Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose

The cautious Blair Horner of NYPIRG, a conscientious goo-goo, gave Senate Democrats credit for "a modest step forward" in the new rules changes they adopted today, but said the main event will come from a committee the new majority leader, Sen. Malcolm Smith appointed that is to consider further changes. That committee has bipartisan co-chairmen, but Horner faulted the 6-3 Democratic make-up because it gives the party a hefty majority in that forum that is out of proportion to their small majority in the the Senate itself. It was amusing in the floor debate on the rules to see the parties neatly switch positions. Republican Sen. John Flanagan introduced a resolution that he said mirrors one introduced in January 2007 by Senate Democrats. Back then, Republicans opposed it and defeated it, and today the parties switched positions.Another Republican, Sen. John Bonacic, introduced an amendment to allocate equal resources for each senator, and that too was voted down by party-line voice vote. That's just how the Senate ran under the Republicans. It's just that  the senators from both parties voted the opposite way today than they did in the past. One hopeful sign is that Smith named Bonacic the Republican co-chairman of the committee to consider further rules changes, because it was also in January 2007 that Bonacic broke with his Republican colleagues by declining to support the re-election of Joe Bruno as majority leader, citing the federal investigation of Bruno - which continues to this day. In his speech today, Bonacic said: "The culture in Albany is wrong. It has been wrong for many, many years." He blamed the Assembly speaker (Sheldon Silver) and "the prior majority leader" (Bruno) for that. Other Republicans seemed unfazed by any perception of hypocrisy in their new role as advocates of reform, and noted accurately that what actually happens will matter more than the rhetoric or words of what are presented as reforms. In Albany, almost everyone claims to be a reformer. Smith acknowledged there is more to do, but at the news conference following the debate, asked why he didn't support now what he supported in 2007, was reduced to saying things like "Haste makes waste" and "Time, circumstances change ... you try to adjust." Asked if he would name any Republican committee chairmen, he responded: "I am a conference-driven leader." That would be the Democratic conference. Republican Sen. Hugh Farley said Democrats will need Republican support, but that may be wishful thinking. Democrats are in power now throughout state government, and I doubt they will give any of it up.

Comments

[akaGaGa]

It's never about real issues. It's always about power.

[Brian]

When I was in West Africa and the subject of continental politics came up, one of my friends had a penchant for saying, Toute opposition est démocrate.

All opposition parties support democracy. The implicit part being... 'until they actually gain power.'

Albany's little different. Except the New York legislature probably has a higher re-election rate than most African parliaments.