Posted on 01/07/2015 1:39:06 PM PST by Kaslin
The average age of a member of Congress is 58. That makes Elise Stefanik, the 30-year-old from the 21st district of New York, stick out like a flashing neon light. Stefanik is the youngest representative ever elected to serve on Capitol Hill, and she just happens to be a bold conservative.
Stefanik’s conservative credentials are bona fide. She was brought up in a small business family, is staunchly pro-life and has pledged to help replace Obamacare with common sense proposals. These qualities, along with an upbeat attitude, helped her to achieve incredible success in the Empire State’s North Country.
Before throwing her own hat in the political ring, Stefanik, a Harvard graduate, worked in the George W. Bush White House and helped oversee Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) vice presidential debate prep in 2012. With so much political experience, it was perhaps inevitable that she would pursue a Washington career of her own.
Despite being only 29 years old at the time, Stefanik decided to run for office in upstate New York in 2013, daring to challenge incumbent Democrat Bill Owens, who surprisingly dropped out of the race. Stefanik traveled over 100,000 miles in her truck to meet with constituents, according to her ad-maker, Russ Schriefer. All those hours on the road paid off. She first defeated her Republican primary opponent Matt Doheny by 22 points, then her Democratic opponent Aaron Woolf, also by double digits. Her victories came thanks to her youthful messages and energy. She’s now looking forward to bringing that same attitude to Congress.
In a sit-down interview with CBS’s Norah O’Donnell, Stefanik was all smiles and positivity as she reflected on her victory and looked toward her political career:
"I think that's where being young is a strength, because I bring, I hope, a sunny side of optimism to Congress, and a willingness to work with people. I hope I'm not frustrated after the next two years," she said, laughing.
At a time when the stuffy halls of Congress seem to be filled with people who have long overstayed their welcome (looking at you, Charlie Rangel and John McCain) it’s encouraging to see Stefanik’s youthful energy, optimism, willingness to compromise, and excitement to go to work. Washington, DC is about to get a breath of fresh air from a fresh face!
She’s barely conservative AT ALL.
More RINO than McCain.
She’s brand-new and somehow already “insider”.
Don’t expect anything inspiring from her at all.
I believe she voted for Boehner
pledged to help replace Obamacare with common sense proposals”
...like what?! This tells me the whole story.
Take a look at the electoral history of that NYS district.
I know a lot of FReepers think they could beat Pelosi or Wasserman-Schultz with a Ted Cruz type, but it doesn’t work in D+30 districts.
Sometimes you just gotta accept small gains.
I think most of the freshman voted for boner. They are brand spanking virgins who will form soon, but are not formed yet.
84 new republicans. 3 against Boehner
Her truck? To me that says a lot right there.
Happy to see Rod Blum, new from Iowa’s first district vote against Boehner and with Steve King. Alas wasn’t surprised to see Iowa’s new 3rd district vote for Boehner; that was arguably the most screwed up local GOP to successfully elect a rep anywhere this fall. My 2nd district rep also didn’t vote for Boehner, but voted as expected for the merely meaningless alternative, Pelosi. He might have joined 20 other Rats and sat out the vote, lowering Boehner’s target half a vote each. Still Iowa got half its state delegation and 2/3 its GOP votes for GOP alternatives. Did any other state fare as well?
“Stefanik is the youngest representative ever elected to serve on Capitol Hill”
Nope. “Youngest person ever to be elected to the House:
Representative William Charles Cole Claiborne of Tennessee, elected to the 5th Congress (1797–1799) at the age of 22.”
He was seated despite being under age.
A vote against boner and you can kiss any influential committee assignments goodbye. What are you going to do then but sit in your office all day?
She campaigned as being strongly anti-amnesty then voted for Juan Bonehead. Just another fake.
Based on the headline they must have meant to print she was the youngest woman ever elected. There are a handful of members there now in their lower 30s that were elected in their 20s.
So did Scott Brown.
All news is bad news to many folks on this forum.
she forgot her truck
All that free time to rattle cages, what to do, what to do?
Looks 43, 44.
Everyone who voted for Boehner is just as bad as Joe Stalin, if not worse! I believe that’s the current line of thinking.
You would think they would have taken the Constitution more seriously back then
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