Honest question: Why is Hillary a NEW YORK Senator?

[Unsane]

What connection does she have with the state? Before living with Bill in Arkansas for almost 20 years, wasn't she a native Chicagoan? Why did she relocate to NY following Bill leaving office?

[lurky]

1. It has a really lax residence requirement

for running for office. So she did it because she could, and because there was already a tradition of people doing the same thing (RFK). And it's a high-profile state.

[Unsane]

At least Bobby was from a neighboring state.

So, she just did this purely for political reasons? wow

[msanthrope]

14. Um....I was unaware that New York and Massachusetts

were next to each other. In fact, they aren't even in the same region.....

Not that I, a native New Yorker begrudge either Senator. They both served us quite well.

[Muttocracy]

15. excuse me? east of Albany = MA border!

Try driving route 90 east from Albany (the thruway turns into Mass Pike)

[jakem]

16. Damn. what the fuck is that state to my west?

thought it was upstate NY ;)

[Muttocracy]

21. must be from NYC - they barely know upstate exists n/t

[jakem]

24. granted, upstate NY and Western MA do barely exist.

economically anyway...

[neutron]

45. BECAUSE WE ELECTED HER n/t

[jakem]

47. dont feel too bad, we had Romney~

[Unsane]

18. really? wow

:crazy:

[donheld]

40. Pacoyogi you've got some 'slainin to do

Get out your map and do some studying. Quickly.

[lurky]

17. It was pretty transparent, but

she had the backing of Rangel and other Democratic leaders, and the voters voted for her.

[El Pinko]

19. So if she ran for senate in Arkansas, it wouldn't be for political reasons?

I don't see what's wrong with her going where she felt she had the best chance of winning and being able to do the most she could for her country.

I see it as a pragmatic move on her part, but not a cynical one.

[Muttocracy]

20. so is it about her winning a seat, or NY being represented? n/t

[El Pinko]

22. I can't read her mind, but it was widely thought in 2000 that NY was a stepping-stone for her.

But NY voters elected her KNOWING that. Just because she considered her career in moving to NY doesn't mean she hasn't approached her job with all seriousness and commitment to her constituents. NY residents would probably be best qualified to comment on how well she's served the state.

[Muttocracy]

25. I don't think it was up to a primary of NY voters

The higher Dem. powers picked her over locals. And it's not like NY would have wanted Guiliani or Lazio instead. That's different than her being the best to represent NY.

See my wiki link below for more about it.

[El Pinko]

27. Again, I can't comment on that - she is a POLITICIAN

They all have to go into ethical gray areas now and then - like all the tons of money and plum 6 figure retainer for his son that Biden took from the credit card companies before passing the bankruptcy legislation that THEY WROTE. Does that make Biden a lousy senator or a phony? I don't know because I don't live in his state, but I do know that consumers are now much worse of thanks to that legislation, much the same as workers are worse off because of NAFTA.

I don't think Hillary is pure as the driven snow - few of the most effective politicians are.

But it does seem that Hillary is held up to a higher standard than most, though...

[Muttocracy]

28. The question was about her residency

so, yeah, it ticks me off that she used my state as a stepping-stone. I don't have the quotes at hand but I'm pretty sure she said she wasn't trying to run for higher office. She got bored with being the junior senator from NY pretty fast.

I'm no expert on the bankruptcy bill but my understanding is it was passed under a GOP congress and Biden offered amendments to it that improved it. So it's not that Biden single-handedly passed it. If he was the corporate shill people like to stereotype, why don't his fundraising data reflect that?

On-topic for this post, Biden is actually from Delaware.

[El Pinko]

29. The question of residency is just a cute way to cast doubt on her character.

My answer is that even if she only viewed NY as a stepping-stone to the presidency, as politicians go, that would be one of the mildest of offenses.

That people would raise the question is petty.

And Obama got bored of being the junior senator from Illinois even faster - who cares?

[Muttocracy]

32. I meant the original post, and I'm not defending Obama on this n/t

[El Pinko]

35. I know, and I totally get where you're coming from.

You've been 100% reasonable the whole discussion.

:toast:

[Muttocracy]

36. Thanks.

And yeah, the boredom applies to Obama too. I wanted to hire one of the experienced folks for the important job, even if their politics were not perfectly in line with my own. Silly me.

