Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, who hopes to become Majority Leader (well sort of) with the Gang of Three's help has apparently inked a deal with the three little devils. Here is the deal that Smith agreed to; Kruger will chair a souped up Senate Finance Committee, Senator-elect Pedro Espada Jr. will be majority leader, Smith will be Temporary President of the Senate and keeping a gay marriage bill off the floor.
The one issue to this deal is that there really is no Majority Leader according to the state constitution, the actual title is Temporary President of the Senate.
§ 9. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business. Each house shall determine the rules of its own proceedings, and be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members; shall choose its own officers; and the senate shall choose a temporary
president and the assembly shall choose a speaker.
The other issue is the deal between the Gang of Three and Malcolm have the rest of the conference, the gang of 28, a bit peeved that the Gang of Three is the tail wagging the dog and they have been rewarded with so much power. This is like watching a circular firing squad and they have not even approached governing yet!
NY Daily Balance has a different perspective on the issue and also reports on the balance of power shift in New York State even down to the committee chair level, read it here.
5 comments:
(Dan I accidentally rejected instead of posted your comment, so here is it, but I had to cut and paste)
Dan Francis said
Espada needs to first of all pay this outstanding tickets, then leave office or be kicked out... he is a disgrace.
Regarding the HILL US Senate seat and insider Caroline Kennedy... update:
"The elder [Ted] Kennedy, who's battling brain cancer, has sent word to Gov. Paterson's office that Caroline Kennedy, 51, has contacts and family connections that would mean legislation affecting New York would receive prompt attention, family sources said.
Oh, I see contacts and family will help NYS not necessarily her ability to lead, propose legislation or know squat about say, Fort Drum, the military, and world affairs, etc.? Just family contacts...
This is shear madness... in my view. And, quite shameful that the people will probably fall for it.
I have nothing, nothing at all against the Kennedy's, in fact I admire them for their pain and suffering through the years and their willingness to serve, but for crying out loud, NOT just for asking for a seat by virture of one's name, fame and fortune or FAMILY ties and contacts ... that's part of the problem we already have today. [in my view]
I'm done now. Soapbox is out of sight.
Well, there's no problem at all with what got through the sensors. I can't imagine what PIV decided was off limits for us to read. Sounds like DF common sense to me.
What WAS is that you didn't think we were old enough to read, PIV?
Excellent comments concerning the obsurdity of allowing a Kennedy another privileged seat in the U.S. Senate. It's bad enough that NYS suffers from downstate domination within our own house, it's another when outside influences from other states want to dictate who our representatives should be. As for the NYS Senate Democrats, I wonder what Darrell's influence in all of this is? Maybe he should try and develop his own "gang" within the Senate to prove that he is not a downstate Democrat pawn and "one of us" as his campaign so proudly stated.
The Senior MA Sen. (Ted Kennedy) wants the NYS gov. to appoint his neice to the U.S. Senate - how ironic - almost Kennedy-like?
How bullshit-like, and really very, very pathetic ... but guess what?
It probably will happen - that rock-star crap at work vs. other political crap vs. that which is right !!!
* Hell, I'm not even sure what is "right" any longer, how about you?
She will likely get the job, because no one has the nerve to say no. And she will continue to win, because we're now a hopelessly donkey state with no thought required as to who we vote for. So it's Sen Caroline forever.
How neat.
I'd rather have Madonna, based solely on qualifications and experience.
And you dickbrains criticized Palin.
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