Sweeney's a maverick. If he were in step with the party, the cop would have found him with a 24-year old male in his lap.
But I hope they stand by him, because he's clearly one of their best. Some excerpts from his Wikipedia entry:
During the 2000 election, Sweeney helped to stop the third recount in Miami, possibly leading to his nickname from President Bush, "Congressman Kickass." He led the charge in November 2000 on the Miami-Dade elections commissioners by urging the Bush supporters to "shut it down!"; they then banged on the election commission's doors and the commissioners stopped the third recount. Sweeney used the words "thugs" to describe the Florida officials involved in the recount.
***
In January of 2001, Sweeney traveled with Tony C. Rudy, an associate of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, to give a speech to the Saipan Chamber of Commerce in the Commonwealth of North Marianas Islands, home of numerous garment sweatshops. It is currently being investigated whether Sweeney violated congressional ethics by not revealing who paid for his trip.
***
In September 2006, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a left-leaning think tank, released its second annual report on members of Congress with ethics issues, titled "Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch)". Sweeney was one of the 20. The organization said "His ethics issues stem from a ski trip to New York, the exchange of legislative assistance for campaign contributions and the hiring of his wife as a campaign fundraiser."
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He has been suffering significant health issues for some time, and is trying to quit smoking.
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Sweeney's a maverick. If he were in step with the party, the cop would have found him with a 24-year old male in his lap.
ReplyDeleteBut I hope they stand by him, because he's clearly one of their best. Some excerpts from his Wikipedia entry:
During the 2000 election, Sweeney helped to stop the third recount in Miami, possibly leading to his nickname from President Bush, "Congressman Kickass." He led the charge in November 2000 on the Miami-Dade elections commissioners by urging the Bush supporters to "shut it down!"; they then banged on the election commission's doors and the commissioners stopped the third recount. Sweeney used the words "thugs" to describe the Florida officials involved in the recount.
***
In January of 2001, Sweeney traveled with Tony C. Rudy, an associate of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, to give a speech to the Saipan Chamber of Commerce in the Commonwealth of North Marianas Islands, home of numerous garment sweatshops. It is currently being investigated whether Sweeney violated congressional ethics by not revealing who paid for his trip.
***
In September 2006, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a left-leaning think tank, released its second annual report on members of Congress with ethics issues, titled "Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch)". Sweeney was one of the 20. The organization said "His ethics issues stem from a ski trip to New York, the exchange of legislative assistance for campaign contributions and the hiring of his wife as a campaign fundraiser."
***
He has been suffering significant health issues for some time, and is trying to quit smoking.
Good luck with that, Kickass.
Well said.
ReplyDeleteSome additional Sweeney background.
* When he first came to Congress, he had a kickass mustache. Think Magnum P.I. with a twist of Joel Siegel.
* During a recent redistricting fight a few years ago, Sweeney desperately wanted his district to include Cooperstown, NY, home of the Baseball HOF.