Subtitle text here

Also, nice to get a face on some of those names I've been hearing about.  In particular, Lanza, Aubertine, Abbaddo, Serrano, Espada, Padavan, Diaz, etc..

However, what is this an advertisement for?

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

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by: Glenn Magus Harvey @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 01:52:19 AM UTC

Q: what is this an advertisement for?

A: Everyone who lives in New York and is sick and tired of all the Bullsh!t.

If you told me in Nov 2006 when I went to vote that Spitzer and Dems would win the Governors race, that by 2010 all statewide elected offices would be Dems, the State Assembly would have a veto proof Democratic super majority and the Democrats would take control of the state senate and New York would be so poorly run I never would have believed it.

After years of complaining the Democrats took control of everything in New York and screwed up so royally that I am actually praying for 85 year old Ed Koch and semi Republican Mike Bloomberg to come up and clean the mess.

It makes me disillusioned and sick.

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by: izengabe @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 05:03:28 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I disagree

Yes, Spitzer's and Paterson's respective fiascoes have made our state's government a mess, but it was already a joke to begin with. Are you seriously telling me that the likes of Joseph Bruno ran the state any better? Pitaki? The reason why we're in this mess is because of the disgustingly gerrymandered upstate Senate districts (and the fact that the city gets far fewer districts that it actually deserves). There should be more Democrats in the higher chamber.

And I ask you to reconsider praying for Ed Koch to come back.  

NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan

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by: nycyoungin @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 17:24:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

More Democrats like Diaz, Kruger and Parker?

The point is as we are seeing many of the Dems in Albany are as bad as the Republicans! We've entered the world of Animal Farm where the farmers and the pigs look and act alike.

Shelly Silver (a Democrat) is as much part of the problem as anyone else.

The infighting amoungst the Dems in the State Senate is as bad as anything else. Heck Kevin Parker almost punched Jeff Klien (according to news reports he had to be physichally restranded).

While Bruno was a crook so are half the Dems now running things in the Senate. If Cuomo cared about corruption the AG could probably put half the state legislator in jail. (Already I think something like 10% have been arrested or have charges against them)

Until the corruption, member items and the rest go away nothing will change.

Dems took the State Senate and all branches of government. Did they pass any pro tenant rent control legislation? Did they pass gay marriage? Did they pass any legislation to help fix the schools? Did they pass congestion pricing? Did they pass any reform of out of control Medicare cost in the state? Or pass any legislation to make it easier or cheaper to get insurance in New York?

Answer, NO!

All they did was change the way member items (pork) was allocated from the GOP senators to the Democrats. They refused to balance the buget out BS without gimicks and increased out of control state spending by raising taxes.

Worst of all they make me sound like a Republican in my complaints!

All this was suppose to change on Day 1. It didnt! It got worst. They fact that some are looking back at George freak'n Pataki as a pillar of fiscal responsiblity just shows you how bad the Dems in NY f'ed things up.

And yes Ed Koch in the NY Times stated he wants to start a campaign to clean up the mess in Albany. I wish him better luck in this endevor than Tom Suozzi had.

Because lord knows NY needs it.

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by: izengabe @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 20:00:56 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I don't think it's fair to say that every NY Senator is bad

I agree that as a whole, the New York Senate is rather corrupt and unresponsive. However, that does not necessarily mean that each individual Senator shares those characteristics.

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by: gs @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 04:00:33 AM UTC

I agree with you

and I think this is one instance in which New York Times endorsements may be helpful. First, the bad news. The Times has a general policy of supporting incumbents except when they find a compelling reason not to. In the past, this has led them to what I considered terrible decisions to support Republicans as right-wing and shady as Al D'Amato. So I tend not to put much credence in their endorsements, generally.

However, they make an exception to their rule in the case of the New York State Senate. Their rule is, vote against the incumbent unless the incumbent has demonstrated a commitment to reform. And if s/he has, they detail it. To take one example, my state senator, Daniel Squadron, defeated the incumbent, Martin Conner, a couple of years ago. He ran as a reformist insurgent, and according to the Times, has functioned as a reformer since his victory. Therefore, they supported his reelection.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  

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by: Pan @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 08:29:09 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The lighting for Espada

makes his photo vaguely resemble all those Annie Leibovitz promo pics she used to do for The Sopranos.

