Scary Thought For The Day: Albany Is Run By A Bunch Of Five Year Olds

It's chaos.

Sixty-two Senators (not all of them bad mind you) who collectively, supposedly, represent millions of New Yorkers in one house of a bicameral legislature are as a whole, failing us miserably. Yesterday Paterson called the first "special" session into the senate chamber and while they did pass a hundred bills, the legality of that is in doubt.

What's worse was the way it was all handled. First the Democrats ran into chamber at 12:30pm and locked themselves in, then the Republicans pounded on the door to start their own session at 2pm and the Democratic caucus joined in around 3pm. The place looked more like a kindergarten class than a primary institution of our state's government.

Quoting heavily (but deservedly) from The Times-Union:

And so it went, with the Democrats acting as if there were no one else in the chamber, until 3 p.m., when Stewart-Cousins gaveled in for Paterson's special session, kicking off 20 minutes of wildly dysfunctional governance.

Stewart-Cousins recognized Smith, who noted that the chamber had not yet received copies of the bills listed in Paterson's call for a special session. Winner and Skelos attempted to interrupt Smith whenever he rose to speak, and Stewart-Cousins did the same to Skelos.

Stewart-Cousins then ordered the Senate to stand at ease until 5 p.m., and the Democrats began to carry on conversations and exit the chamber.

The Republicans made a quorum call to determine if 32 members were present, and Winner called out the names of Democratic members who were in the Senate but not responding to the roll call ("Sen. Adams is present ... Sen. Aubertine is present in the chamber").

Although Winner declared that quorum was established, the absence of the governor's bills prevented the Republicans and Espada from moving forward with the legislation.

Stewart-Cousins banged her gavel. "Senate stands at ease," she said.

"Senate is in session," Winner declared.

As the scene unfolded, the Senate began to devolve into something resembling an unruly study hall. "You gonna punch somebody, Parker?" Sen. Andrew Lanza, R-Staten Island, said as Kevin Parker spoke to the Democratic side of the chamber. (Parker faces assault charges for an incident involving a New York Post reporter.)

"Don't you dare tell me I'm out of order -- you're out of order!," Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, D-Bronx/Westchester, exclaimed after Winner attempted to gavel her down.

The GOP and Espada ultimately left the chamber, saying they would return once the bills had been received. But it was the Democrats who returned to the chamber first after the bills had been distributed.

Although there were at that point only 31 members in the chamber, the Democrats claimed that since all 62 Senate members had stood for the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the 3 p.m. session, quorum had been established. In order for that quorum to be questioned, one of the Republicans or Espada would have had to enter the chamber to do so -- which would, of course, had given the Democrats the 32nd member needed for a quorum call.

After the Democrats had passed the legislation on the governor's list and left the chamber, Republicans returned to adjourn for the day.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is your state senate.

Espada And GOP Could Care Less About Power-Sharing Or The Judge's Ruling

Yesterday after the failed meeting between Senate leaders on both sides, Republicans (including Espada) proclaimed they were the leaders based on last week's vote and that compromising with the Democratic caucus wasn't going to happen without Judge McNamara's adjudication this morning. Well 10 a.m. came and went, and the judge delayed his decision again in the name of progress between the two camps. I wonder if he thought that about the latest development from Espada, Skelos et al.

From The Daily Politics:

This doesn't necessarily bode well: Sens. Dean Skelos and Pedro Espada Jr. just announced they have scheduled a session for 3 p.m. with 62 bills on the active list, many of which are "critically important" to counties and cities across the state.

A brief review of the list finds it includes bills sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans, including this little number:

- S4071: Provides for the sanitization of every used mattress or bedding material transported, stored or sold in the state.

Guess who the sponsor is? Sen. Hiram Monserrate.

First though, McNamara is reconvening the court at 1p.m. so we will get to hear his reaction to Espada's idea of compromise. Strong-arm politics is a more apt name for this game and hopefully the judge does not look too kindly on that after he instructed both sides to work together, not over each other. McNamara should heed the warning of Charles Barron, who calls out the hustlers who are putting themselves in charge of this gigantic mess.

Espada And Senate GOP Refuse Compromise

So much for working together. Yesterday, after Judge McNamara told both sides of the Senate to go work out their differences, Skelos and Espada left the meeting after an hour. Smith followed newly chosen Conference Leader John Sampson into the negotiating room to come up with some way to share power, but they were rebuffed.

