proud of you.
KG: Barbara was one of the nicest people to me when I was first appointed. She invited me to her home, and she had this beautiful dinner party of all these fabulous friends of hers. And it was one of the kindest, sweetest things that anybody did at that time when most people had no idea who I was.
BW: So, I am totally responsible for her. If you’re a Republican, don’t be mad at me. Our thanks to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Thank you for being with us today. Our prayers are with your colleague.
KG: Thank you. Please all pray for her.