Gillibrand Campaign Press Release - Gillibrand Breaks Through Devate on Abortion Rights, Paid Leave, and Getting Money Out of Politics

At last night's debate, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand demonstrated to voters that she has the strength to take on the fights for women and families that no one else will, and that she has the vision, record and toughness to beat President Trump.

Gillibrand broke through by staking out a position as the fiercest fighter for women's reproductive rights, laying out her plan to root out political corruption, forcefully denouncing President Trump, and offering the most clear-eyed assessment about the threat of war with Iran.

Kirsten Gillibrand gave her opponents a history lesson on abortion politics at the debate | Vox
By Anna North
[...] Gillibrand was making a crucial point. There's broad agreement on abortion rights across the Democratic field this year — nearly every candidate now supports repealing Hyde and codifying Roe v. Wade in statute, among other changes. But supporting those policies and making them a priority are two different things. And Gillibrand was calling her colleagues out on their commitment to fighting for abortion rights.

2020 Democrats traded wonkery for debate night pyrotechnics. Here's how our readers felt about that. | ThinkProgress
By Adam Peck
[...] Readers also gave Rep. Eric Swalwell recognition for a few good lines throughout the debate, but of the candidates outside the four front-runners, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand made the best impression with our readers.
"The real star of this debate was Kirsten Gillibrand — she came out frequently, forcefully and intelligently," said Earl at the end of the evening.

Kirsten Gillibrand focuses message on women's rights and money in politics | Miami Herald
By Joey Flechas
[...] The role of outsized campaign contributions was a theme that ran through a two-hour debate where she was punchy in her messaging, keeping to a streamlined set of talking points as some other candidates received more airtime.
During her key moments in Thursday's Democratic debate, the New York senator hammered on her plan to create a system of publicly funded elections — "clean elections" as she calls them.

"It's My Turn": Biden & Bernie Couldn't Stop Interrupting Everyone | Refinery29
By Tiffany Diane Tso
[...] Gillibrand gave the male candidates a run for their money and decided to cut in as well — leading some on Twitter to call her out, while others celebrated her gumption. During the conversation on Medicare For All, the New York senator cut in to take credit for the portion of the bill she wrote allowing people to keep their private insurance during a transition period.

"Medicare for all" vs. "Medicare for all who want it" at the Democratic debate, explained  | Vox 
By Dylan Scott
[...] Gillibrand pointed to the provision in the Senate bill, which she wrote, setting up a four-year transition period. During that time, Americans would be allowed to buy into the new government plan. Gillibrand argued Medicare-for-all could win in competition with private insurance, rather than winning by default if the latter is abolished.

Gillibrand shows verve in debate, but will it raise her profile? | Albany Times Union
By Dan Freedman 
[...] But her most fervent words came in the second hour of the debate when she talked about her promise to reform the role of money in politics with publicly funded elections and the rollback of the Supreme Court's Citizen United decision, which permitted unlimited big dollars to flow into SuperPACs organized primarily to trash opposition candidates.

The Key Moments From The Second Presidential Primary Debate | Refinery29
By Tiffany Diane Tso, Andrea González-Ramírez, Natalie Gontcharova
[...] Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand took a not-so-subtle swipe at Joe Biden by mentioning the Hyde Amendment, on which he has flip-flopped.
"Women's reproductive rights are under assault by President Trump and the Republican Party," Gillibrand said. "I think we have to stop playing defense and start playing offense. But let me tell you one thing about politics... When the door is closed and negotiations are made, there are conversations about women's rights and compromises have been made on our backs. That's how we got to Hyde, that's how the Hyde Amendment was created, a compromise by leaders of both parties." She added, to applause: "I have been the fiercest advocate for women's reproductive freedom for over a decade."

On Twitter, progressive voices praised Senator Gillibrand for her ideas on immigration, publicly funded elections proposal, and abortion rights and paid family leave policy proposals.