[Alexander]

44. And the Kennedys grew up in New York for a time.

[HereSince1628]

2. She wanted to be a senator. New York has been pretty accepting

of this sort of thing across its history...or at least that is the story.

[Occam Bandage]

3. Because it was there.

[DJ13]

4. An upcoming Senate opening in the state that controls our media was the ONLY reason

A calculated move to keep her name recognition high among the leading TV and newspapers in our country in preperation for her Presidential run.

[City Lights]

5. 'Cause they had an opening.

:shrug:

[hfojvt]

48. I hate that they call it an "open" seat

as if the other seats are "owned" by the incumbents instead of by the people of the state.

[THUNDER HANDS]

6. because New York likes powerful senators

and the Republican party was in shambles here at the time, still is.

And it was all but over once Rudy got cancer.

[MonkeyFunk]

7. She actually relocated to NY before Bill left office

New York has very lax residency requirements before running for office.

Bobby Kennedy did the same thing.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. She didn't want to run in Arkansas

because that would have disrupted politicos here. Besides, her ambitions were always to run for President, and she needed to run from a populous state with a high profile that had very lenient residence requirements. New York fit the bill.

[AtomicKitten]

9. She's a carpetbagger.

[Captain Hilts]

41. Yes. So were RFK and James Buckley. NYS doesn't care about carpetbaggers. nt

[Muttocracy]

10. Also open seat due to Moyhnihan retirement - see Wiki summary of 2000 election:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_United_States_Senate_election%2C_2000

[suston96]

11. They didn't own a home when they left the WH. What's wrong with relocating to New York?.

Hillary's carpet-bagging was settled by her election as US Senator and re-election. And Bill Clinton needed a practical location for his intended Foundation work.

His selection of Harlem was fortuitous as his work expanded to Africa and the AIDS epidemic there.

New York City is a hub and the greatest city in the world. I grew up there.

[Muttocracy]

26. she announced campaign before they bought a house n/t

[robbedvoter]

12. because she got the votes of the majority of NY-ers - in spite of MSM backlash

I know you guys don't think much of the voters, but we do matter. Whether we are in NY, Fla, Mi or Nevada - we do matter. And we watch for the candidates attitudes towards our rights. It's mostly why I am for Hillary. See my handle?

[Jai4WKC08]

30. ding ding ding ding

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

[GoldieAZ49]

13. She needed to cultivate Super Delegates

before she ran for POTUS

[CK_John]

23. She plans for the future and knows how to make it happen. n/t

[formernaderite]

31. new york had a retiring senator and Nita Lowry

was willing to step aside...and it was a present for all her troubles...lol

[Captain Hilts]

42. There were serious doubts if Lowry could defeate Rudy Garland. HRC could. nt

[Catherine Vincent]

33. The Clinton's are always thinking ahead.

While he was still in office, they wanted to choose a state to reside in, one to call home. I'm guess they went with New York because doesn't everyone want to live in New York? It's close to NYC and DC. My guess is they didn't choose Arkansas because of it's location.

[KennedyGuy]

34. Because..in NY..we know a great thing when we see it.

[Muttocracy]

37. most of the time...

D'Amato, Pataki... Hope we're past that! :)

[Eric J in MN]

38. Because the Democratic Party of NY wanted a big name...

...and they asked her.

[Captain Hilts]

39. The nomination was handed to her on a plate when it was assumed Rudy would be the opponent. nt

[TexasObserver]

43. Because the people of New York elected her, as is their right

I am not entering the Hillary love or hate contest. To me this about distinguishing between legitimate avenues of attack and those which are not. This one is not a legitimate line of attack.

Like Bobby Kennedy did in the 1960s, Hillary established residence in NY and was duly elected. When you ask why she is the NY senator, you're either revealing an appalling lack of understanding of the electoral process, or you're just finding something irrelevant to wail about.

There are many avenues of legitimate attack on Hillary Clinton, such as her Iraq War vote, the monied interests which back her, and some of the things being done in her name. But her status as New York's senator? Give it a rest.

[Beacool]

46. Charlie Rangel and several members of the NY delegation

approached Hillary and asked her to run for the senate seat about to be vacated by Sen. Moynahan. At first she rejected the offer saying that she didn't want to run for office. They kept insisting until she finally reconsidered and accepted.

Hillary was the first First Lady to run for elected office, the first woman senator elected in NY and, for a couple of weeks in January 2001, served as both first lady and senator.

Hillary Clinton is a remarkable woman.