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by: Tyler Oakley @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 04:26:51 AM UTC

Will

Cuomo be able to get anything done? Will he actually be able to govern in the mess that is New York politics? I have hopes for him, but it just seems like he may be in the same boat Spitzer was in before the sex scandal. Let's hope I'm wrong.    

Proud member of the Indiana Democratic Party from IN-9.  

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by: hoosierdem @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 04:50:21 AM UTC

the state Senate is the most dysfunctional

of the branches of NYS government.  The problem is no one is cleaning up even one of the branches so that voters can go on and clean up the others.

That was the grand disappointment of Spitzer- he apparently didn't do any reform in the executive branch before tanking himself.  So NY now has two pathetic legislative chambers and a cosmetically different executive.  

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by: Baystater @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 07:26:04 AM UTC

this is my first comment

I'm a comment virgin so here goes nothing. I am really curious about New York and New Jersey. As someone born in the south from a New England(massachusetts) parent I am already inherently biased against New York. However, something peaks my interest. How can legislatures in Maine and New Hampshire, which are much more purple states then New York, pass gay marriage bills and New York cant?  

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by: america @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 07:35:13 AM UTC

Because....

The NY state legislature is so dsyfunctional that they cant pass legislation agreeing that Tuesday comes after Monday!

Everything is about politics and pork (or as they call it in NY "member items").

Gay Marriage is just a political football they play with to pretend like they care about issues when all they really care about is getting theirs.

You compare NYS Legislature to NH or Maine? Well that is your problem. Better to compare it to Nigeria or Afganistan. Ignore the party labels and think of elected officials as local warlords trying to raid the till and steal.


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by: izengabe @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 13:08:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Nitpicking here, but aren't there 62 Senators now? nt

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by: jeffmd @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 07:41:05 AM UTC

61 because they kicked the domestic abuser out.....

There are 61 State Senators because they kicked Hiram Monserrate out for going this:

But dont worry the voters in his district get a choice on March 13th between sending him back or sending State Assemblyman José Peralta who directed $500,000 in taxpayer money (through is him member items) to a nonprofit that never filed federal tax records, has no employees and has been inactive for more than two years. But they do pay rent to they man who his mother! What a joke.

Here's the story:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_...


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by: izengabe @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 13:18:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I can't say I like the State Assembly much better.

The trains my move better.  But in which direction?  I see each one of them individually being bought off by the gas companies to drill right by the New York City watershed and all I can do is roll my eyes.  Because few of them can lose.  And the ones that can lose generally are the good ones who should be kept around.  (In a more just world Janele Hyer-Spencer would NOT be the most endangered Democrat).

Personally I'd like to see a unicameral legislature like in Nebraska.  With the senate apportioned by population like the assembly (albeit with slightly larger districts) there is no reason why a second body is needed other than to just emulate the federal government.  Ideally I'd like a non-partisan commission doing the districts to avoid stuff like "Abraham Lincoln riding a vacuum cleaner."  And I wouldn't mind some form of term limits though with a longer and more flexible time frame to avoid the massive turnovers you see in California.

NY-13, Democrat. Blog @ http://infinitefunction.wordpr...

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by: Taget @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 15:36:47 PM UTC

Unicameral legislature: Yes

Term limits: No.

If anything, term limits only increase the influence of the de facto permanent government of lobbyists and staffers.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  

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by: Pan @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 18:10:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

In fairness

Abraham Lincoln's top hat is the fault of county lines, not gerrymandering.

However, the vacuum cleaner is.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

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by: Glenn Magus Harvey @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 11:05:08 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Hey

Read the diary rules:

Aim for three original paragraphs of writing.
Don't copy-and-paste entire copyrighted articles.

It's not fair to everyone else when you put a diary up like this that requires zero effort and could just as easily be posted in the open thread. Three out of the ten diaries currently listed on the front page are 2 sentences or less. James, David, and Crisitunity, please enforce these rules again, I think it is the only way people will respect them.

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by: possumtracker1991 @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 18:22:13 PM UTC

This has become your pet project...

...and, for that, I say "full speed ahead!"

I couldn't agree more.

NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan

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by: nycyoungin @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 17:26:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks

But I don't want to be the "diary police" and seem like a jerk about it. It just seems like something people should respect and should be enforced. When a tea partier put up a diary about a GOP rally in Colorado yesterday, it was deleted within an hour, but no action or even words of warning gets taken on very brief diaries.  

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by: possumtracker1991 @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 18:36:40 PM UTC

[ Parent ]