Winners & Losers In New York Coup; Dems Not Giving Up

They are still pointing fingers and shaking heads in New York, one day after a legislative coup in which two renegade Democrats voted with Republicans to give the GOP control of the state Senate -- control it lost last November after four decades.

But if you listen to what Democrats are saying today, the fight ain't over yet.

A quick recap of what happened: Yesterday, two Democratic state senators from New York City -- Hiram Monserrate of Queens and Pedro Espada of the Bronx -- voted with the 30 Republicans on a motion to reorganize the Senate, and in doing so returned the GOP in the majority. For his role in the coup, Espada was made Senate president, second in line to the governorship.

(New York has no LG, since David Paterson left that post to become governor last year, following the prostitute scandal that claimed the political career of Eliot Spitzer (D).)

The chain of events ended the reign of Malcolm Smith (D), the state's first African-American majority leader, after just five months. Smith's spokesman called the move "an illegal and unlawful attempt to gain control of the Senate and reverse the will of the people who voted for a Democratic majority." PolitickerNY's Steve Kornacki says we should "expect to hear this line from outraged Democrats" in the coming days:

Don't expect them, though, to remind you how gleeful they were when Democrats in the Tennessee State Legislature engineered a nearly identical coup earlier this year (or when Willie Brown pulled off a similar deal in the California Senate 14 years ago). Their protests will be as futile as the Republicans' were in those two states; the G.O.P., barring some change of heart by Espada and Monserrate, will now have full, legal control over the New York State Senate.

But the new G.O.P. majority will be built on an absurdly flimsy foundation. Sure, Espada and Monserrate will provide the two crucial votes that will make Dean Skelos majority leader, a development that will severely complicate the budget process and, more broadly, the agenda of David Paterson and state Democrats. But by flipping to the G.O.P., Espada and Monserrate have almost certainly expedited their own exits from Albany -- and the election of new, far more loyal Democrats to their seats.

The simple fact is that both men hail from staunchly Democratic districts: Espada from the 33rd in the Bronx and Monserrate from the 13th in Queens, where elections are decided by Democrats in primaries -- not by the November electorate.

To say that the Democrats were blindsided would be an understatement. Angry, too. The secretary of the Senate -- who was appointed by the Dems -- "was refusing to hand over the keys to the Senate chamber to the Republicans" on Tuesday, writes the New York Times' Danny Hakim and Jeremy Peters:

Democratic leaders were caught off guard as the Republicans and their two new allies moved to topple them, and at one point became so flustered that they turned out the lights in the Senate chamber to try to prevent Republicans from installing new leaders.

The co-conspirators. New York Post's Carl Campanile profiles the two Dem defectors (or "turncoats," as he calls them). Monserrate

was indicted for allegedly slashing his girlfriend in the face with a broken glass. ... [He] was charged with six counts of assaulting his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo. She needed 20 stitches over her left eye. Security cameras in his apartment complex show Monserrate dragging her out of the building on Dec. 19. The same cameras show her desperately banging on a neighbor's door seeking help during the incident, just a month after his election to the Senate. The lawmaker pleaded not guilty and insisted the blows to his girlfriend were an accident. He is awaiting trial.

And Espada

has been implicated in state-funding shenanigans involving his nonprofit health-care company. ... Three workers at a firm he runs, the Soundview Health Care Network, pleaded guilty in 2005 to diverting $30,000 from programs for family care and AIDS treatment to his political campaign. He was not charged. Earlier, Espada was caught red-handed attempting to steer $745,000 in grants to his outfit. In 1998, Espada was accused of attempting to direct $260,000 in Medicaid funds from his firm to his political campaign. He was acquitted of the charges.

The Times' Hakim and Peters add:

Highlighting the often elastic nature of ethical stands and alliances in Albany, Republicans who earlier this year were calling on Mr. Monserrate to resign after his indictment on felony charges that he stabbed his companion with a broken glass are now welcoming him as part of their power-sharing coalition.

Wedding prospects: I speculated yesterday that one of the byproducts of the change in leadership might be the death of same-sex marriage legislation, which has been pushed by Paterson and already passed by the state Assembly. That may not be the case, writes the Times' Hakim. Apparently Espada said he wants to bring such legislation to a vote:

"I am for same-sex marriage," Mr. Espada said. "There will be no guarantees and no quid pro quos, I think there will be a vote of conscience of the senators. And with my partner in government, Senator Skelos, we have not discussed bringing it out to the floor. I'm expressing my own personal desire to see a full debate and decision on this matter."

Reax. New York Daily News editorial: The coup "revealed Albany for the madhouse it has become, with the lunatics firmly in charge of the asylum."

Rus Thompson, writing in the Albany's Insanity blog: "The Democrats have no one to blame but themselves. This is all about the gay marriage bill that [Democrats] are trying to push for a vote in the Senate. ... Well congratulations gentlemen, you have given up your power for a few reasons, simply look in the mirror as to who is to blame."

Robert Harding, writing in The Albany Project blog: "We don't need Espada in this position of power, but this is what the Republicans wanted. All of this was for power. Espada's lust for power was so strong he threw away his party in favor of his own personal gain. This was all a huge power grab and Espada was one of the beneficiaries."