Kirsten Gillibrand hits back at top Democratic donors who blame her for Al Franken's ouster

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New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill.

• A host of top Democratic donors say they won't donate to or raise funds for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's potential 2020 bid after she pushed to oust fellow Democratic Sen. Al Franken last year amid sexual misconduct charges.
• Gillibrand hit back on Monday, suggesting that her critics would rather silence the voices of women who spoke out against Franken than hold him to fair standards.
• But some of Gillibrand's supporters worry the criticism from powerful donors will scare off other Democrats and undermine the senator's higher ambitions.

When Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand led the charge in pressuring former Sen. Al Franken, the Minnesota Democrat, to resign last year amid mounting allegations of sexual misconduct, many hailed the move as both moral leadership and smart politics.

As a majority of Democratic senators followed her call, Gillibrand's cemented her status as an unapologetic defender of women's rights and boosted her credentials on the progressive left.

But nearly a year later, many Democrats - including some of the party's wealthiest donors - remain convinced that Franken's ouster was unjust - and more than a dozen party patrons told Politico on Monday that that they blame Gillibrand and, as a result, will never donate to or raise funds for her potential 2020 bid.

Gillibrand fought back against the criticism on Monday, reasserting her argument that the women who accused Franken of groping, forcible kissing, and other alleged wrongdoing deserve to be believed.

"Silencing women for the powerful, or for your friends, or for convenience, is neither acceptable, nor just," she wrote.

The senator's fans insist she made the right move, but it remains to be seen whether she'll survive the political blowback.

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Democratic Sens. Al Franken and Kirsten Gillibrand

'We love blaming women'

Many of Gillibrand's allies see the attacks on her - and the eight women who made allegations against Franken - as gendered.

"We love blaming women," said one progressive Democratic donor, who asked for anonymity to protect relationships with other Democrats, told INSIDER.

Shuan King, a writer and civil rights activist, called the criticism "dumb and sexist."

While critics say her advocacy for the victims was largely strategic, her supporters say there can be no equivocating on an issue like sexual misconduct.

"What KG is being maligned for is believing women," Ilyse Hogue, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, tweeted Monday. "We have nothing that resembles due process for these claims and we saw with Kavanaugh that survivors coming forward incur serious consequences. KG has always shown that survivors have somewhere to turn."

Gillibrand's spokesperson, Glen Caplin, also issued a defense of the decision, arguing that morality should always take precedent over political expediency.

"Leadership means standing up for your values when it's hard. Kirsten has never been afraid to stand up for what she believes in and never will be. You can disagree with her views, but holding her accountable for someone else's behavior towards women is wrong, and her values aren't for sale," Caplin said in a statement to Politico.

The progressive donor argued that the criticism of Gillibrand isn't coming from any of her longtime supporters, but rather from those, like billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who supported Franken and never had skin in the game for Gillibrand.

"This very aggressive posturing is trying to scare off support and trying to convince her not run," he said. "It's not reflecting a deeply-held position other than hard-nosed politics."

'His voice is missed'

While Gillibrand remains broadly popular among Democrats (she was re-elected this year with 66% of the vote - and received nearly 400,000 more votes than New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo), it's clear that many in the party hold a grudge against her over Franken.

The former "Saturday Night Live" star remains beloved among many on the left.

"His voice is missed, people liked him," the progressive donor said. "I think a lot of good, solid progressives … liked Al Franken and all they remember is Kirsten Gillibrand pushed him out and it wasn't even that bad."

Mitch Draizin, a New York hedge fund founder and Democratic donor, doesn't think Franken deserved to be pushed out, but added that he wouldn't base his support for Gillibrand on that single decision - and would back her in 2020 if she's the strongest contender.

"Perhaps she had no other choice given the women's movement," Draizin told INSIDER. "I think she could have gotten caught up in the moment - you don't know what counter-veiling forces were there."

It's likely too early to know whether the ongoing backlash against Gillibrand will undermine her 2020 chances. And some argue a strong grassroots campaign could overcome resistance from a few powerful voices.

"I would hope that the voters would decide and not the donors," Jeff Gural, a New York real estate developer and Democratic donor, told INSIDER. "I don't think raising the most money is the most important thing anymore."