From The Times-Union:

During the meeting, Senate Democrats proposed a power-sharing plan that would rotate the position of president pro tempore between two the parties on a daily basis, with that person running the Senate with a floor leader from the opposition party. A bipartisan committee of six senators, three from each party, would set the session agenda.

Espada and Skelos emerged after less than an hour to essentially throw the future of negotiations back into state Supreme Court, saying no progress could be made until the question of the coup's legitimacy had been resolved.

"We have decided that we need the judicial decision from Judge McNamara," Espada said.

"Our position is that it's 32-30," said Skelos. "That was the vote. So as many times as you want to say it didn't occur, it occurred." The Democrats, he added, "are getting paid and they aren't showing up for work."

While Skelos can say what he wants to the press about 32-30, the reality of the situation is that Monserrate flipped back to the Democrats. The dog has left the coalition and if Skelos tries to do anything with this stubborn attitude, he's always going to end up with one senator short of a quorum. So instead Espada and the Republicans will go before the judge this morning and await his decision. Hopefully McNamara will assess the situation and rule to reflect the reality of what is going on, not what Skelos wishes for.

The Days Are Numbered For Espada And Monserrate

The large amount of pressing legislation for the Senate to consider this month had enough trouble to contend with at the beginning of the day yesterday. Once the day was out, most of those and bills, and the Democratic agenda was thrown out the window.

I was busy with getting ready for the petitioning process here in NYC during the mid-afternoon hours yesterday and intermittently checked the news. When I clicked the refresh button to read about the coup in the Senate, (or possibly the attempted coup) I felt as shocked and disgusted as I did when Spitzer's prostitution scandal went public, if not more so. What Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada concocted to stab our democratic institution in the back was far worse than what any hooker could ever do. Seeing those self-serving disgraces masquerading as public servants flipping to the Republican side was absolutely horrific.

I'm mad as hell, but now, as Roatti said, we'll get even with the two crooks and the Republican leadership for this ridiculous and unethical action. Espada can claim that he has a "coalition government," but anyone with with a few working synapses in their brains can tell what this is about. Monserrate and Espada, especially Espada wanted power in the worst way and they screwed over New Yorkers that voted for change in last year's election. All the reforms that could have been are over with for now. Instead, we who are interested in true change for Albany must work to rid ourselves of Espada and Monserrate. It is likely that all we'll need is to find a replacement for Monserrate, certainly if that videotape the police claim they have will convict him of beating his girlfriend.

So now the thief and the thug have their moment in the sun, but as most turncoats do not last long once they've flipped, those two will be gone before long.

Speaking of gone, and looking for a silver lining in all of this (trust me, it's hard) I can't help but think that Malcolm Smith will never get his Majority Leader spot once the Democrats take back control in 2010. If Smith had any principles, he would have held the high ground against the Gang of Four at the end of 2008 and made the "amigos" play their hand then. Espada, Monserrate, Kruger and Diaz were not to be trusted then, there was no reason to believe that they'd act like Democratic senators on a mere handshake.

Malcolm Smith Stands Up To Senate's Critics

Malcolm Smith took a moment this morning to praise the entirety of the Senate (Republicans included) for allowing Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson to come back and vote despite her extremely unfortunate rushes to the hospital this week. Both parties agreed to hold off on voting and not play partisan politics over this very human moment. However, Malcolm Smith tried to make the situation into something it is not.

From The Daily Politics:

On the Senate floor this morning, Majority Leader Malcolm Smith and Minority Leader Dean Skelos put their partisanship aside for a moment of mutual admiration, praising one another for the deal struck to allow Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson to vote on budget deals.

"I want to express my appreciation to Sen. Skelos and to all my colleagues," Smith said. "This is a day that I think the 19 million people of New York have come to recognize this is a fine chamber, irrespective of all that the papers have written, the editorial boards have said."

"Today we have proven to all of New York that we are a distinguished body that we are also a body that has a heart and understands the challenges that face this state and we rise above that."

Now I'm not discounting the graciousness of Skelos and Smith in letting Hassell-Thompson vote. What I am criticizing is Smith's blatant attempt at using Hassell-Thompson's illness and the Senate Leadership's reaction as a way to hit back against all the negative press that Smith and the Senate rightly deserves.

