Senator Kirsten Gillibrand led her keynote speech at the Empire State Pride Agenda’s fall dinner with a reference to her Google results.
“The funny thing is, when you do Google my name, the first word that comes up is ‘weight loss,'” said Gillibrand, who has previously shared her diet secrets with both the Daily News and Capital New York. “So, sure, I had a baby two years ago, and I spent a lot of time last year trying to lose that baby weight, and I did. I lost 40 pounds.
“So, for this crowd, I’m sure you want to know how I did it,” she told the roomful of gay rights supporters. “I have this new diet, it’s called the ‘Pretend You’re a Republican Diet.’ It’s every time you see carbs or sweets or fats, you pretend you’re a Senate Republican and just say no.”
Gillibrand will need at least one Republican senator to say yes next month–when Democrats try to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, one of her favored causes since being elevated to the upper chamber last year.
Gillibrand said she was “very disappointed” that the Obama administration had decided to appeal a federal judge’s ruling striking down the ban, but pledged to pass the bill in the Senate.
“This is a battle that we will win. This is a fight we will not give up on. And I will say, we will achieve repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell this year,” Gillibrand said.
Earlier, Senator Chuck Schumer told the crowd that Democrats would attach the provision to the defense authorization bill in a lame duck session after the elections next month.
