The Albany Clown Circus

Despicable? I don't think so. Mutiny? It's a bit strong. It's a circus, and it shows just how completely dysfunctional the whole system is:

The motion also restored Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos (R-LI) to the post of majority leader.

The historic maneuver left Senate Democrats, who in January took the majority for the first time since 1965, slack-jawed and powerless.

And it stunned Paterson.

"It's despicable what happened here today," said the governor last night, bristling and occasionally slamming his open palm on a lectern as he appeared briefly before reporters.

"When do we get around to governing?"

He condemned the Republican-backed coup as "an unnecessary distraction to government dressed up in the cloak falsely of reform."

The action throws the fate of nearly every item on Paterson's agenda -- from same-sex marriage to ethics reform to mayoral control in schools -- in doubt just two weeks before the Legislature is scheduled to begin its summer recess.

Without a clear Senate leader, all action in the chamber will grind to a halt. Paterson defiantly said he would continue to recognize Smith as majority leader until the issue is resolved in the courts.

"Unbelievable," one longtime Capitol lobbyist said of the revolt. "I've never seen anything like it."

As word spread, Assembly members abandoned their own proceedings on the other side of the Capitol to watch the circus. Lobbyists grilled passing reporters for information.

NYS State Senators Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr., both Democrats have thrown the chamber back into GOP hands, by voting to turn control of the chamber back to the GOP. Democrats narrowly won control of the State Senate in November, and have run things for the past four months. It's been a contentious period as then Senate Majority Leader, Malcolm Smith has repeatedly run into roadblocks in pushing his agenda despite having Democrat control of the chamber.

For NYS politics, even this was something of a surprise - and something that hadn't been seen or contemplated in the past. And who do we have to congratulate for the new mess (which is hardly better than the past mess?)

Hiram Monserrate, who is busy fending off criminal assault charges after being indicted in NYC, and Pedro Espada, who's had some legal issues of his own dealing with election filings (or the lack thereof).

The ongoing agenda in Albany is now in doubt, as several high profile issues remain to be addressed, including gay marriage, mayoral control of NYC schools, rent control, and ethics reform. The problem is that all of them pale in comparison to the looming fiscal disaster of a state budget that was just passed. Already, there are signs that the budget is out of whack and the fiscal deficit will be even larger than anticipated. The state's pension funds are an underfunded disaster.

Anyone with a pulse and a calculator should have seen this coming - spending more while raising taxes on a recessionary environment while Wall Street isn't taking in the money it did just a few short months ago was a recipe for disaster. Gov. Paterson thinks that Monserrate and Espada are despicable. What Paterson and the rest of Albany did in passing the fiscally irresponsible budget was worse. It was a gross dereliction of duty and the fiduciary responsibilities to state taxpayers.

If this move can get people to focus their attention on the state budget and not these ancillary issues, then these two less than honorable State Senators have done a great service to the state. If not, then it only goes to show that New York politics is totally out of control and unresponsive to the needs of the state's residents.

UPDATE:
Via Rowdy Yates, video of yesterday's craziness, and Mayor Mike Bloomberg's reactions: