Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Thursday went to a place that few Democrats have dared or cared to go when it comes to allegations of sexual assault: Calling out Bill Clinton:

"should have resigned" !

From  the New York Times:/Washington Post:

Asked directly if she believed Mr. Clinton should have stepped down (when he faced his own allegations as president), Ms. Gillibrand took a long pause and said, “Yes, I think that is the appropriate response.”

That long pause suggests this was not something that the senator from New York said lightly, nor that she necessarily planned on saying. Yet here we are.

It's difficult to overstate the potential significance of Gillibrand's response to the question about the former president. While the comments might have been somewhat buried in a day of multiple huge news stories —  sexual assault allegations against Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), the Roy Moore saga,  Robert Menendez's mistrial and the passage of the House GOP tax bill — it could reverberate for years for Gillibrand and possibly for longer for the Clintons.

In one respect, it's not so surprising that Gillibrand would go there on Bill Clinton. She's been perhaps the Senate's most vocal member on sexual assault. But in another respect, it's a highly unexpected and fraught move.

Gillibrand just so happens to come from the state where Hillary Clinton served in the Senate, and she was appointed to Clinton's old seat before winning it in her own right. She is also thought to have aspirations of running for president in 2020. This stance would seem to have the dual effect of distinguishing her on a very important issue in that race, but also of potentially alienating the many well-heeled and influential supporters and donors she has in common with the Clintons.

At least one former top Hillary Clinton aide sent a warning shot Gillibrand's way on Thursday night. Philippe Reines's tweet downplayed the allegations against Bill Clinton and suggested that Gillibrand was a hypocritical ingrate. He also ominously pointed to the 2020 presidential race — a not-so-veiled warning that Gillibrand just alienated the wrong people.

“Over 20 yrs you took the Clintons' endorsements, money, and seat. Hypocrite,” he wrote. “Interesting strategy for 2020 primaries. Best of luck.”