| I guess they're not so much the self-styled revolutionary vanguard as the counter-revolutionary vanguard:
The fight for control of New York's Senate that Democrats thought they won in historic fashion Tuesday stretched into Wednesday and could go on for weeks with a group of four maverick New York City lawmakers essentially holding the key to the balance of power.
The four Democratic senators met Wednesday with GOP leaders who hold the Senate majority at least until Jan. 1, according to Republicans and Democrats familiar with the meeting. The meeting was to discuss how the four might serve the GOP and what's in it for them should they defect, according to the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because leaders wouldn't confirm the talks.
Despite the intense nausea this makes me feel, it's still kind of funny. When the Republicans said that a Democratic majority in the State Senate would put the fate of Upstate in the hands of "New York City lawmakers", I don't think this is quite what everyone thought they meant.
(And while I know this makes it tempting for Democrats to argue for strict rules that lock the membership under the thumb of the leadership, it may be a situation that better calls for rules that let members vote their minds all of the time, every day. You know, a functioning legislature with cranky back-benchers. Sometimes those seem to work just fine.) |
