|
This New York Times story mentions another possible deal that would have looked very different:
Separately, the faction of seven white Democrats, led by Senator Jeffrey D. Klein of the Bronx, that had sought the power-sharing deal with the Republicans is especially uneasy with Mr. Espada, who faces investigations related to nonprofit health clinics he runs, his campaign finance practices and whether his primary residence is in the Bronx. Any arrangement they reached with Republicans would probably have pushed Mr. Espada aside.
Faced with that possibility, Mr. Espada returned to the Democrats in exchange for a job whose power beyond its title is difficult to discern.
The Times tells the story as racial polarization, perhaps reasonably. At the same time, though, I'm wondering who those seven Senators were and what they were discussing with which Republicans. Partly, it's because I wonder if this looked at all like the reform caucus I wrote about earlier (or not), and partly it's because I suspect that Dean Skelos is right about one thing:
Within a few months, maybe six months, there is going to be so much discord within that conference that we're going to be running the Senate, all right?
Maybe the current deal will hold until the 2010 elections, or at least through budget season. It seems unlikely to me, though.
|
