Kirsten Jillibrand : Big Tent New York Democratic Pick

Recently , our esteemed Gov. has appointed Rep. Jillibrand as the new Senator for our state. That seat being vacated by Senator H. R. Clinton. A few evenings ago I attended a dinner party near 11001. Soon into the first course I realized that I was the designated upstate guy. I grew up in her now former congressional seat. Questions arose about her 100% NRA rating. Her hick upstate area she came from. The congressional district I grew up in. After several minutes of downstate bitching I simply made the point that she was a big tent Democrat. The kind of Democrat that people vote for, the kind that win in their district. My old hometown area is in the Columbia/Saratoga area of the state. The Hudson Valley region. The home of esteemed United States President Martin Van Buran. Her political genetics go deep there , her Grandmother was Polly Noonan for instance. She headed the powerful Woman's Democratic Club in Albany. This organization was part of the old Democratic Machine. Long lasting and well organized a smaller version of present day Chicago. West of the river was Democratic to the east was Republican. This has been a traditionally more conservative area atleast since the Civil War. Even Hudson Valley neighbor FDR when President had a difficult time cracking that District. The area has long since lost it's factories and papermills. It is now more suburban , with a large segment that has remained rural , still populated by small farms , apple orchards , horse breeding stables and many small hamlet towns. People deer hunt up there. So , to win as a Democrat one has to possess atleast a conservative tint. Ms. Jillibrand went to an Ivy League College. Lived part of her life in Manhatten , is a Lawyer trained at what is often referred to as a left coast university. Hopefully.....some of the Dinner party guests will calm down. Politicians have something for everybody......even downstaters who are unclear as to what is over that Westchester County horizon to the north.