LOL

Ok, this is great. These are the people who are elected to lead New York State. The special session of the New York Senate goes like this. Two weeks ago, two democrats switch parties to the republicans. The democrat’s president of the Senate quickly has all the democrats leave the room and turns out the lights. The republicans with their two converts hold a vote to elect a new Senate President, 32 votes needed to pass, 32 votes cast, new President, a republican elected. The democrats have a cow and challenge the vote in court. The Judge in the case said basically; a Senate President needs 32 votes, they were cast, it was legal.

One of the two democrats’ who switched parties then switches back (I would like to say he did it because it’s funny as hell, but most likely he was pressured into it). The Senate is now tied 31 votes a side (only New York could be stupid enough to have a house with an equal number of seats, I mean really!). The democrats, who still do not have enough votes too legally elect (or re-elect, or what-ever) a President, simply refuse to recognize the republican President.

Two weeks of total grid lock follow. Well, one exception, the whole Senate did manage to get in one vote, a measure to insure that THEY STILL GET PAIDED was voted on and passed (go figure). The Governor, P.Oed that State Senators would be going on vacation (this normal session is over) without passing a number of ‘house keeping’ Bills to insure that the rest of the State continues to run, calls the Senate into special session (the Law says they HAVE to be at a special session). And has threatened (rightly so) to continue to call special session every single day (including weekend and holidays) until the Senate gets their job done.

So, day one of the special session: the republican President calls the session to order and everyone stands for the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag (apparently you can still do this in a government building), everyone that is except the democrats. They remain seated, apparently intending to pretend that the session is not really taking place because their President didn’t call it to order. Unfortunately, most of us voters, including democrat voters, care more about our country than our political party and you STAND during the Pledge (and when the National Anthem is sung, yah, I’m talking to you mooks at the Hockey games)! Day one ends with nothing being accomplished.

Day two: talks about power sharing break down earlier in the day, the republican come to the Senate chamber to find the doors locked. The democrats are already in the chamber and open the doors only when their President is at the podium with control of the gavel. The republican President tries to mount the podium but is stopped by the Master-at-arms (who is a democrat, as the republican haven’t had a chance as of yet to make any changes, so at least there is only one Master-at-arms (or is he called Sergeant-at-arms?)). So the republican President takes station in front of the podium and opens the session, but not really, because he has to bang the gavel, which he doesn’t have. The Secretary of the Senate (also a democrat) is not taking the minutes because ‘officially’ the Senate is not in session. The President calls roll, the republican answer, the democrats do not. Stuff happens, the democrats do not participate. The republican leave. The democrats then open their own session and make a big speech about how what just happened, didn’t happen and how nothing the Senate does right now would matter anyway because the Assembly is not in session and the Governor cannot call special sessions for the Assembly anyway.

So I have an idea, the democrats gave it to me. Let’s get all 62 of them into the chamber and LOCK THEM IN. Either they figure out how to do their jobs, or they all starve to death and we elect new ones.