On the Hill, the sound of silence

John Sweeney, still reeling from re-election loss to Kirsten Gillibrand, fails to show for votes

10 Dec 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."

Sessions said he and Sweeney are best friends and that his two children refer to Sweeney as "Uncle John."

Sessions referred to the "magnitude" of Sweeney's election loss, likening it to "a huge tidal wave."

"Storms sometimes leave victims in their wake who are innocent victims," Sessions said.

He said he had offered Sweeney a phone and a bed in his own office last week, in case he doesn't like the make-shift temporary basement cubicles near the cafeteria storeroom where House members who lost elections were moved from their grand office suites.

Early Monday, Sweeney's name had been stripped from the door of his former office at Suite 416 in the majestic Cannon House Office Building.

A nameless "Welcome, Come In," sign remained outside the locked door beside an empty water cooler, a stack of collapsible cardboard boxes and a bundle of newspapers addressed to Sweeney.

Since his defeat, Sweeney's voting record has been sporadic, with frequent no-shows during the eight days the House has been in session.

On Nov. 13, Sweeney skipped the three votes and on Nov. 14, he also didn't show. On Nov. 15, Sweeney voted for a financial bill and for a measure congratulating the St. Louis Cardinals on winning the 2006 World Series.

Last Tuesday, Sweeney missed two votes but he came on the House floor on Wednesday to cast two votes, including one to require women seeking abortions after 20 weeks to decide whether they want anesthesia for the fetus. He skipped a vote Dec. 7 and missed seven votes on Dec. 8.

Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., said not showing up for votes after defeat amounts to "sour grapes."

"The public hired you to do a job and you shouldn't quit before it's over," Cooper said.

Sweeney and his staff have ignored dozens of requests for an interview and the congressman has evaded reporters off the House floor.

Sessions said Sweeney told him Friday afternoon he wasn't going to talk to a reporter.

"He feels that he's gotten the (expletive deleted) kicked out of him enough," Sessions said.

Sessions said Sweeney was too busy to vote or talk to a reporter.

"He's trying to move out of his apartment and he's making calls to get his people placed," Sessions said, referring to Sweeney's displaced staffers. Sessions said Sweeney told him: "I'm so busy, I don't know how I'm going to be down there," he said, referring to the House floor.

Meanwhile, Sweeney's colleagues tried to make sense of his surprise defeat.

Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-East Amherst, who narrowly won re-election, said Sweeney had "one of the safest seats in the Northeast" but lost because the campaign "got personal."

"The campaign became a referendum on John Sweeney," Reynolds said. "I think he was off stride with his message." Reynolds said the distraction over the 911 call prevented Sweeney from finishing the campaign with the message that he would create jobs and cut taxes.

"It was a perfect storm to take out a well-liked incumbent in a safe seat," he said.

Rep. Michael R. McNulty, D-Green Island, who said he helped fellow Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, a family friend, in her successful campaign to defeat Sweeney, said Sweeney lost because she was an "outstanding candidate," who is "intellectually brilliant, politically smart and has a work ethic that won't quit."

Until now, Sweeney has breezed to re-election since 1998.

Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., said his friend Sweeney is "very broken up."

"There's a lot of upheaval in his life," Weldon said. "It's one thing if you're behind for six months and see it coming," he said of Sweeney's election loss. "What do you do now? How do you feed yourself and your wife?"

Retiring Rep. Sherwood R. Boehlert, R-New Hartford, said Sweeney was "still smarting from the loss" and had "suffered from a multitude of problems."

Boehlert said Sweeney's biggest problem was that he had an "R" (for Republican) after his name, so he was hurt by the unpopularity of the Iraq war and the congressional page scandal.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-Manhattan, said Sweeney is usually "hail-fellow-well-met" but ignored his greeting of hello and "went right by" when they encountered each other last week.

Rep. John McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, Jefferson County, a close Sweeney associate, said his friend is "not limited by lack of opportunities."

"A good number of people have come forward and talked to him about opportunities," McHugh said. "He's built up enormously important contacts ... He'll have options to take him in different paths. As to knocking him down, if you land a lucky punch, you don't keep him down for long."

During the campaign, Sweeney had loudly dismissed the seriousness of Gillibrand's challenge, violating one of the golden rules of politics.

"One way to ensure that you continue to win is to take every opponent seriously, even a minor candidate," said Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia. "Why any Republican in New York would think that he or she was guaranteed re-election in the state, is beyond comprehension."

Sabato said voters want to hear that a candidate is "running scared" and want to know that their support is not taken for granted.

Months before the election, Sweeney had been viewed as a rising star within the party and had not discouraged speculation that he might be interested in higher office, such as the U.S. Senate or even the governorship of New York.

Sweeney also had a seat on the prized House Appropriations Committee, which is usually an insurance policy against defeat because it allows members to bring back federal money to their districts.