In New York, Senate "Coup" Takes Down Dems

(CBS)  This story is from WCBS-TV in New York.

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New York State Senate Republicans on Monday replaced Malcolm Smith as Majority Leader after two dissident Democrats switched sides, giving the GOP control, CBS 2 has learned.

The flip of senators Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate of Queens gives Republicans a 32-30 edge in the chamber.

Call it a coup, call it a devious plan to change leadership, but at the end of the day Democrats are out of power in the New York State Senate and Republicans were.

It's a story with some really wild twists and turns.

Who could forget Espada and his run-ins with CBS 2 after we discovered he doesn't even live in his Bronx district, and wore an orange ski hat when he was confronted about it in front of his real home in Mamaroneck?

Turns out the real joke is on Espada's Democrat colleagues in the Senate after he and Monserrate, who has been indicted for attacking his girlfriend, sold out Senate Democrats and voted with the Republicans to make Rockville Sen. Dean Skelos the new majority leader.

Espada was elected President pro tempore of the Senate, which means that if something happens to Gov. Davis Paterson, he steps in.

Local Video from CBS 2 HD in New York

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During the coup, Democrats fled the chamber, turned out the lights, and cut off the Internet feed of chamber proceedings, leaving Republicans and their two Democratic friends to take the vote in the dark.

It's likely the Democrats will appeal, but Republicans say everything was done by the rulebook.

Sources say independent upstate businessman Tom Golisano played a role in their coup.

A media advisory released by Mark Hansen, a spokesman for the Senate's GOP conference, foreshadowed the shake-up: "An historic change in leadership is taking place at this moment and a new bipartisan, coalition is being established that is bringing real reform to the Senate RIGHT NOW."

Smith was elected Temporary President and Majority Leader of the New York State Senate in January of 2009, becoming the first African-American Majority Leader in New York State history and the first Democratic leader in almost 40 years.

Check back with WCBSTV.com for more on this developing story.

[COTF]

It is far more interesting to read the comments, than the biased story here.

Most importantly, glean the following: if an "elected representative" can switch sides, as many do and have done, does this not point out the fallacy of believing that someone you DIDN'T vote for can "represent" your interests in any way? This is lunacy.

The parliamentary system, where each party, based on total votes, gets a certain number of seats in the representative body, allows for representation of minority viewpoints. Our idiotic system does not. In fact, our system penalizes the "minority" by keeping them out of all decisions.

If there must be a government at all (which there does not), the one we have should be abolished and we should have a better system.

[jojo9357-2009]

"Your narrative does remind me a great deal, however, of what actually happened with Obama-- voters everywhere had enough of GOP lies, anti-democratic, criminal power mongering and corruption-- and of Bush and Cheney, in particular. So, they voted in reform."

You mean the voters had lies about the GOP and they believed them so they voted for Obama and his lies.

We need the politicians to know that they will be voted out if they do not represent the people, no matter which party.

[COTF]

I love the balanced presentation from CBS News (maybe why they are slowing fading from view, with the lowest viewership for their propaganda - sorry, news - since Neilsen began keeping score?)

Espada ... "sold out" his democratic colleagues....

Monserrate, who has been indicted for attacking his girlfriend,

etc.

Won't you idiots at CBS EVER LEARN, that you represent a tiny minority (the queer socialist welfare queen idiot lobby) in the US, and as long as you spew this stupidity, you are going to get poorer, and poorer, and poorer....

[ProgressiveObserver]

Take back the country? Professional Republicans had it for 8 solid years every and the American people threw you out because you bankrupted, embarrased and demoralized the nation. Remember?

Once again it is not Republicans who destroy Democrats it is the phony Democrats. The one good thing about this is it should put to rest the fantasy that "moderate" Democrats are anything but Republicans waiting for their chance.

[ozus]

Specter is only the second case in recent years when a Republican betrayed his voters and became a Democrat, giving the Democrats numbers they did not deserve in the Senate. In 2001 Senator Jefford did the same thing. I can't recall a CBS hatchet job over either of these cases.

It is interesting that CBS mentioned that one of the New York Senators lived outside of his electoral area and the other was under indictment. It implies that all of the other New York Democrats were squeaky clean. This is the state of Jimmy Walker, Tammany Hall, Adam Clayton Powell and more recently former Governor Eliot Spitzer.

[prying1]

stn_sage said:
"SOMEBODY better step in on this one and find out exactly what happened and why and determine if this is LEGAL or not!"

Great idea and while we are at it let's have Obama show his REAL birth certificate...

[McHineguy]

It starts small, one state at a time. But it builds and eventually the people take back their country. Beginning with a state, and then a couple states and finally, the federal government. As the people find out that government does not serve them, it serves itself, as they find that give aways only happen when you buy something else you dont want.

Lets hope we figure this out soon and get our federal government back before Obama has spent it all and we cant buy enough to even start over. All we have left is CHANGE.

[Audacity_of_Deception]

Newsweek's Evan Thomas: Obama Is "Sort of God"
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Newsweek editor Evan Thomas brought adulation over President Obama's Cairo speech to a whole new level on Friday, declaring on MSNBC: "I mean in a way Obama's standing above the country, above, above the world, he's sort of God."

Link: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2009/06/05/newsweek-s-evan-thomas-obama-sort-god

[rhs648]

So the democrats got Arlen Spector and the republicans got these two guys. The only question is who got the worse deal? Arlen Specter was never much of a republican anyway. His loyalties only appear skin deep.

[bajajohn1]

Espada is a nut case and he belongs in the republican party because that is home to most of the nut cases.