Why It Wasn't Hard Not Voting Republican

I participated a good deal more than usual in the election cycle last go around, and given the choices, I still believe the right choice was made. On the right the choice was this arrogant bastard of a politician that I never could respect much named John Sweeney, and on the left there was this relatively inexperienced newcomer Kirsten Gillibrand that I had the opportunity to meet in person many times.

I'm not going to dive too deep into my list of qualifications when weighing politicians, my list wouldn't match most voters list anyway, but on paper I gave John Sweeney the nod in that Dept. However, at the end of the day, voting comes down to who you can vote for with a straight face, and I couldn't shake this feeling in my gut that John Sweeney was anything other than an arrogant prick who was all polish and no shine. Looks like my gut feeling was right on.

Former U.S. Rep. John Sweeney's blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit, State Police said, when troopers charged him with drunken driving after he swerved on the Northway early Sunday.

Sweeney was heading northbound in his 2004 BMW sedan when at 1:19 a.m. he abruptly swerved out of the center lane just south of Exit 9, police said.

Lt. Scott Coburn said officers noticed a smell of alcohol on Sweeney's breath. Sweeney allegedly failed a standard field sobriety test. A subsequent test showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.18 percent -- more than twice the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent, police said.

This isn't about bragging or embarrassing an ex-politician, they do enough of that for themselves I don't need to bother, rather this is about electing quality leaders. John Sweeney most likely never did figure out why he lost the election, but if he reflected today he might figure it out. He was one of those guys who didn't even hide he was 110% about himself, unless of coarse he was paid to listen. Since being elected, I have been to two different public forums where Kirsten Gillibrand spoke, and while I didn't go up to talk to her, I could have and a lot of average citizens in our district did.

Is Kirsten Gillibrand a better elected leader or politician or representative than John Sweeney? So far, professionally I am unimpressed by her activities and see nothing compelling yet in her resume on Capital Hill, and additionally see her as a lightweight and even sometimes clueless to what is happening in the House Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee. Personally though, she had John Sweeney whipped before the election and to this day she has maintained the higher moral ground that allows voters to be satisfied with their vote.

Despite my professional criticism, she still has time to grow into her leadership role. In my opinion, she better if she wants to hold her seat, not because she has done something wrong, but because the good ole girl routine isn't going to sway enough votes in a district that doesn't have a clear majority and where the engagement and knowledge among voters is higher than average. It was easy to vote for her against someone like John Sweeney, but that isn't a very high measurement. For a sitting member on the House Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee I intend to continue to watch Kirsten Gillibrand closely, and if she doesn't step into her role by the next election I may have to give serious thought to the alternative that pops up.

This business as usual Congress looks a lot like the business as usual Congress we voted out, if the new faces can't bring change, us voters will need to keep finding new faces.