I have to admit I feel a tinge of skepticism about the whole story, but only a tinge. Kirsten Gillibrand has never struck me as the type of politician who would make up complete crap just so she could paint herself as a victim, and the way she's telling the story seems to imply that these idiotic comments came mainly from other Democrats - older, um, "gentlemen" who are a little too used to doing things the Old Boys' way.
Even so, you sort of feel like a sucker if you just accept any story out of a politicians' mouth. If it was - let's be honest - Hillary Clinton making the claim, there's no way I'd believe it. But my gut says Gillibrand is telling the truth:
In a new interview with People magazine to promote her new book, “Off the Sidelines,” Gillibrand recounts one incident when she was once working out in the House gym during renovations of the women’s facility.
“Good thing you’re working out, because you wouldn’t want to get porky!” one of her older male colleagues said. Her response: “Thanks, a—hole,” she said in an excerpt from her book.
An unidentified southern congressman once held the former upstate House member’s arm while walking her down the chamber’s center aisle. “You know, Kirsten, you’re even pretty when you’re fat,” he told her.
"I believed his intentions were sweet, even if he was being an idiot,” Gillibrand recounted.
Gillibrand has struggled with her weight, going between a Size 4 and Size 16 after giving birth.
She recalled a labor leader once told her: “When I first met you in 2006 you were beautiful, a breath of fresh air. To win [the special], you need to be beautiful again.”
“I knew I was too heavy for my own health,” Gillibrand recalled.
After she dropped 50 pounds and got elected to the Senate, one of her favorite older senators walked up behind her, squeezed her waist, and intoned: “Don’t lose too much weight now. I like my girls chubby.”
Maybe I feel some sympathy because I've also struggled to keep weight off, and I can't imagine how much more difficult it would be given the time demands placed on a U.S. senator. Losing 50 pounds is a huge task, and it's demoralizing when you lose that much weight and then - as has happened to so many people, myself included - you put it all back on and you've got to put nose back to grindstone and start working on losing it again.
The last thing you need when you're going through that is blithering fools making comments like these, and I say that from the perspective of a dude. How much worse would it be for a woman to have to listen to that crap?
So anyway, the question that's of course on everyone's lips is which of these doddering old morons was the "favorite older senator" who told Gillibrand he likes his girls chubby? (And squeezed her waist too. Don't forget that part.)
Keep in mind that Gillibrand joined the Senate in 2010, so Ted Kennedy's not a contender.
Rules: You can't just toss out a name. You have to say why you think it's whoever you're nominating. Otherwise it's too easy.
The winner - and we don't know who it was either, but we'll choose the nomination supported by the most convincIng argument - will win a free book written by Herman, provided you're willing to provide contact information so we can send it to you.
Go!
