All Over Albany

Kirsten Gillibrand on 60 Minutes

This past weekend's 60 Minutes included a long feature about Kirsten Gillibrand.

It covers a lot of what you'd expect -- her ongoing fight against sexual assault and harassment, her call for Al Franken to resign (clip embedded above), the back and forth with Donald Trump on Twitter, even a visit to her family's home on Noonan Lane in Albany.

But Sharyn Alfonsi also pressed Gillibrand on the way her positions have changed on issues such as gun regulation and immigrant since her time in the House. And that was maybe the most interesting moment of the whole segment. A clip (emphasis added):

Sharyn Alfonsi: So can you understand President Trump's position on immigration, since you were there?

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: No. I think his positions are racist.

Sharyn Alfonsi: You were against amnesty, against sanctuary cities. You supported accelerated deportations. You become senator...Why the flip?

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: I came from a district that was 98% white. We have immigrants, but not a lot of immigrants. And I hadn't really spent the time to hear those kind of stories about what's it like to worry that your dad could be taken away at any moment, what it's like--

Sharyn Alfonsi: But you're reading the paper--

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: Yeah. And I just didn't take the time to understand why these issues mattered because it wasn't right in front of me. And that was my fault. It was something that I'm embarrassed about and I'm ashamed of.

KG seems to be reading the recent political currents in a way that differs from a lot of other national politicians. And that sort of response feels atypical for national figure of her stature. So it's interesting to watch if the way she talks about things -- her energy, her demeanor, her style -- represents some sort broader shift.