David Paterson really is irrelevant.
Paterson wasted millions of taxpayer dollars calling State senators into pointless extraordinary sessions that he knew would not produce a single passed bill that he could sign into law. The bills would have to be passed by the State Assembly and Boss Sheldon Silver already told Paterson he wasn’t calling his members back to Albany. So anything the Senate did pass would have accomplished nothing.
Paterson then announces that he’s going to illegally name a Lieutenant Governor, a move he thinks will end the stalemate because his guy (a lover of tax increases) will cast deciding Senate votes. Unfortunately, not only is the move unconstitutional, at least as far as AG Cuomo is concerned, (and hey, what the hell does the state’s top lawyer know about legal matters) it was all for naught as the Senate gridlock was already coming to an end.
The Senate immediately goes into session lasting well past midnight with almost 150 pieces of legislation getting passed (bout time).
The next day (today) after a number of Democrat Senators already left Albany, Paterson announces that he’s still keeping the scheduled Friday extraordinary session on the calendar (remember, these sessions don’t mean a single thing but more financial cost to residents). Senate Democrats, not feeling all that intimidated by an irrelevant Governor, announce that everyone can go home but to be prepared to come back on Wednesday to pass some more stuff.
Paterson finally releases a statement that he’s calling off the Friday extraordinary session (again, which wouldn’t have accomplished anything) even though senate Democrats already decided for him that it wasn’t going to happen.
So let’s recap. The Senate stalemate is over, bills are getting passed and we have an unelected Governor who just appointed an illegal Lieutenant Governor standing all alone in Albany right now wondering where the hell he went wrong.
Paterson should have appointed himself to the U.S. Senate seat and quit while he was ahead.
We have the most irrelevant Governor in this entire country right now.