Darrel could be shivering, but not because he has been outside enjoying ice fishing, walking the dog or shoveling the snow like one of us. It is because he is wondering what the heck just happened and facing a fork in the road where either path can be seen as unpalatable.
The opportunity for the Democrats to take control of the Senate is a very real possibility. Although, not completely buying into the theory the Democrats would gain control for a number of reasons; chief among them is money, campaign funds of $113 million for the GOP to $17 for Democrats, a concern for balanced governing, and now, not the least of which is Governor Spitzer's resignation.
The GOP may have learned a key lesson in the last election and if they had paid close attention to their former colleague New York State Senator James Wright, he often said, "all politics is local" in other words it is about the people, not about the power brokering that occurs in Albany. If they maintain this focus, they will remain in the majority (note to Joe Bruno, that was remaining in the majority, I purposely did not use the word power).
One of the roads for Senator Darrel Aubertine is that he may remain in the minority of the Senate, thus he will be far less effective than he was a majority member of the Assembly. He will be unable to sponsor and pass legislation, such as the preservation of power, that will benefit the north country as he did in the Assembly as well as he will be far less effective in assisting local interests with state funds to further their agendas and missions.
The other road for a conservative Democrat such as Darrel Aubertine is the potential for a liberal agenda of the Democrat's if they do gain the majority of the Senate. When you are the only game in town, you are essentially the good, the bad, and the ugly, this would be the case with a total Democrat controlled State Legislature, and Executive Branch, competition is healthy. The real issue for Darrel if the Democrats gain control will most likely be the slim majority and therefore Darrel will not be let off on some votes, which is political speak for giving a member coverage against political fallout in his or her district on any given vote. Darrel will be faced with votes on issues that he has typically opposed like abortion rights, gay marriage and legislative pay raises as well as he will be facing colleagues such as Senator Parker who in the past has demonstrated a total lack of knowledge of New York State as a whole.
Darrel has gained considerable political knowledge and savvy since first going to the Assembly in 2003, he will need every once of it to maneuver these future situations.
"A government big enough to give you everything you want,
is big enough to take away everything you have"
Thomas Jefferson
2 comments:
What the hell are you smoking, Darrel has gained political Savvy? Be real. He should be concerned that a Scozzafava run would put him back on the farm.
Out in the cold is exactly right. The Dem leadership limits him to only 2 committees -- not agriculture -- when, on average, senators serve on six. He's not even listed as a member of any of the budget conference subcommittees. Will this guy play any role at all in Albany? So much for fighting for us!
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