Schumer on a 'worst case' Gillibrand scenario
Chuck Schumer, with Kirsten Gillibrand. Azi Paybarah, via flickr
10:05 am Jun. 29, 2012
Chuck Schumer, who provided some crucial support for Kirsten Gillibrand's appointment as a U.S. Senator back in 2009, emailed her supporters today with a fund-raising plea, warning of a "worst case scenario" if his junior colleague were to lose in November.
"I hate to think of what life would be like without Kirsten in the Senate," Schumer wrote in the email.
"Not having such a strong voice for progressive values. Not having such a staunch defender of same-sex marriage, a woman’s right to choose, and Social Security and Medicare.
"Even worse, we’d be stuck with yet another hard-right Republican eager to take our state and our country back to the 1920s or even the 1890s.
"But this worst case scenario doesn’t have to happen—not if you give to Kirsten’s campaign right now."
Of course, the pitch for Gillibrand at the time of her appointment wasn't that had been particularly progressive as an upstate member of the House.
But that was then, and in the years since, Schumer, who is not particularly liberal on most issues, has seemed happy to let Gillibrand occupy the space to his left, pushing for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell and carrying the torch on same-sex marriage.
Gillibrand doesn't exactly need Schumer's help in raising money. She had nearly $10 million dollars on hand at the beginning of June, and is facing an opponent, former conservative judicial activist Wendy Long, who has struggled to raise money.
A Quinnipiac poll taken before Long's primary win showed Gillibrand winning by about 2-1 in a head-to-head matchup.
