"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have"
Thomas Jefferson

Monday, May 4, 2009

D = Dysfunction and Democrat

When the letter trailing the name of a member of the New York State Legislature is a D, it stands for more than Democrat.

The Democrats have always blamed the Republicans for the dysfunction in New York State government, but now that the state has one party rule in the name of Democrats there is no one else to blame.

Unable to pass any major legislation while comfortably passing a huge tax and spend budget thus far describes their session of control in the Senate.
"Lawmakers' penchant for secrecy only exacerbates the situation. Senate leaders are loath to bring a bill to the floor without knowing it will be adopted. So rank-in-file senators aren't forced to take a stand and be subjected to lobbying that could sway votes."
With that mentality of governing, there is not much wondering why our State Senate is so dysfunctional.
And Malcolm Smith says,
"Everybody starts out in a wide area . . . but at the end of the day, they do what we have to do."
Which is another way of saying upstate Senators like Valesky or Aubertine do not have a voice, they must go along to get along. 

Read more here

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

All of which does not bode well for those of us who think gay marriage, bugger government and higher taxes/spending are not good ideas.

Anonymous said...

2010 cant come soon enough..bye bye addie and darrel

Anonymous said...

Isn't that a contradiction 8:33? Regulating gay marriage means bigger government.

Anonymous said...

Anon 0833:

I interpret your statement as "does not bode well for Republicans", becuase the Democrats are doing just fine will the way things are. Numbers are increasing and approval rates are looking upward for anyone smart enough to hitch their wagon to the Obama star.

Power to the People.

Danny M. Francis (Eyepublius) said...

"Go along to get along," is a great phrase and I use it frequently.

If people look closely at who is running for office, or who wants to run for office, and if they set aside their personal "feelings" about the individual, and focus in on what they truly believe the candidate stands for or will try to do and not just what they say they will do, then we might get better representatives, IMHO.

Let's face it: Some candidates are just plain old bullshitters and silver-tongued pros who stay in office forever. They always seem to big the big seats -- not the seats, 'cause local is local and more personal, and will always remain local.

I mean for the seats in Albany and DC ... that's where the fluff and stuff shines for them; where the BS is knee high.

When leadership and proven skills at service are needed, we instead end up getting (IMHO) "the go along to get along" candidate and in turn, what we are discussign at this trough -- and it comes flows from BOTH sides.

That's why some folks run all the time -- they honestly believe they can make a difference and work to change that equation ... seldom with any success, I might add (snicker).

But, one should never give up.

Like the pelican trying to swallow a frog, and the frog has a grip around the pelican's neck with both hands preventing that.NEVER GIVE UP ...

Anonymous said...

I don't know, Dan. I think giving up is not a bad idea about now. I view the future as pretty well baked.

With the money we just borrowed, there is no way we can do anything but continue to raise taxes at even higher levels than we have in the past. The education lobby has a stranglehold on our pols, of both parties, and nothing can be done to control spending in that regard. The aging of the population means that even if we control health care costs, they are going to continue to hammer us in the future. Statewide, we are screwed. Sheldon owns us, and we have now lost two generations of our best to other parts of the nation due to taxes and lack of opportunity. Politically, the nation is now following the foolish politics of our state, so there will be fewer and fewer places to run if you are fortunate enough to make it to retirement. The only good thing to hope for is government retirement, which it appears you and I will benefit from. Like teachers and other chosen people, you and I will last longer than those other poor slobs who worked for private companies and were stupid enough to pay their bills and taxes like good citizens.

So I'll leave it to you to convince me why this "never give up" mantra makes sense. I appreciate your fight, and your optimism. I just have difficulty sharing in your enthusiasm.

Anonymous said...

"Health Care is a right"" Thanks Addie.

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