The NY Times carries an interesting piece today about the recent coup in the New York State
Senate. What we know about the
Republican-led coup (noted below) indicates that its origins lie in the
combined interests of one wealthy businessman, Tom Golisano, two
ethically embattled Democratic lawmakers, Pedro Espada Jr. and Hiram
Monserrate, Republican operatives like Roger Stone (one of the key behind-the-scenes figures in the undoing of Elliot Spitzer), and the Republican
minority leaders in the State Senate.
Secret meetings, some held in an Albany rock club called Red Square, led over weeks to the abrupt and raucus vote to change leaders on Monday. To date, the Democrats have kept the Senate chambers locked and refused to call the Senate back into session, in an attempt to prevent the Republicans from ruling the upper house.
The most fascinating genesis of the coup appears to be a Spring 2009 meeting between Golisano, who had helped bankroll the Democrats last Senate election campaign in an effort to gain control of the chamber, and the Democratic Majority leader, Malcolm Smith, from whom Golisano expected the rapt attention due a major financial backer. Golisano was angry that the Majority Leader was now backing a plan to raise taxes on the wealthy in order to close the state’s enormous post-meltdown budget gap and became even more enraged when Smith played with his Blackberry during the meeting as Golisano made his case against raising taxes.
It remains to be seen how long the coup will last, since both the Democrats who have defected to the Republican side are now under either investigation or indictment (one for financial issues and the other for allegedly slashing his girlfriend with a bottle), but recent developments will certainly keep Albany from becoming a boring place in the meanwhile.
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