| One of the serious questions that needs to be asked is why the Republicans would be so willing to let Sen. Pedro Espada caucus with them and serve as President of the Senate.
The Republicans have been quick to criticize the Democrats in the past, including criticizing the Democrats for aligning themselves with Espada's partner in crime, Sen. Hiram Monserrate, when Monserrate was first charged with assault. But now they have sided with (and formed the so-called "coalition government" with) the worst of our conference: A man who beat up his girlfriend and got indicted for it (Monserrate) and a guy who failed to file any kind of campaign finance filings with the Board of Elections and was fined $60,000 for not doing so.
While Monserrate's story is troubling, it is Espada who got the most out of this deal and is more of a problem. When people voted for change and supported President Barack Obama and essentially the whole Democratic ticket in November 2008, that included the New York State Senate. Change had come to the New York State Senate and Espada was one of the 32 members who was part of that change. But now, Espada has turned his back on the party in a move that robbed New York of democracy and has created chaos, something that Albany doesn't need anymore of.
A lot has been made of Espada's dealings. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been investigating Espada due to his involvement with phony non-profits that would have been very lucrative for Espada.
And this is the man who is now the President of the Senate. A guy who has broken election law and whose business dealings are criminal. The man whom Espada replaced, Efrain Gonzalez, is going to prison. Espada is heading down the same path.
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.
The millions of New Yorkers who voted for a Democratic state senate lose. But Espada doesn't care. He's now one of the most powerful men in Albany. And he got there because Republicans are just as power hungry and were willing to throw their morals and ethics (if they had any left) away in favor of taking back the majority with two criminals on their side. |
