In summer 2005 a group of peace activists who had been vigiling on a street corner in Saratoga Springs for nearly three years, gathered at the house of one of our members to meet Kirsten Gillibrand, who had decided to challenge our four-term Representative John Sweeney. We were eager to see Sweeney go - after all, "Congressman Kick Ass," as W. called him, was the one who incited the Brooks Brothers Riot that stopped the vote counting in Dade County, Florida in 2000.
We were under no illusions regarding this new Democratic candidate's chances. Each year, the Democratic challenger to Sweeney and his uber-right predecessor Gerald Solomon ended up with no more than 40 percent of the vote. Republican registrations outnumbered Democrats by 2-1, and most of the towns and counties in the district were under solid Republican control. But something felt different this time, and it was why many of us chose to give our money and time to Kirsten Gillibrand's campaign.
Democrats in my then-hometown of Clifton Park - where Sweeney lived and the largest town by population in the district - were used to being kicked by the local bullies of the Republican Party. We were shouted down and abused at town meetings and intimidated by SLAPP suits. (These are Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation - technically illegal but financially and emotionally stressful to defend.) Democrats who ran against the entrenched Republican officials at all levels were not just defeated but also humiliated by the victors.
We recognized right away that Kirsten would not allow herself to be pushed around in this way. Her family had been in politics for many generations, and she knew how to fight back. Having lived under a corrupt one-party regime on both the national and the local level, we welcomed Kirsten's pledge of transparency and her desire to end the war in Iraq and investigate those who had taken us into war and then profited from it.
The circumstances by which Kirsten Gillibrand defeated John Sweeney in the 2006 midterm election are well known, as is her lopsided triumph over a former Republican party leader who spent more than $6 million of his own fortune last year. She is a woman of extraordinary intelligence, political skill, and toughness. She would never have gotten where she is, in New York's 20th Congressional District, without these qualities.
The Blue Dog issue: Most of the voters in the 20th CD would rather die than pay taxes. In part, Kirsten's joining the Blue Dog Democrats was to satisfy these voters. At the same time, nobody likes to waste money, and under the government of George W. Bush, budget deficits soared and plenty of our money went wasted - on the war, on the war profiteers, on tax cuts for the very rich, on corporate welfare, on crooked contracts given to Republican cronies. Under these circumstances, Kirsten's desire to cut spending, balance the budget, and increase transparency made sense. Today, we face very different circumstances - high unemployment and a need to fix our crumbling infrastructure and health care system. I expect Kirsten to respond differently to these changing conditions.
The gun issue: Much of the 20th CD is rural and poor. Hunting provides a source of food. (It also lowers the chances of a deer crashing through your windshield on the Taconic State Parkway.) There are people who, if they didn't have their guns, would have to wait for roadkill. The southern Adirondacks are a world away from Long Island, and as senator, Kirsten would have to address the needs of all residents of New York State. That means restricting gun sales while communicating to hunters that their way of life is not in danger.
I believe that Kirsten Gillibrand is up to the challenge. She will be an effective Democratic senator for New York State and for the nation. I expect great things from her.