Sinister
Dec 11th, 2006, 05:46 AM
On the Hill, the sound of silence
John Sweeney, still reeling from re-election loss to Kirsten Gillibrand, fails to show for votes
By JUDY HOLLAND, Washington bureau
First published: Sunday, December 10, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Since losing re-election last month, Rep. John Sweeney has played hooky in Congress, skipping votes, dodging reporters and avoiding his new make-shift office in a basement cubicle set up for lame ducks.
Sweeney's friends and colleagues Capitol Hill say the Republican from Clifton Park is still stunned about the outcome of the Nov. 7 election when he lost to Democratic challenger Kirsten Gillibrand.
Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, a close friend of Sweeney's, says the four-term Republican is "frustrated and angry" and feels he was unfairly attacked a week before the election after the Times Union and other newspapers disclosed that police had investigated a domestic dispute between Sweeney and his wife on Dec. 2, 2005.
Sweeney plummeted in pre-election public opinion polls after newspapers disclosed police records documenting the emergency 911 call that his wife Gaia made to police after midnight from their Clifton Park home.
Gaia Sweeney told the responding state trooper that the congressman had grabbed her by the neck and was pushing her around the house, according to a police report obtained by the Times Union. The trooper reported that the congressman had scratches on his face, according to the document.
Sessions, asked why Sweeney was so angry and shocked about his loss, said: "John was disappointed that some frailties in his life were contributing issues to his defeat." He said Sweeney has been ill and his blood pressure had risen.
Sweeney believes he picked up "a bug" during congressional trips to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Sessions.
"A bug got into his system and lodged in his brain," Sessions said. "It caused unimaginable pain and stress."
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?StoryID=543338
John Sweeney, still reeling from re-election loss to Kirsten Gillibrand, fails to show for votes
By JUDY HOLLAND, Washington bureau
First published: Sunday, December 10, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Since losing re-election last month, Rep. John Sweeney has played hooky in Congress, skipping votes, dodging reporters and avoiding his new make-shift office in a basement cubicle set up for lame ducks.
Sweeney's friends and colleagues Capitol Hill say the Republican from Clifton Park is still stunned about the outcome of the Nov. 7 election when he lost to Democratic challenger Kirsten Gillibrand.
Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, a close friend of Sweeney's, says the four-term Republican is "frustrated and angry" and feels he was unfairly attacked a week before the election after the Times Union and other newspapers disclosed that police had investigated a domestic dispute between Sweeney and his wife on Dec. 2, 2005.
Sweeney plummeted in pre-election public opinion polls after newspapers disclosed police records documenting the emergency 911 call that his wife Gaia made to police after midnight from their Clifton Park home.
Gaia Sweeney told the responding state trooper that the congressman had grabbed her by the neck and was pushing her around the house, according to a police report obtained by the Times Union. The trooper reported that the congressman had scratches on his face, according to the document.
Sessions, asked why Sweeney was so angry and shocked about his loss, said: "John was disappointed that some frailties in his life were contributing issues to his defeat." He said Sweeney has been ill and his blood pressure had risen.
Sweeney believes he picked up "a bug" during congressional trips to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Sessions.
"A bug got into his system and lodged in his brain," Sessions said. "It caused unimaginable pain and stress."
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?StoryID=543338