Some more late fallout from governor Paterson's well-thought-out and masterful handling of filling the Senate vacancy created by Senator Clinton's elevation to State: Per The New York Times, above the fold, newly-minted - and newly pro-equality, imagine - Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was a chief prop to Philip Morris during the nineties tobacco wars.

Now in the Senate seat formerly held by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ms. Gillibrand plays down her work as a lawyer representing Philip Morris, saying she was a junior associate with little control over the cases she was handed and limited involvement in defending the tobacco maker.

But a review of thousands of documents and interviews with dozens of lawyers and industry experts indicate that Ms. Gillibrand was involved in some of the most sensitive matters related to the defense of the tobacco giant as it confronted pivotal legal battles beginning in the mid-1990s.

Nice. Put that together with the gun issue and her greased-lightning shift of convenience on civil rights, and it gets more and more certain that Gillibrand will face a primary.

Update: OK, there's pushback from Tracey Russo, who may or may not work for the Senator. Read what she has to say after the break.  read more »