Quoted Text

POST Opinion
GILLIBRAND COMES AROUND -- AGAIN
Last updated: 12:45 AM July 29, 2009
Another day, another Kirsten Gillibrand flip-flop. Ho-hum. Six months after being rescued from upstate obscurity by Gov. Paterson, Hillary Clinton's successor has abandoned so many moderate positions on so many issues that she's not so much a flip-flopper as a whirling dervish. This won't end soon -- not while Gilly faces a primary challenge next year from Rep. Carolyn Maloney. Her latest about-face concerns the military's controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gay servicemembers. Back in 2008, she refused to join an effort by 146 House Democrats to kill the policy. Now, Gillibrand says that, at her urging, the Senate will hold hearings on repealing the ban on openly gay troops. A spokesman insists Gillibrand always opposed the policy. Of course she did. Just like the woman who boasted a 100 percent NRA voting record while bragging that she kept rifles under her bed suddenly decided to vote against forcing states to recognize gun permits issued in less-restrictive states. It's amazing how a seat in the Senate has allowed Gillibrand to suddenly "see the light" on so many issues. Such as: * The TARP bank bailout -- which she opposed while in the House, but supported in the Senate. * Same-sex marriage -- which she was against in the House, but now ardently backs. * Illegal immigration -- once opposed to "any proposal" that would have granted amnesty, she's now a firm proponent of a "path to citizenship." What goes around, comes around -- and around and around. At least for Kirsten Gillibrand -- whose strongest opponent continues to be her own past record.