Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand is expected to announce her bid for the Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, according to sources close to the Senator.
Gillibrand will announce the formation of an exploratory committee on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” CBS News has reported.
Aside from the committee, the New York congresswoman has planned a visit to Iowa just days later and has even, according to the New York Times, begun doing Pilates and working out to get in shape for a possible campaign.
She has been a frequent critic of President Trump, while he has referred to her as a “lightweight” and a “total flunky.”
Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office “begging” for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump. Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017
Gillibrand responded by calling Trump’s comments “sexist,” showing she’s more than willing to live up to the perception of being Hillary 2.0, turning every mundane comment into an attack on women.
She’s a Flip-Flopper Extraordinaire
One of Gillibrand’s best assets as a Democrat has been her ability to flip-flop on any topic, depending on the political temperature at the time.
Border security, for example.
On her campaign page in 2008, the Hillary clone stated she is “a firm opponent of any proposal that would give amnesty to illegal aliens” and believed the “federal government must provide the necessary resources to secure our borders.”
Today, she refers to the border wall as “a waste of money” and tells her rabid lawless base that “we should get rid of ICE.”
Her position on the #MeToo movement is another example.
CNN writes that Gillibrand “has risen in national prominence in recent years as a forceful proponent of the #MeToo movement and fierce critic of President Donald Trump.”
She did, after all, have a moment of clarity when she played a role in the resignation of former Minnesota Senator Al Franken.
Prior to that, however, Gillibrand was a vociferous defender, or an indifferent enabler, to the sexual harassment and extramarital affairs that Bill Clinton took part in for many years.
As #DemsInPhilly gather to nominate our next Pres. @HillaryClinton, kicked off #DNCinPHL w/former Pres. @BillClinton pic.twitter.com/nZ1uE18oRp
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) July 25, 2016
During her time as a senator in New York, Gillibrand famously remained silent in the New York state government as then-Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver was paying off female victims of harassment at the hands of lawmakers.
She has alternated between fiscal conservatism and liberal tax-and-spend ideology, as well as shifting her views on gun control, resulting in an NRA rating of ‘A’ dropping down to an ‘F.’
Extremists In Her Party Will Never Support Her
Aside from being a transparent flip-flopper that the extreme left will never embrace, Gillibrand is frequently equated to robotic and singularly purpose-driven lawmakers like Clinton or characters like Tracy Flick.
A Politico report in 2009 indicated that the New York congressional delegation had given her the ‘Flick’ nickname – “a not-so-flattering reference to the over-eager, blonde, bubbly and viciously competitive Reese Witherspoon character from ‘Election.'”
Her shape-shifting political ways are frowned upon within her own party. Just take the Franken incident, for instance, which left many liberals who felt he was treated unfairly with a bad taste in their mouth.
Not to mention she is on record as praising Republicans Ted Cruz and Rand Paul for “approaching the issue of military sexual assault with greater common sense than some Democratic stalwarts.”
Siding with supporters of President Trump might put a hitch in her campaign before it even gets out of the gate.
