Appointment of gun-friendly senator re-exposes the rural-urban divide in New York state

New York Gov. David Paterson's appointment of U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, right, as senator to replace Hillary Clinton has provoked a "fierce ... reaction to her red-state tendencies" and laid bare "the stark divide between America's urban and rural cultures," particularly in New York, Upstate radio reporter and author Brian Mann writes on North Country Public Radio's blog, The In Box.

"The liberal blogs have issued a collective shriek of rage," Mann writes, because of Upstater Gillibrand's opposition to gun-control measures favored in "the Five Boroughs" of New York City. But he says she is "deeply connected" to the city (and urbanity in general): "She was a securities lawyer; special counsel to federal Department of Housing and Urban Development; and her husband comes from England. But Gillibrand also has Upstate roots: she's loyal to some of the cultural traditions of New York's small-town world. Hunting is only one marker of her 'bi-cultural' background." (Read more)

Mann is the author of Welcome to the Homeland: A Journey to the Rural Heart of America's Conservative Revolution.