Kevin O'Neill

Born and raised in Chicago area and now recently retired to Wisconsin, and soon to be Arizona. Trained as an accountant and banker, I have been a political junkie the last 20 plus years.

My partner Bob and I met through a wine shop my wife and I used to own. We developed a love of talking politics while tasting out wines. We are just two middle-aged guys who enjoy bourbon, wine and all things political. We won’t say we are the smartest guys in the room but we can stand our own and are fun to be around. Over our lifetime, we have watched our American political system deteriorate right before our eyes. We know a lot of you feel the same way. We are fed up and know this country deserves better. It all boils down to wanting to make a difference. We fully understand that long-term, sustainable social and political change takes many voices and an incredible amount of persistence. We are here to lend our unique voices, views and persistence and hopefully have a little bit (or a lot) of fun along the way.

Last year we formed a Political Action Committee (Sensible Center PAC) we focuses on political reform. We started the podcast in June 2023 to promote the PAC and to talk current political issues and the political reform movement. We also wanted to show that two people from very different political ideologies (Kevin-Left Leaning, Bob-Libertarian) can have respectful and vigorous debates and still remain friends. This is missing from a lot of the political rhetoric lately.

Our Mission
The system is broken. It is not beyond repair but it requires immediate action. It requires more voices, less partisan voices. It requires new talents and thoughts. It requires a re-boot. It requires US. As Ben Franklin famously replied after the Constitutional Convention “A Republic, if you can keep it”.
We represent the untold masses in the Sensible Center. Unfortunately, news and social media amplify the voices of the extreme ends of the political spectrum. The current setup of our political system results in overrepresentation of the extremes through jerrymandering, partisan primaries, lobbyists, etc. which leads to the vast majority of us being dissatisfied with our representative government. We don’t feel represented.
This political action committee is humble. We understand we are small and emerging. That’s what makes the effort noble and exciting. Right now, we are a couple of minds, hands, and legs trying to push the boulder a bit. But that’s what is required of us as citizens. To be engaged. To try. Apathy is a gift to those seeking to use our political system for their own means. We refuse to give it to them. Instead, we will give them hell. Joining with untold others pushing also, we will throw that boulder off the hill.