No sooner had retired U.S. Army colonel Chris Gibson stepped back on American soil this week, he was announcing to run against Democrat Scott Murphy in the 20th Congressional District.
Republicans have a crowded field in the 20th but Gibson has been put forth as an immediate favorite, in addition to being boosted by fellow Kinderhook native John Faso.
Gibson reflects a trend News Copy is following with many candidates running for Congress; military or defense department experience abounds from the 17th to the 20th Congressional districts.
The Albany Times Union reported that Gibson only retired from a 24-career in the Army last week.
"I've fought hard for this country, and now I'm ready to fight hard for all of the citizens of the 20th District," Gibson announced Saturday afternoon during a homecoming party at the Winding Brook Country Club.
Three other Republicans candidates vying for the seat are David Harper, Queensbury Supervisor Dan Stec and Patrick Ziegler.
The Catskill Daily Mail out of Greene County gave Gibson a hero's welcome and a sense of high drama.
"He’s a Kinderhook native. He was point guard and co-captain of the Ichabod Crane High School basketball team. He rose to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army, was deployed seven times overseas and now Republican Chris Gibson has come home to run for office against Rep. Scott Murphy in New York’s 20th Congressional District.?
Candidates in the Hudson Valley with military or defense department backgrounds including Rockland County resident and Bronx-native Anthony Mele, who is considering a run against Eliot Engel in the 17th, Westchester resident Mark Rosen who is planning a run against Nita Lowey in the 18th and Orange County native Kristia Cavere, who is forming an exploratory for a run against John Hall in the 20th.
And Marine Corps veteran Kieran Lalor, who ran two years ago against John Hall in the 19th, is an Iraq veteran who has formed an organization called Iraq Vets For Congress.
Mr Gibson is the favorite? With the party bosses that might be true. I'm much more cautious, especially after reading the strident op-ed piece on Defense strategy he authored. The Gibson Doctrine is Dick Cheney on steroids. So we'll have to see. The Democratic congress is a disgrace, but do the voters really want to replace Murphy with a Bush II congressman? The previous Republican President and Congress gave us massive debt, corruption, and bailouts for the well-heeled. Personally, I'm tired of deja vu politics. I hope the voters seek out and demand an alternative to these lackluster options.
Posted by: shudgetajobbut | Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 09:23 PM
If the Republicans began this massive debt that we are now in and it is the goal of the democrats to solve the debt problem, why is spending budgeted to go through the roof? Does this make sense to to tax the people, claiming that the money is to get us [the United States] out of debt and then not allocating the funds to debt reduction but instead "special" programs? The alternative is controlling government and electing men and women that keep that in mind. And it might be because of my liberal New York Education, but it makes more sense to me to put an academic in teaching position then a leading position. In that case, it makes complete sense to me to put a person with defense knowledge in congress. The experience that Chris Gibson has will prove very very useful. Instead of re-electing professional politicians that have been civilians their whole life, we need to elect someone who has experienced defense of our nation on all levels, i.e. Chris Gibson.
Posted by: tdx | Friday, March 12, 2010 at 10:11 AM
Gibson: his background suggests he'll be a "Watch Dog" regarding national security policy. We sure don't need another "Yes Man" in the Congress.
It's encouraging to see the activity on his behalf and I welcome him into the race. An exciting conservative!
Posted by: Peter Walsh | Monday, March 15, 2010 at 08:55 PM