Posted on 06/09/2009 11:26:39 AM PDT by neverdem
Coup plotters have always rationalized their devious plots as necessary to realize the will of the people.
The Republican-led junta that seized control of the state Senate yesterday was no exception.
"This is a new beginning for New York State," propagandized one of the Democratic turncoats that made the coup possible, Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada. "A new beginning of bipartisan government, a new beginning of real reform."
What a crock.
This was a GOP power grab, plain and simple.
The Republicans saw a chance to overturn last fall's election results, which put Democrats in the majority for the first time since 1965. And the GOP pulled it off - with all the stealth and precision of an "Ocean's Eleven" casino heist.
Any talk about fixing Albany is the thinnest of cover stories.
No secret conspiracy involving the likes of Espada and Queens Sen. Hiram Monserrate - two of the least reputable pols in Albany - can claim to be a reform movement.
Monserrate is fighting a felony indictment charging him with slashing his girlfriend in the face with a broken glass.
Espada has a long history of unethical and illegal behavior. Current violations include living outside his east Bronx district, in Mamaroneck, and refusing to disclose who financed his latest campaign.
He's betrayed his party before, flipping to the Republicans in 2002. A few months later, he was caught trying to direct $745,000 in pork grants to his Bronx health clinics.
Espada also covered himself in shame by joining two other Senate Democrats in shaking down Smith for leadership jobs after last fall's election.
And this is the man new Majority Leader Dean Skelos chooses as president pro tempore of the Senate.
Why Skelos would trust Espada and Monserrate is obvious: They were willing to join him. The only question is what goodies they extorted.
Skelos claims he heads a bipartisan coalition that will run the Senate in the open, democratic fashion Albany reformers have long demanded. He points to new rules that supposedly guarantee each member a fair share of Senate resources and rank-and-file members a greater chance to influence decision-making.
Hah! Republicans didn't show the slightest interest in such reforms in the four decades they ran the Senate.
And their new rules were jammed through minutes after the coup, by a Rules Committee Skelos named on the spot.
A shining moment of democratic governance it was not.
If Republicans really mean to keep their reform promises - and put their ill-gotten power to good use - we'll know soon enough. Maybe they'll do the right thing and let the Assembly-approved gay marriage bill actually come to a vote.
Maybe they'll push forward in bipartisan fashion with the well-designed ethics bill Democrats crafted.
Seeing will be believing.
So be it. If it stymies the rats, it's OK by me.
related:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268141/posts
Get the popcorn!!
Apparently the NY Daily News is not in favor of the “coup.”
I suspect that tax anger may have something to do with it.
The Democrats were planning to install about 999 new taxes. Now they’ll have to negotiate with the Republicans.
Too bad, Daily News. Your favorite tax increases may not pass.
As for corruption, as far as I know, they are all corrupt.
Shysters and trickery all around no doubt.
I’m with neverdom, let see what they do with it.
‘Bout time that we won one.
Zero isn’t liking this!!!
FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list. Give them a vote on gay marriage as long as you defeat it. They just want to flaunt their perversion.
Thanks for the ping!
It's about time that some Republicans in Democrat-dominated states grew a brain and a spine. We need the same kind of stealth and precision here in New Hampshire. How else are you going to deal with the devious and cunning Democrats and their arrogant ramrodding?
But I wonder... did they go off the deep end too when Jumpin' Jim Jeffords did the same thing and switched to the Dem party right after getting elected as a Republican and that switch gave the RATS the US Senate. Or when Arlen Specter switched to the Dem party so he wouldn't lose in the 2010 GOP primary?
And on a NYC local level, when Bloomie switched from Dem to Republican to win his 1st term as NYC Mayor? Or when Bloomie switched to Independent when he was considering a run for POTUS? Or when Bloomie once again switched parties, but back to the Dems. Or when Bloomie executed his own 'coup' and changed the rules so he could run for a third term as NYC Mayor?
I'm not gonna search 'cause I'm pretty sure of the answers.
The reactions from the NY Daily News was ... ((((( crickets )))))
It’s interesting how the News and the Post have traded places the past several years. Back in the day the News was the conservative tabloid and the Post was the left-wing one. Now it’s just the opposite.
Ya think if Hussein acts like a republican once, the media might attack him too??!! (Or at least begin telling the truth?)
IIRC, the changes happened after new ownerships, Murdoch - Post and Zuckerman - Daily News.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.