The person at the top of my list seems to be a non-starter.

[WeekiWater]

I don't think it's fair but I do get it. I fully get it. I love Al Franken and have a great amount of respect for him. His political IQ, his general intelligence, and the manner in which he was becoming a force in the senate. He was becoming the Lion of the Senate. He would have been a long-term powerhouse for us. I think he found a great spot that worked well for him and that he was going to retire down the road as a senator. He was simply great at it and a voice we all respect.

With that I have a great respect an appreciation for Gillibrand. It actually goes beyond that. I'm a fan of hers. She is a fighter and unapologetic when fighting for women, transparency, and the greater good. She works extremely hard and isn't afraid of doing the heavy lifting behind the scene. She is the most transparent Senator we have and one of her core issues is to force transparency through rules and legislation. A lot of people don't know how hard at the she works.

She is charged with drafting and leading the way for Democrats to oust Franken. Democrats, for the most part, fell in line. I fully agree that it wasn't her finest hour. I do hold it against her. I also hold it against every single Democrat who signed the letter or individually called for him to resign. I don't view them any differently. I find Senators going to their twitter pages and calling for his resignation, many before the Gillibrand letter, to be every bit as guilty. Others clearly disagree with me on this. I have accepted that.

At first I didn't think that it was going to hurt Gillibrand outside of the online community. I now think I was wrong in that thought process. I still don't see how others get a free pass but I do understand this has made Gillibrand, one of my favorite Senators, a non-starter. It is bigger than I had originally thought.

I'm shelving my support for who I thought was going to be my top choice. I'm not shelving my support for her in general, though she is not my Senator. I have a lot of respect for her. I will say that I'm sorry that her actions have hurt so many, including the party and herself. Actions have consequences. Many of her actions have extremely positive consequences for society. Her action with the letter has hurt many people, and understandably so. I am one of those people. I just see much more in her and seem to give her the pass that everyone seems to give every other Democrat who called for Frankens ouster.

On a last note, I think it would be fun to somehow have "leaners" in our sig line in this forum. I have a couple of candidates I really like. It would give people an understanding of the direction we are thinking about going and stay in-line with the purpose of the sig line in this forum. Probably a bit to much but "undecided" is a pretty encompassing term that leaves out any nuance.

[hlthe2b]

1. Respectfully, I don't think you can blame her lack of support solely on her role w Franken...

Her past role as a tobacco defender appalls the hell out of me and I don't think I would get past that.

By her own admission her past stances on many issues, including immigration "weren't 'empathetic,' 'kind'" and can only generously be termed as anti-immigrant. (and this from a woman who had spent considerable time LIVING in NYC).

Her prior pro-gun/anti-gun control policies seem to have been brushed aside and she now earns an "F" from NRA, but it represents yet another 180-degree turn.

Add to this her willingness to throw Bill Clinton under the bus when it became opportune, despite having defended him in the past and sought/received tremendous support from both Clintons in the past...

All in all, I think Gillibrand has trust issues. She does with me, at least.

[WeekiWater]

3. For most the non starter aspect has to do with Franken.

That has become clear.

I have always had respect for people who change over time. I never had an issue with it.

We are not even allowed to discuss some of Sanders history on DU yet he polling in the top three or four on this forum. People generally accept what they perceive to be a person changing.

[hlthe2b]

4. I believe in sincere change over time as one evolves. There is a difference between that and

blatant opportunism and I think Gillibrand has left a lot of Dems wondering which applies to her. Hence the trust issues...

[WeekiWater]

6. I am a Dem and I feel differently. I get an appreciate how you see it. NT

[pangaia]

7. I live in NY. My opinion is that she just changes as the wind changes...

[Merlot]

10. Taking Franken out of the equasion does not change it for me

Others also suggested he resign. I wouldn't base my whole decision on one political moment. Gilibrand has to many other issues that I don't like. The Franken event was just a sysmptom of those issues.

[customerserviceguy]

13. Agreed

She was for the NRA before she was against them.

She's a political chameleon, and folks just don't trust that type of critter. Besides, we have so many better choices.

[Garrett78]

14. She also had to be talked out of supporting legislation that would ban boycotting Israel.

I don't get worked up over the Franken situation. It was a mess and should have been handled differently, but multiple sexual harrassment charges are a tough thing to deal with.

Anyway, she's 1 of many who probably won't make it past Iowa and maybe not even to Iowa.

[kcr]

2. I agree with you on that last note

I picked Warren for my sig because she's the one I'd vote for if the primary were today, but it's shaping up to be a great field, and I like more than one. I do think it was a great idea to include this new feature, though. It might help give some perspective that was much needed during the DU primary wars in 2016 when both sides felt they were outgunned.

[WeekiWater]

5. Warren is one of the ones at the top of my list. NT

[Perrenial Voter]

8. It's a shame we can't have committee for president, because

there are particular strengths of a number of candidates that I would like to see in the President: Elizabeth Warren's knowledge of economics and economics law; the no nonsense forcefulness and legal savvy of Kamala Harris; the questioning of US foreign policy and principled stances of Tulsi Gababrd. So far, Bernie Sanders is the only one who has laid out a vision for foreign policy, an area in which he was very weak in the last election, but I hope this changes. Although I tagged myself as a supporter, I am concerned about his age and his baggage, as a candidate. Moreover, he can probably do more good as a principled gadfly supporting a global movement for economic justice than he can as president. So my hope is that Warren, Harris, Gabbard or Booker will come up with a coherent foreign policy that links to a coherent domestic policy. I see Harris as the best hope on this front.

[WeekiWater]

9. Love your reply. Thank you. NT

[Lazy Daisy]

16. I've often thought

the Presidency has become too big a job for just one person. And I find I always like one candidate for domestic issues and another for foreign.

I think about candidates and absolutely love them for their domestic policies, then I think about sending them overseas and oh boy.
This one's a little goofy, that one seems to be a little soft, this one a little too hard, that one sounds whiny. Or I see a candidate and think about how they'd handle themselves overseas and think they are awesome, then I see their domestic policies.....shrug.

We will never fully know how lucky we were with President Barrack Obama and his family.

[crazycatlady]

17. I didn't realize this until I looked it up

But Booker's on the Senate foreign relations committee. Maybe that will give him a leg up.

[ecstatic]

11. Thanks for sharing your perspective, but it wasn't just that.

Gillibrand was also quick to toss the Clintons under the bus as well. So when she did that again with Franken, it formed an impression in the minds of many people.

[pwb]

12. Al Franken was loved by many democrats.

Her leading the charge against Al will haunt her.

[brooklynite]

15. Still looking for data pointing to anyone outside political bloggers caring about the Franken issue

If you don't like her policies or her prior political history, that's fine with me. But I see nothing that points to the average Primary voter thinking about Franken's departure, much less who to blame for it.

[hlthe2b]

18. Well there were those pesky donors who turned their backs on her.... So, yeah, that's demonstrable

I agree that Franken is not the only issue hurting Gillibrand, however. Her prior policy positions have continued to haunt her. Maybe she'll get past that, but I'd bet not.

[USALiberal]

19. She is last on my list. nt