Suitably Flip

Holy $#!&: Twin Democrat Defections Hand NYS Senate Back to GOP

I'm speechless.

The State Senate has fallen silent after Republicans introduced a resolution electing Pedro Espada Jr. as temporary president of the Senate and Dean Skelos as majority leader.

Hiram Monserrate and Espada, both Democrats, apparently will vote with Republicans on the motion, and are doing so now in the midst of a procedural fight.

UPDATE: At 3:47 p.m., Espada was sworn in as president pro tem, and Skelos as majority leader. They called for an immediate meeting of the Rules Committee. All the Democrats but Monserrate, Espada, Ruben Diaz Sr. and Carl Kruger (the original, nominally Democratic "gang of four") are gone from the chamber.
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UPDATE: Espada just told reporters that he decided to cross over the aisle and support the Republicans because of the "quagmire" that had occurred since Malcolm Smith and the Democrats took over. He said it has been "chaos" and that he and Monserrate will form a caucus of "reform Democrats."

It's too bad that half of the Gang of 2 is so clutzy, but I ain't complaining.

The State Senate had been in Republican hands for more than 40 years, until the Democrats eked out a majority last November.  With all pillars of state government belonging to a single party (and with gerrymandering redistricting on the horizon), this sudden reversal is likely welcome news for millions of New York taxpayers.

To what do we owe the defections?  Did Monserrate and Espada catch sight of today's Rasmussen poll?

Update:  All class, all the time.

During the coup, Democrats fled the chamber, turned out the lights, and cut off the Internet feed of chamber proceedings, leaving Republicans and their two Democratic friends to take the vote in the dark.

For the record, CBS News (et al), it wasn't a coup, strictly speaking.  It was a leadership change effected through well-established, legal, democratic means, notwithstanding what erstwhile majority leader Malcolm Smith would have you believe.

Smith didn't see it that way. He said the coup was illegal and he was still the majority leader, although he only has about two dozen Democrats with him not the 32 he claims to have.

"Let's just be real clear. The Senate Democrats are still in the majority. Senator Malcolm Smith is still the majority leader," Smith said.

It is real clear, 3rd-person-self-referring Senator Smith.  You're out.  Skelos is in.

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Holy $#!&: Twin Democrat Defections Hand NYS Senate Back to GOP

I'm speechless.

The State Senate has fallen silent after Republicans introduced a resolution electing Pedro Espada Jr. as temporary president of the Senate and Dean Skelos as majority leader.

Hiram Monserrate and Espada, both Democrats, apparently will vote with Republicans on the motion, and are doing so now in the midst of a procedural fight.

UPDATE: At 3:47 p.m., Espada was sworn in as president pro tem, and Skelos as majority leader. They called for an immediate meeting of the Rules Committee. All the Democrats but Monserrate, Espada, Ruben Diaz Sr. and Carl Kruger (the original, nominally Democratic "gang of four") are gone from the chamber.
...
UPDATE: Espada just told reporters that he decided to cross over the aisle and support the Republicans because of the "quagmire" that had occurred since Malcolm Smith and the Democrats took over. He said it has been "chaos" and that he and Monserrate will form a caucus of "reform Democrats."

It's too bad that half of the Gang of 2 is so clutzy, but I ain't complaining.

The State Senate had been in Republican hands for more than 40 years, until the Democrats eked out a majority last November.  With all pillars of state government belonging to a single party (and with gerrymandering redistricting on the horizon), this sudden reversal is likely welcome news for millions of New York taxpayers.

To what do we owe the defections?  Did Monserrate and Espada catch sight of today's Rasmussen poll?

Update:  All class, all the time.

During the coup, Democrats fled the chamber, turned out the lights, and cut off the Internet feed of chamber proceedings, leaving Republicans and their two Democratic friends to take the vote in the dark.

For the record, CBS News (et al), it wasn't a coup, strictly speaking.  It was a leadership change effected through well-established, legal, democratic means, notwithstanding what erstwhile majority leader Malcolm Smith would have you believe.

Smith didn't see it that way. He said the coup was illegal and he was still the majority leader, although he only has about two dozen Democrats with him not the 32 he claims to have.

"Let's just be real clear. The Senate Democrats are still in the majority. Senator Malcolm Smith is still the majority leader," Smith said.

It is real clear, 3rd-person-self-referring Senator Smith.  You're out.  Skelos is in.