Gillibrand was originally my first choice heading into the 2020 race. I liked her stance on abolishing ICE and sexual assault in the military. I thought she had a lot of good ideas and found her to be personable. And yes, I respected her stance on Al Franken.
After he had been accused by several different women, one a Congressional staffer, she was asked in an interview about her own stance against sexual assault if he should resign. She was honest, she was brave, she did not reverse course, and she paid for it.
Her interview was hijacked for Al Franken. We have seen the female candidates being asked about the male candidates in this race repeatedly because apparently they are the real actors here and the female candidates, like us, are spectators. And then her career was hijacked by him as well.
And as enraging as that is, there still remains some small comforts and one of them is knowing that the race still has brave people in it who did the right thing instead of the easy thing.
People like Bernie Sanders.
Kamala Harris.
Michael Bennet.
Elizabeth Warren.
And Cory Booker.
Thank you, Senator Gillibrand.