By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The race for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's Senate seat hasn't officially begun yet, but the barbs — and the tweets — are already flying.
Gillibrand took to Twitter on Tuesday to attack potential primary challenger and former Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford Jr., after he called her a "parakeet" who simply did the bidding of party bosses.
"'Parakeet?' I wouldn't allow my 6 yr old to engage in this kind of namecalling. And HF thinks he should be Senator?" Gillibrand tweeted.
Davidson Goldin, a Ford spokesman, shot back.
"I would think the unelected senator would be more concerned with fighting for jobs for New Yorkers than spending her time on Twitter," he told DNAinfo.
Ford himself has just recently started Tweeting.
He sent a tweet Monday morning reading "Attaboy to schumer for payroll tax cut idea!" — apparently a make good for his attacks yesterday on the senior senator's voting record, including Sen. Chuck Schumer's support of the current health care reform bill.
