DEMOCRATIC WARS

Posted at 7:43 a.m. ET

It is approaching armed combat within the Democratic Party of New York.  Sides are being chosen.  Gun stores are being emptied.  At its core:  Instead of picking Caroline Kennedy for the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, Governor David Paterson picked an upstate congresswoman backed by the NRA, someone whose apparent sin is that she doesn't do fine dining in Manhattan often enough.  The Caroline thing won't go away, as the New York Post reports:

Gov. Paterson rapped Caroline Kennedy at a private event the night before he tapped Kirsten Gillibrand for the Senate, telling guests Kennedy had been "nasty" to him and shown "disrespect" with how she bowed out, attendees told The Post.

The governor's attack came just hours after his office issued a statement wishing her well and disavowing quotes from a source close to him who had told The Post Kennedy had never been in true contention for the seat and was "mired" in personal issues.

There is now widespread talk of the Dem establishment mounting primary campaigns in 2010 against both Paterson and Gillibrand.  The Kennedy crowd is angry.  The gun-control crowd is angry.  The chic New York City feminists are angry.  And there is salt in the wound.  Again, the New York Post reports:

Gov. Paterson yesterday named upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to be the state's new US senator - but the press conference took a bizarre turn when Republican mega-lobbyist Alfonse D'Amato moved front and center.

Democrats statewide were aghast to see the former senator and GOP power broker standing close to Gillibrand on stage throughout the nationally telecast news conference that Paterson called to unveil his surprise replacement for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The fact is that Gillibrand was once an intern for D'Amato. 

Two notes:  President Obama pointedly called Senator-designate Gillibrand to congratulate her.  Also, the Post reports, and no one denies, that allies of Hillary Clinton worked to get Gillibrand the appointment, something they'd never have done without Clinton's approval.  Clinton, understandably, did not want to be succeeded by Caroline Kennedy, who worked against her in the presidential primaries.

This is a continuing saga, with national implications.  If the New York Dems dissolve into civil war, the GOP could conceivably win Gillibrand's Senate seat, and the right GOP candidate for president might have a shot at the state in 2012.

So much fun. 

January 24, 2009.