Gillibrand & NY’s Urban-Rural Divide

The last 48 hours were fascinating for someone like myself, fascinated by the stark divide between America’s urban and rural cultures.

Kirsten Gillibrand, who will become our next Senator from New York on Sunday, is deeply connected to cosmopolitan New York City.

She was a securities lawyer; special counsel to Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development; and her husband comes from England.

But Gillibrand also has Upstate roots: she’s loyal to some of the cultural traditions of New York’s small-town world. Hunting is only one marker of her “bi-cultural” background.

Within the Five Boroughs, the reaction to her red-state tendencies has been fierce. Before she had been officially named, Gillibrand had liberal opponents lining up to dethrone her.

I’ll admit it: I was taken aback. I thought the obvious backing of New York’s Democratic elite — Schumer, Paterson, Clinton, Lowey, etc. — would be enough to establish her progressive credentials.

Not so. The liberal blogs have issued a collective shriek of rage.

The punch line is that the next eighteen months will be fascinating. Upstate New York has a real voice in Washington DC. Will it be silenced in the next election?