Dear Anthony Brindisi

Hello, Congressman Brindisi.

Yes, I wince when those words are assembled together, but you won NY's 22nd Congressional District race and as such, you are entitled to them for the next 2 years. Or more, maybe. We'll see. As you can probably deduce, I'm not a big fan of yours. I also know how fast 2 years ticks by, and we'll revisit you then. In the meanwhile, here's a reality check for you.

If you don't already know it, you're in a tough position. You reside in the proverbial location known as somewhere between a rock and a hard place. Out of over 248,000 votes cast, you won by less than 4,000. 3968, if the final numbers are right. It was a close race, 50.9% to 49.1%. It's hardly a mandate, especially considering over $14 million dollars were poured into your campaign, much of it from outside New York State. With the help of a clearly biased local newspaper, you eked out a win.

As you finish out your first week in Congress, I note you've made a few bad choices already.

The big mistake you have already made was throwing away your vote for Speaker of the House. Joe Biden isn't a Congressman and wasn't even in the running. If this wasn't a political stunt, then nothing ever is, or has been. Yes, you told us you were not going to support Nancy Pelosi for Speaker. But you didn't tell us you were going to throw away your vote for Bozo Biden either. You could have at least joined with some other Democrats and actually used your 22nd District vote for good. You chose to throw it away and that's just plain goofy. We're not fooled, and we're certainly not amused either.

Besides, we kind of already know how your relationship with Nancy is, and if I were a betting man, I'd put money that you are going to dance the Nancy Pelosi tango practically right away. After all, she did pump  ... $14,000 into your campaign, didn't she? We'll be watching, Anthony.

New York State is a blue state, but Upstate New York isn't very blue. Nobody knows that better than Andrew Cuomo, who skated into the Governor's mansion for the 3rd time ... winning only 15 out of 62 NY Counties. Upstate, he won 6. That's pretty shabby and if there were an electoral college in NYS, he'd be out of a job right now.

Considering the kakistocracy (yes, it's a real word, google it) in place in our state, it's no wonder we're suffering a population exodus of epic proportion in the last few decades. In Oneida County alone, the numbers show we've lost about 7% of our population since 2000. In real numbers, that's more than 2 people a day, every day of every year leaving Oneida County (and NY State) for good. This doesn't bode well for you, Anthony. You're the new kid on the block and you barely squeaked into office. NY State has 27 Congressional Districts at the moment, but this is 2019 and next year there is going to be another federal census. At the moment we're projected to lose 2 seats cutting it to 25 districts. Number 1, this means the footprint of the districts are going to get larger and number 2, it means some of the current incumbents are going to be in the Congressional bread line in a short few years. Do you think you're going to survive? You barely won, Anthony. Upstate may be fickle, but it comes back to its senses sooner or later.

Besides, some of your Assembly positions didn't really set well with some people. Sponsoring the late-term abortion bill didn't earn you bonus points with many undecided voters. Abortion is probably the last thing a Roman Catholic Assemblyman should have taken a hard stance on, but you did. Why you chose to support the wholesale slaughter of developed viable human beings in utero is something only your conscience can come to terms with. Abortion is an unpopular political topic in any event, and this country is divided over it. Roe v Wade didn't legalize it; it only decided that it was a state decision, not a federal decision. And, as legal matters go, it got warped the more and more it was handled by different courts. Until the Supreme Court revisits this (if they ever do), expanding it to making the murder of  human beings during birth legal ... is probably not a political position you want to brag about to your constituents.

Let's talk about money in politics. I'm not entirely sure how much was spent on your campaign, but something over $14 million is the number floated around internet sources. The 22nd Congressional District has a little over 720,000 (about 1/3 of them actually balloted) residents. You could have sent every person in the district $20 with money like that. I'm sure some people would have appreciated it more than those awful PAC ads in slow-motion black and white contorting the views and faces of the opposition ... and yes, in this case, both sides are guilty. Those ads turn stomachs, Anthony, and if there's anything that I will support you on, it'd be changing the PAC system via McCain-Feingold (what a joke) to kill that vile character assassination the general populace is subjected to every 2 years.

Besides, are you going to try to tell us you're independent ... that you can work with both sides, when you have a $14mil political debt to repay? Do you think these donors gave it to you out of the goodness of their own hearts? No, Anthony. To the big donors, you're nothing more than a loaf of Wonder Bread on the shelf. They bought you, you took the money and now they're going to come calling every now and then asking you for something, a vote on this, funding for that ... No, Anthony. You sold your soul for the campaign cash and some of these people are going to bare their fangs and let you know it. If you don't curtsy to them nicely, they'll find somebody else to take their money sooner or later. Probably sooner, in your case.

So, Congressman Brindisi, how do you like the job? You're up for re-election almost already, and remember: The President is up for re-election the same year, and he won NY 22 by almost 16 points in his first run. You're facing being on the short list when 2 seats are shaved out of the NY Congressional delegation. I'm not sure the local RINOs like Griffo and Picente will be able to help you next time. Griffo has his own problems, the main one being for the first time ever he's in a minority seat and the shock value of that is probably going to assist him in losing what hair he has left. Picente's choir is not sounding all that enthusiastic lately either, and his seat is up for grabs soon also.

Well, enough for now. You're a freshman, and I guess I should take that into account. But do note NY-22 is paying attention. And we're taking notes, too. See you in less than 2 years.

PS: I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but you probably cost Dave Gordon the county clerks seat with the high Democrat voter turnout in Utica and Rome. So indirectly, every time I wait in an inefficient Oneida County DMV line, I'll think of you when I consider how badly it needed to be fixed and ... wasn't because Sandy DePerno rode your coattails to re-election.