June 8, 2009

I returned to work today after spending the weekend recovering from Friday's ER visit. I got my medicine after work. I also injured my left arm (which had the IV in it Friday) while carrying some heavy garment bags.

But I've spent most of the evening updating my blogs after watching Channel 2's 5PM news.

WCBS-TV, WABC-TV, and WNYW-TV (all 3 from New York City) are reporting that New York State Senate Democrats Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate are joining the GOP coalition, which means that the Republicans have just retaken the state senate (with a 32-30 majority) after losing their narrow majority to the Democrats last November. This new caucus has voted Dean Skelos back to his pre-November 2008 position as Senate Majority Leader. Pedro Espada has been voted in as Senate President, which thanks to Spitzergate means Espada could be the acting governor if something happens to the current governor, David Paterson.

The New York Post and Daily News are reporting that noted NY conservative Tom Golisano was deeply involved in convincing Espada and Monserrate to dump their support for Democratic Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith. Among other things, this means the legalization of gay marriage in New York is unlikely, as the state senate has not voted on the issue yet. The state assembly passed the measure earlier this year.

Of course the Democrats are fuming. According to the Post and WCBS, the lights of the senate chamber were turned off during the vote to replace Malcolm Smith with Dean Skelos as Majority Leader. And (no surprise), Democrats are threatening to go to court to reverse this afternoon's power swap.

Now if only the same thing could happen in the state assembly, where uber-leftist (and paid shill for Weitz and Luxenberg) Sheldon Silver is the Assembly Speaker and (to use an old Tammany term) boss. Ironically, one of the few things deposed Senate leader Malcolm Smith and the Republicans agreed on was that legislative leaders (specifically, Silver) should not hold paying jobs in addition to their legislative pay. Silver has not disclosed what he currently does for Weitz and Luxenberg, but it is reported he makes more per day as a "consultant" than I make in a week. Of course, no one seems to care that having an assembly speaker who also works for a law firm with major state contracts and who is also an avowed opponent of tort reform is to put it mildly- sleazy and unethical.