In the wake of the "coup" in the New York Senate we are all left with an uneasy feeling that many of our older generation remembers from the days of the mob and 'real' corrupt politics. In addition many are left wondering what now? What is going to happen with the agenda of the Democratic party?
One particular bit of legislation comes to mind, that of the gay marriage bill introduced by Governor Paterson not long ago. We have been lucky enough to see the Assembly again pass the bill with flying colors, but have all been waiting worriedly to see what the Republicans, which held a much stronger minority in the Senate would do with the bill. Now the Republicans have taken over again, and we are left with the question of whether the bill will even make it to the podium to be voted on. While the new president of the Senate, Pedro Espada (one of the two guys who jumped ship) is a co-sponsor of the bill, Dean Skelos (the returning majority leader) is against it. Unfortunately if this quote taken by the Observer Dispatch is anything to go on, we're back on for a long fight, all over again.
One particular bit of legislation comes to mind, that of the gay marriage bill introduced by Governor Paterson not long ago. We have been lucky enough to see the Assembly again pass the bill with flying colors, but have all been waiting worriedly to see what the Republicans, which held a much stronger minority in the Senate would do with the bill. Now the Republicans have taken over again, and we are left with the question of whether the bill will even make it to the podium to be voted on. While the new president of the Senate, Pedro Espada (one of the two guys who jumped ship) is a co-sponsor of the bill, Dean Skelos (the returning majority leader) is against it. Unfortunately if this quote taken by the Observer Dispatch is anything to go on, we're back on for a long fight, all over again.
“Time spent on issues such as gay marriage would have been better spent on solving the state’s fiscal problems. Maybe now they can extend the session so they can get some real work done,”
This is a quote from the Oneida County Republican Chairman. This quote is ridiculous all over, but strikes me badly for two main reasons:
- It's Funny the Republicans have been in power for 40 years, but the Democrats get blamed for not fixing the state's fiscal policy in the six months that they have been in power. (Admittedly, they weren't doing all that great though.)
- (More importantly) I find it slightly absurd that a civil rights vote such as that for gay marriage is considered so unimportant that interrupting further deliberation on a monotonously failing fiscal policy is considered a hindrance to “real work.”
I understand that it is a hard concept to grasp for some people, but there are issues that are more important than money. If we could just get the senators to vote under the basis of equal rights, and remind them that RELIGION and TRADITION should have no part in law, they could actually protect a minority and get back to misusing our tax dollars, and making faux-promises to make things better for tomorrow, before they knew it.
But they're right, who are we New York Citizens to ask for equality? It's all about them right? They're flim flamming around figuring out who's going to be in power, when a minority is continuing to be oppressed against their strong protest for equality.
Shame on you gays, sit down and shut up, we need to be thinking about fiscal policy! Don't you realize we're in a recession?
