Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Announces Exploratory Committee

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced formation of an exploratory committee on Jan. 15, 2019 in an appearance on CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."  The segment opening:
Colbert: ...I'm just curious.  Do you have anything you would like to announce?

Gillibrand:  Yes.  [long pause, reaches for Colbert's hand] 

Colbert:  And what would that be, madam.

Gillibrand:  I'm filing an exploratory committee for president of the United States tonight.

Colbert:  Tonight.

Okay, well thank you for telling everybody here.  Thank you very much.  Honored that you're here.  Ah, why do you want to be president of the United States?

Gillibrand:  Well I'm going to run for president of the United States, because as a young mom I'm going to fight for other people's kids as hard as I would fight for my own, which is why I believe that health care should be a right and not a privilege.  It's why I believe we should have better public schools for our kids, because it shouldn't matter what block you grow up on.  And I believe that anybody who wants to work hard enough should be able to get whatever job training they need to earn their way into the middle class.  But you are never going to accomplish any of these things if you don't take on the systems of power that make all of that impossible, which is taking on institutional racism, it's taking on the corruption and greed in Washington, taking on the special interests that write legislation in the dead of night.  And I know that I have the compassion, the courage and the fearless determination to get that done.

The segment ran for about 10m46s, and closed with Colbert presenting Gillibrand some campaign gifts.  See: "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Gillibrand's exploratory committee website, 2020.kirstengillibrand.com featured a 1m51s video "Search," which mimicked a web user searching for information about Gillibrand to highlight her accomplishments.  It was a busy video with a lot of different clips and headlines interspersed.

"Search" [1min51sec]
[Music] [Keyboard typing SFX]

GOOGLE: Kris...Kirsten Gillibrand
        Wiki page
GOOGLE: mom

GOOGLE: Transparency
         The New York Times: Congress and the Benefits of Sunshine   a quite touch of revolution

Gillibrand: I was the first member to publish my Senate meetings, requests for funding, and personal income taxes online.
         The  Hill: Gillibrand releases five years of tax returns
           
Unidentified Woman: There is no better leader on the issue of money in politics and on the corrupting in influence of money in politics than you.
            Washington Post: "Senate begins debating insider-trading bill"
            The Caucus: Obama Signs Bill Banning Insider Trading by Federal Lawmakers 
            Buzzfeed News: Kirsten Gillibrand Pledges To Stop Accepting Donations From Corporate PACs
 
Gillibrand: I am no longer accepting corporate PAC checks into my campaign.

Gillibrand (clip): You have to really break up the current system and say we need publicly funded elections. We need greater transparency and accountability.      

Gillibrand (audio, clip): We need to fight for anyone who wants to be working full time to be able to earn their way into the middle class.
            NCBA CLUSA: Landmark employee ownership act, signed into law yesterday, will amend lending landscape for worker coops
            [unidentified]: Gillibrand bill aims to help create jobs
 
Gillibrand (clip): I want to see Made in America again.

GOOGLE: 9-11 Health Bill
 
Gillibrand: Everyone said the 9-11 health bill couldn't get done
 
Man (John Feal. 9/11 First Responder): But Senator Gillibrand took on the fight by working with 9-11 responders and their families.
           MSNBC: Bill for 9/11 first responders finally passes Congress

GOOGLE: Women's Rights
      
Gillibrand (audio, clip): We need woman to understand that not only are their voices neccessary, but whern they're at the table, everyuthing is better.
            www.OffTheSidelines.org
            Business Insider: New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Is Giving A New Voice To Working Women
            Buffalo News article on Gillibrand campaign website: Gillibran Pushing Equal Pay Legislation

Gillibrand (clip):  It is outrageous to ask woman of color to bear the burdens of every single one of these fights over and over and over again.
 
Gillibrand (clips):...talked to so many constituents whose lives have been really ripped apart because of unfair and unjust... marijuana laws across the country.
 
GOOGLE: Taking on Trump

Gillibrand (on Van Jones): I am not afraid of him and I am not afraid of his nasty language and his name calling.
            Roll Call: Gillibrand Leads Democrats in Opposing Trump's Nominees

Gillibrand (clip): What the President is doing is inhumane and immoral.
            Rolliing Stone: How Kirsten Gillibrand Is Outsmarting Donald Trump

Jon Stewart: Instrumental in passing don't ask, don't tell, instrumental in passing the 9-11 First Responders Bill, instrumental in passing the food safety bill, Instrumental in passing the ban on drop-side cribs.  You have done all this very much under the radar, out of the spotlight.
Observer.com: Gillibrand Celebrates Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal
Advocate.com: Gillibrand Keeps Up the Push for Equality
HuffingtonPost: Kirsten Gillibrand Unveils A Public Option For Banking
Food & Water Watch: Gillibrand's Bill Would Make Meat and Poultry Safer for Consumers
LCV tweet: Gillibrand's leadership helped boot Scott Pruitt from the EPA...
CNN: Gillibrand urges Senate to take up sexual harrassment bill
[unidentified]: ...legislation to help bring down prescription drug prices

[Music fade]

video
Republican National Committee
Statement
“If you looked up ‘political opportunism’ in the dictionary, Kirsten Gillibrand’s photo would be next to it. From jumping on the ‘abolish ICE’ bandwagon to turning on the Clintons, Gillibrand always goes where the political wind blows. Democrats know it, which is why she’s barely registering in the polls.” – RNC Spokesman Michael Ahrens
_________________

RNC Research Briefing [Top Takeaways]

Chameleon Kirsten Joins The Party

Gillibrand Transformed Herself From A Moderate Congresswoman To A Far-Left Senator, And No One In Her Party Is Excited About Her

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TOP TAKEAWAYS

·         Despite just announcing her intentions to form an exploratory committee for 2020, Gillibrand is facing serious questions about how she will gain enough support to remain relevant with only 1 percent of Democrats nationally supporting her.

·         In January 2019, Gillibrand made the curious move to reach out to Wall Street executives to gauge support for her campaign, a move that surely raised eyebrows on the left.

·         Traditionally, Gillibrand has been a “go-to advocate for the financial services industry,” and prior to her recent pledge to no longer accept corporate PAC money, she accepted $4.9 million from the industry between 2005 and 2018.

·         High profile Democratic donors have turned away from Gillibrand or “reconsidered” their support for the Senator based on her history of throwing colleagues under the bus to “improve her chances” in 2020.

·         Since moving from the House of Representatives to the Senate in 2009, Gillibrand has moved to the far left in an attempt to curry political favor; in fact, she was so quick to shift her positions on issues that Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had to tell her to “slow down.”

o   When she first entered the Senate, Gillibrand was labeled anti-immigrant with a “hard-line stance” that “border[ed] on xenophobia,” but has since tried to appease the liberal base by shifting to the far-left on immigration.

o   In the House, Gillibrand once opposed amnesty for illegal immigrants, calling amnesty legislation “fatally flawed,” but now she supports abolishing ICE and forced a government shutdown in order to protect illegal immigrants.