Why Kirsten Gillibrand makes me sad

1. She opted not to co-sponsor HR 1246 during her time in the House:

   To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the readiness of the Armed Forces by replacing the current policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, referred to as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

   
   
2. She opted not to co-sponsor HR 1820 during her time in the House:

   Members of Congress were asked to co-sponsor legislation, introduced on March 29, 2007, that would equalize tax treatment for employ-

   er-provided health coverage for domestic partners and other non-spouse, non-dependent beneficiaries. As of Oct. 3, 2008, the measure

   had 120 co-sponsors: Democrats 116; Republicans 4.

3. She opted not co-sponsor HR 2221 during her time in the House:

   To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate discrimination in the immigration laws by permitting permanent partners of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the same manner as spouses of citizens and lawful permanent residents and to penalize immigration fraud in connection with permanent partnerships.

4. She opted not to co-sponsor HR 3326 during her time in the House:

   To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to permit States the option to provide Medicaid coverage for low-income individuals infected with HIV

5. She scores a 100% by the NRA. She voted yes on HR 6842, offering a slew of ways to ensure someone can easily get an automatic weapon in D.C.

Here is the Source for points 1-4) above.

Note: In an interview she says something I really like regarding Civil Unions, but so far her actions speak louder than her words.

When she was in the House she represented district 20, a rather conservative district (voted for Bush twice), so the question is, as representative of this district, was she simply following her constituents orders? Now that she represents the entire state (which is more liberal), how far will she swing back to the left? The great promise of a Republic is that the people we elect to represent us are better suited, more informed and perhaps more passionate about the issues and not simply representing the plurality of their constituents. If representatives were simply extensions of the plurality, I'm not sure I'd be such a big believer in the usefulness of a Republic.