Monroerising.com

The New York Times acknowledges that Senate Republicans obtained a victory in pointing out Governor Paterson’s shortcomings with his “emergency” special session, called three weeks before he is scheduled to release his 2009-10 New York State Budget.

ALBANY — When Senate Republicans called Gov. David A. Paterson’s bluff this week and said they would schedule a vote on the governor’s spending cuts, even Democrats had to concede that the Republicans had won a round.

Of course next year, it will be Mr. Paterson and fellow Democrats in the Senate and Assembly who will be dispensing the pain. Indeed, because any cuts that are postponed for the current fiscal year will have to be piled on top of the cuts that will be needed next year, Democrats will have to do double the political damage, perhaps souring voters on the new Senate Democratic majority and positioning the Republicans for a comeback. But Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, will not commit the Democrats to any cuts unless Mr. Skelos brings his Republicans to the table.

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The Republicans’ strategy was deft. It was brilliant.

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Mr. Paterson has not been above a little jockeying of his own. Though many allies believe he favors a tax increase on the wealthy to help reduce the state’s deficits, Mr. Paterson has ruled out such an increase for the near future — because, some in his party say, he doesn’t want to be branded as a liberal. For the latest round of cuts, Mr. Paterson at first tried to get the Legislature to ante up their ideas for cuts before he proposed any of his own.

But when that didn’t work, he dived in and offered $2 billion of savings, including politically risky cuts to Medicaid and the state university system. Now, Mr. Paterson has cast himself as Albany’s straight-talking fiscal doomsayer, violating the political axiom that one should never be too closely associated with pain, especially budget cuts.

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And having taken on the responsibility for fixing the state’s fiscal problems, he is now under pressure to deliver. That is especially true given his implicit promise to voters that his conciliatory style and experience as a lawmaker would prove more productive than Eliot Spitzer’s head-butting approach.

I can’t wait to see the action in January.  As Mayor Bob Duffy has said:

One thing is certain. The one-party rule in Albany will make shifting the blame for inaction, a common Albany pasttime, much more difficult.

“It certainly clarifies accountability,” Duffy said. “The finger is going to be pointed at one party and one party only, the Democrats.”

I’m sure the 4 or 5 members of the Senate Democrat’s upstate caucus, will be successful in fighting for our interests. Couple that with the clout of David Gantt, Joe Morelle, Susan John and David Koon, and I’m feeling pretty good about the new world order!  This, and the 200,000 new jobs Hilary Clinton promised us 8 years ago,  is the change we need to turn around the upstate economy

Tags: Articles, Bob Duffy, Cincinnatus, David Gantt, David Koon, David Paterson, Joe Morelle, NYS Budget, New York State, Susan John //