Quick update: On Tuesday, June 23, 2009 the “Republican coalition” held a session of the NY State Senate that they claim is valid, the “Democratic coalition” held a session sort of as that was happening, and then the Governor held an extraordinary session later. As reported in The Daily Politics, “Nearly 100 bills were passed yesterday, but no one’s sure if any of them are legal.”
Opinion from Ground Report
The Albany Legislative Struggle: Gridlock Is Good!
by Richard Cooper June 23, 2009
The New York State Senate has been in an uproar for weeks after two Democrats from the majority (32 versus 30 Republicans) elected in November 2008 defected to support former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos as Majority Leader. One of these Democrat defectors (Pedro Espada, Jr. from the Bronx) became President Pro Tem, presiding over the Senate deliberations. The other defector, Hiram Monserrate, has since returned to the Democrats in the organization of the Senate. Tied at 31 to 31, with no Lieutenant Governor to break ties since David Paterson was elevated to replace Governor Spitzer after his resignation in a prostitution scandal last year.
As a an admirer of the writing of H. L. Mencken, I can only wish he were here to comment on this. Currently unavailable due to death, Mr. Mencken will not be able to handle this task. Therefore, I will have to press on myself.
The media reports that this so-called “coup” was brought about by billionaire Tom Golisano, who founded the Independence Party and ran for governor unsuccessfully.
When Espada and Monserrate were still voting for former (?) Senate Majority Leader Malcom Smith (D-Queens), the Republicans pointed out their tarnished records. Former policeman Monserrate was indicted for slashing his girlfriend with glass, while Espada is under investigation for operations of a non-profit organization he controls, his residency and failure to file campaign financial disclosure reports. Suddenly after they voted to installed Skelos as Majority Leader, the Democrats had a problem with them. Now that Monserrate is back he is in their good graces.
Democrats, the Working Families and others in their orbit call this a coup and wave signs proclaiming “The Senate Isn’t For Sale.” I don’t recall them saying this when Golisano’s political action committee backed only Democrats for the Senate races. Golisano’s money helped obtain the Democrats a majority in the Senate.
Do Democrats complain about “coups” when Republicans defect to give working control of a legislative body. No, of course not. Republicans and Democrats are hypocrites.
The Senate’s session was supposed to end on Monday, June 22nd. Governor Paterson called the Senate into special session to consider emergency bills. Why is a cigarette tax hike in Nassau and Suffolk Counties an emergency?
While reforms to lessen the opacity, size, scope and expense of government in New York are vitally necessary they are simply not to be expected. I do not care which of the two gangs of statist parasites and predators that call themselves Republicans and Democrats controls the New York legislature. They both stand for legalized theft. Given the current makeup of both houses of legislature, let these be our watchwords until we have a Libertarian governor and legislature. “Gridlock is good.”
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About the author: Richard Cooper is an international trade executive with a manufacturing firm on Long Island, New York, USA. He is active in the Libertarian Party on eminent domain and other issues. He was chair of the Libertarian Party of New York www.ny.lp.org.
10 responses so far ↓
1 d.eris // Jun 24, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I’ve never understood those among us who constantly decry legislative gridlock. I’d rather they fight amongst themselves than continue their war against the rest of us, and common sense.
2 Third Party Revolution // Jun 24, 2009 at 2:18 pm
So does IPR sometimes makes articles from comments and not just e-mails?
3 Richard Winger // Jun 24, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Sometimes legislative bodies pass good bills. Sometimes legislative bodies pass bills that expand liberty or justice or both.
There were lots of good election law bills pending in the New York state legislature this year, that will die. They probably would have died anyway even without the gridlock, but some of them might have passed. For example, a bill to require a vote of the people before a city council repeals term limits (that the voters had passed already, earlier) did pass the Assembly this year. There was also a bill to reduce the number of signatures for petitioning candidates in special elections, which would have helped the New York Libertarian Party get on the ballot earlier this year in the special 20th US House race.
4 Ross Levin // Jun 24, 2009 at 4:08 pm
TPR – yeah, we take articles from wherever. Emails, comments, finding them ourselves on other website, and rarely we’ll actually get the story ourselves!
It really just depends on what we have the energy and time to write up (at least for me that’s how it is and I imagine that’s how it is for the other contributors). I don’t think we ever write up all of the stories we get even just from the email every day.
5 Kimberly Wilder // Jun 24, 2009 at 5:09 pm
To Third Party Revolution:
I do not understand your question. Would you be able to expand on it?
Someone forwarded the Ground Report commentary to our list-serve, so I reposted it.
While we were on the topic, I felt I would be remiss to not add a few words about what the legislature was up to. On my blog – since I cover NY politics – I sometimes post several updates a day. It is a pretty big story.
6 Third Party Revolution // Jun 24, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Actually Ross was able to answer it.
7 paulie // Jun 24, 2009 at 6:25 pm
tpr,
More people are likely to see it if you email it to us.
Also, a comment doesn’t hurt as well – a couple of our writers have not signed up for IPR emails, and some are signed up but don’t read it often, etc.
8 paulie // Jun 24, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Richard,
Good point, but I think on balance there are more bad bills than good.
9 Danny S // Jun 26, 2009 at 1:44 am
Sounds like Voter ID in Texas with the Dems blocking its vote…not that Im necessarily a voter on it.
I heard a lecture from Mark Strama, the Austin state representative in Texas, two days ago where he was upset about the de facto filibuster that certain Democrats pursued because it delayed some of his bills too. So, I think Mr. Winger is right in the regard that gridlock can delay good legislation(not that I necessarily thought Strama’s legislation was all good).
While I am mentioning Strama, he also discussed gerrymandering and agreed with a question I posed that the Republican and Democratic Parties unfairly cemented their power over minor parties through Texas’ restrictive ballot access law. He also mentioned he doesn’t think there is much support in the Texas legislature for ballot access reform, although I was surprised to learn he had sponsored ballot access reform. He also mentioned he disliked what Nader “did” to the Democrats in 2000 but thought he did have a right to do it.
10 Richard Cooper // Jun 26, 2009 at 7:59 am
Bills in the legislature do not mean bills that will be considered. In NY, the Assembly Speaker and the Senate Majority Leader have far more power than their Congressional counterparts. They decide what legislation is brought to the floor and when.
The ballot access reforms had zero chance of passage.
It seems that same-sex marriage and medical marijuana will not be passed in this session, but we are no worse off than we were before.
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