The 19 million people of New York want to see that their Senators are working to address their needs and will take care of business that concerns the General will, not each Senator's particular will (I'm sure Rousseau would be amused by Smith's statement today).

The papers, editorials and blogs write what they do because there is plenty to criticize. Whether it be about budget inaction, ignoring the real problems that the M.T.A. faces or refusing to enact real reform in the "distinguished body" that shows Smith and his caucus is ready to change the way Albany does business. Instead, the budget process has been behind closed doors for the most part and hidden from the public. If Smith and his colleagues had 'heart' then nearly everything that has happened this year in our capitol would have gone down differently.

Skelos And Senate GOP Love Budget Cuts, Hate Taxes

What's new right?

Minority Leader Dean Skelos is trying to make some headway into the budget battle by submitting his own plan. That brilliant plan includes all the cuts to essential services that Paterson is in favor of, but with an added stipulation, no new taxes, whether they be on the rich or for soda. Oh and they have a plan for that stimulus money Obama is throwing our way. Can you guess what they'd do with it?

From PolitickerNY:

Minority Leader Dean Skelos and over a dozen of his members--many of whom have decades of experience on issues as committee chairmen--unveiled a budget counterproposal that would use stimulus funds to roll back proposed tax increases and a repeal of the STAR rebate program, save additional money by consolidating state agencies (scant details were provided) and reducing spending as well as collecting cigarette taxes on Indian reservations.[...]

The Senate Republicans also proposed an alternative college savings program that will allow families with children under 14 to pre-pay tuition at SUNY and CUNY schools by either the semester or the credit hour to "lock in" rates. It wasn't immediately clear whether such payments would be eligible for federal tax incentives or student loan programs.

The Republican plan would also keep money raised from increased SUNY and CUNY tuition within the system, instead of sending 90 percent of the money to the state's general fund.

I personally like the idea that money for schools be kept in the school system over Paterson's proposal, even though it isn't the ideal situation where we do not raise tuition at all. However, the rest of it is just ridiculous. Keeping taxes where they are now is the wrong idea with the budget deficit we are dealing with. Shared sacrifice is crucial to making this next fiscal year work. A combination of cuts, tax increases (on the wealthy, not Paterson's punitive model) and stimulus money can help put us back in the black. Of course, Skelos is in the minority for a reason and much like the election of Barack Obama, it is time to change how things work in New York.

Paterson Sides With Senate GOP Over Home Heating Aid

Even though it wasn't a surprise yesterday, Governor Paterson's home heating aid plan was a pitiful cop out to the Republicans in the Senate. After getting the Assembly's assistance in cutting nearly $600 million from the budget, he offers a pittance to those that are wondering how they will pay for the skyrocketing cost of heating oil this winter. Paterson may be witty in front of audiences when he speaks about service, but when it comes to actual policy he only serves wealthy oil companies and forgets about those that will struggle to keep warm in the cold months of December through March.

From The Times-Union:

Gov. David Paterson, as he said he would earlier in the week, has come out with a plan to boost home heating aid programs by some $49 million this year. The plan includes increasing the maximum grants through the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which are supposed to offset heating oil costs to poor to $800 — compared to the $540 limit. The governor also wants to set up free clinics where people can learn to better weatherize their homes and in some cases offer do it yourself weatherization kits.

The $49 million is far less than the Democratic Assembly’s $800 million plan which would have slapped a windfall tax on oil companies. And it’s not even close to what Senate Democrats wanted, which would have raised to to $85,000 the threshold for which families can get heating assistance.

Notably, in yet another example of where the Democratic governor is closer to the Senate Republican Majority, Sen. Dean Skelos quickly issued a statement praising Paterson’s move, noting that it’s ’sensible,’ realistic and ‘fully funded.’

Of course Skelos will praise this and so will the rest of the Republican caucus. The price of heating oil will be far higher than the $340 rise in credits Paterson offers. While that may pay for December and part of January, what are New Yorkers supposed to do for the rest of the winter Governor? Oil companies could have afforded to pay that windfall profits tax, even if they and their compatriots in the GOP kick and scream. They'll whine about anything you try that takes away from the rich and gives to the poor, so it is far past the time to start making them cry.