State Senate Democrats crying foul over former Mayor Ed Koch‘s New York Uprising campaign should stop their whining.
They think it’s unfair that Koch’s group branded their Senate leadership as “enemies of reform” while all 29 members of the Senate GOP were hailed as “heroes.”
But Koch’s labels, though a bit harsh and simplistic, were issued fairly and honestly.
And if Dems don’t like his judgments, they have no one but themselves to blame.
Like every other candidate for state office, the Senate’s top leaders – including Democratic conference chief John Sampson, Temporary President Malcolm Smith and Finance Committee Chairman Carl Kruger – were challenged to pledge support for Koch’s three-point reform plan.
They chose not to sign.
Koch’s plan calls for basic good-government fixes that virtually every nonpolitician in the state recognizes as good ideas. It would abolish the rank, partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts that quashes competitive elections; beef up ethics enforcement to root out rampant corruption at the Capitol, and impose budget rules to assure responsible, open handling of tax dollars.
These are exactly the kinds of proposals that Senate Democrats promised only two years ago, when they were still in the downtrodden minority – but didn’t deliver when they finally got the chance.
Now, they’re not even signing a pledge that would commit them to do better in the future.
Sampson’s team has made some improvements since taking over, such as giving rank-and-file members and committees marginally more influence over what bills come to the floor for a vote. They’ve also posted their payrolls and other internal details online.
But on the all-important issue of redistricting, Smith had this to say in May: “We are going to draw the lines so that Republicans will be in oblivion in the State of New York for the next 20 years.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/08/03/2010-08-03_albany_is_a_city_without_heroes_senate_dems_earn_ed_kochs_villain_tag_fair_and_s.html#ixzz0vk1GjyVc
They think it’s unfair that Koch’s group branded their Senate leadership as “enemies of reform” while all 29 members of the Senate GOP were hailed as “heroes.”
But Koch’s labels, though a bit harsh and simplistic, were issued fairly and honestly.
And if Dems don’t like his judgments, they have no one but themselves to blame.
Like every other candidate for state office, the Senate’s top leaders – including Democratic conference chief John Sampson, Temporary President Malcolm Smith and Finance Committee Chairman Carl Kruger – were challenged to pledge support for Koch’s three-point reform plan.
They chose not to sign.
Koch’s plan calls for basic good-government fixes that virtually every nonpolitician in the state recognizes as good ideas. It would abolish the rank, partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts that quashes competitive elections; beef up ethics enforcement to root out rampant corruption at the Capitol, and impose budget rules to assure responsible, open handling of tax dollars.
These are exactly the kinds of proposals that Senate Democrats promised only two years ago, when they were still in the downtrodden minority – but didn’t deliver when they finally got the chance.
Now, they’re not even signing a pledge that would commit them to do better in the future.
Sampson’s team has made some improvements since taking over, such as giving rank-and-file members and committees marginally more influence over what bills come to the floor for a vote. They’ve also posted their payrolls and other internal details online.
But on the all-important issue of redistricting, Smith had this to say in May: “We are going to draw the lines so that Republicans will be in oblivion in the State of New York for the next 20 years.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/08/03/2010-08-03_albany_is_a_city_without_heroes_senate_dems_earn_ed_kochs_villain_tag_fair_and_s.html#ixzz0vk1GjyVc
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