Albany At Work: Dissident Senators Watch Mets-Yankees

Dissident Democratic Senators Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr., who helped the Republican conference overthrow the Democratic majority and gain power of the State Senate, spent their Saturday at Yankee Stadium. The Daily News exclaims, "They've got some nerve!" as they "watched the Subway Series in a pair of plush seats at Yankee Stadium Saturday, taking a leisurely break from the state of shame they created upstate." One fellow spectator wondered, "What are they going to accomplish here except for promoting themselves?" Well, they did get on the cover of the News as "SCREWBALLS"!

The News also reported they were sitting in the Legends Suite section, "complete with cushioned seats, in-seat wait service and a concierge. It also allows exclusive access to a swanky restaurant with an all-inclusive buffet, top-shelf liquor and private rest rooms." Espada told the News that he paid $150 each for the tickets, whose face value is $650 each, and that he was treating Monserrate.

The Post noted that while Espada, who represents the Bronx (but might really live in Westchester) wore Yankees items, Monserrate "in his typical flip-flop fashion wore no Met gear, even though he represents Queens." Monserrate's jersey had "Queens" on the front and his own name on the back; he said, "It's my day off, and I'm rooting for the Mets," adding, "We never stopped being Democrats and we never will. Bipartisan means two parties -- I'm not a Republican, I'm a Democrat." And Espada, when asked by the Post "if it looked bad for the two to be seen at a Yank-Met game amid the chaos in state government," answered, "You can write that I laughed heartily when you asked me that."

Tomorrow a judge will decide whether the coup can legally stand. As for hope that other lawmakers can help stabilize Albany, well, there is none, at least not after reading this NY Times article about Albany's "Painful Lack of Political Order": "Mr. Paterson, a former Senate minority leader, has limited tools to keep rank-and-filers in line... Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is the undisputed master of the legislative process in Albany but has limited power to impose party discipline beyond his chamber. Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo is feared and respected. But Mr. Cuomo, who may challenge Mr. Paterson in a primary next year, has little to gain by asserting himself now, and must tread carefully, given that his office may be drawn into the Senate legal battle." In other words, we're totally screwed.