Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Some Choice Comments For Monserrate From Sen. Golden

This just has to be printed in full. The Daily Gotham got an anonymous email that clipped together statements, mostly from Republican State Senator Marty Golden, about how he feels about his new colleague, Hiram Monserrate:

''When you let people like Senator Monserrate stay in office,'' said Senator Martin Golden, a Republican from Brooklyn, ''and you do fund-raisers for them, and you pat them on the back and you say, 'Go for it!' you know, there's a disgrace, a disgust, in people across this state.'' (March 25, 2009)

Sen. Martin Golden, a Brooklyn Republican, said Monserrate should resign - and he blasted Democratic leaders for continuing to support Monserrate."If we're going to protect people that would abuse women and abuse anybody in this fashion, there is something wrong with that," he said. (March 24, 2009)

Republicans called for Monserrate's resignation and assailed Smith for not taking further action. "He's going to have to step down," said Sen. Marty Golden, R-Brooklyn. "The longer he stays, the more of a spectacle it is." "Sen. Smith's failure to take action against Sen. Monserrate in the face of this criminal indictment, just one week after hosting a fundraiser on his behalf, clearly sends the wrong message to all New Yorkers," said a statement from two Republican senators, Betty Little of Queensbury and Cathy Young of Olean. (March 24, 2009)

Sadly, I didn't catch the Bruno comments Padavan and Golden made on video. But here's some footage of them railing on Monserrate. Padavan argued that the charges against Velella were "white collar" and therefore didn't take up as much of his time to fight. Golden agreed, saying: "We're not talking about a simple crime. We're talking about three D felonies. We're talking about a serious indictment here." (March 24, 2009)

And then Golden chimed in: "He left because he suspected it. He knew that this was not going away and he wanted to deal with it. He got out of the Senate so he could deal with this issue without being, without the Senate itself being a target." (March 24, 2009)

Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn) pushed a resolution calling on the newly Democratic-controlled Senate to keep Hiram Monserrate (D-East Elmhurst) - charged with slashing his girlfriend - from being seated before the swearing-in. In 1999 Monserrate, saying he suffered from psychological disorders, quit the NYPD after 11 years, it has been reported. Golden told Newsday that Monserrate's being a former cop had "absolutely nothing" to do with the case. "Domestic violence is a dirty secret throughout society that's been swept under the rug," he said. "Hopefully the courts will deal with this ... If he's guilty he should suffer the consequences." (January 12, 2009)

At the time, Mr. Golden, a Brooklyn Republican, was talking to a group of reporters about why he felt Mr. Monserrate should be turned away. ''I don't think he should be seated,'' Mr. Golden said as Mr. Monserrate approached him and extended his hand, apparently taking Mr. Golden by surprise. The two men shook hands and exchanged brief pleasantries. (January 8, 2009)

Afterward, Golden said he still felt Monserrate was a "ticking time bomb." "It's a pretty significant charge when you break a glass in a woman's face," said Golden, who, like Monserrate, is a former city cop. "To have that hanging over your head and sitting in this body takes this body down a little bit of a notch." (January 8, 2009)

Golden told The Associated Press that the Queens Democrat should have been kept out of the seat Wednesday, and that the pending criminal case involved "an absolutely horrendous assault on a woman." "It definitely takes the institution down and we don't need that," Golden said. (January 7, 2009)

Brooklyn Republican Sen. Martin Golden, a former police officer, said Wednesday he will continue trying to remove Monserrate for what Golden called "an absolutely horrendous assault on a woman." "It definitely takes the institution down and we don't need that," Golden said. "This obviously takes us down a couple of notches." (January 7, 2009)
Now Mr. Monserrate is in Golden's caucus, whether he calls it a "coalition government" or not. Espada, Monserrate and Skelos can play semantics all they want but for all intensive purposes Monserrate has cast his lot with thirty Republicans and whatever you want to call Espada. Of course, Golden has no problems sticking with his comments (but don't expect any new ones), since Monserrate will be kicked out if and when he is convicted for slashing his girlfriend with a broken glass. Still, for Golden (and the rest of the GOP) to even tolerate bringing two criminals into their caucus is revolting. Of course speaking as a Democrat, I'm glad they're off our hands now, so we can finally get real representation for those parts of the Bronx and Queens.