Weekly Wrap-Up

Well, let’s see – did anything interesting or exciting happen in New York this week? Let me check...

The Senate spectacle is this week’s top story, of course:

(http://tinyurl.com/lk32oc).

Seems like there’s a new twist every minute with this saga – judges are being brought in, allegations are being made, doors are being locked and unlocked. There’s no telling how it will eventually turn out.

If you know me, you know I always enjoy a good political fight – so I give the Senate credit for at least keeping things interesting.

And I’m all for a brazen parliamentary maneuver – IF it is done for the right reasons... as a stand on principle, or as a last-ditch measure to stop bad policies.

I’m not convinced that’s what this is all about – but if this whole show takes away any momentum from the Democrats’ plans for higher taxes or more spending, it will be at least partly successful.

I don’t buy Gov. Paterson’s self-righteous outrage that this Senate circus is distracting from “critical issues that need to be addressed.” Give me a break.

These issues aren’t new. To give you just two obvious examples, taxes have been too high, and spending has been too reckless, for years. I’m happy to say the Conservative Party has been the only party that’s paid any serious attention to these problems over the past several years.

And if the liberals’ idea of “addressing” these issues is to raise taxes, spend more money and do Big Labor’s bidding, I’ll be more than happy to see these issues go unaddressed.

I’ve heard it said that these Senators “need to act like grownups.” True enough – but is it “grownup” behavior to go hog wild spending other people’s money, and live far beyond their means? Because that’s what the folks in Albany have been doing for some time now.

We'll see how this whole spectacle will play out – but Republicans need to remember this: The best way to get a majority in the Senate is to win elections. You do that by running on principle, and giving voters a real alternative to the status quo – NOT by running as a watered-down version of the other party.

This week we saw new poll numbers showing that a vast majority of New Yorkers think our state is on the wrong path (http://tinyurl.com/mctte8). Show them a better way, Republicans, and you’ll get your majority fair and square.

In the meantime, there are some laughs to be had out of all this. According to Newsday, “Espada met Skelos at the locked chamber door, opening it with a key that Democrats said Espada shouldn’t have had. However, the pair didn’t have a key for the drawer where bills are kept, so no votes could be taken.”

Sounds like a couple of teenagers trying to get into dad’s liquor cabinet.

And here’s a nice silver lining to all this: “Skelos led Republicans to the Senate chamber,” Newsday reports, “through about 100 jeering protesters from Citizen Action and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.” That’s ACORN – and if they’re upset about this whole thing, there has to be something good about it.

This weekend New Yorkers can look forward to a more enjoyable spectacle – the Yankees vs. the Mets. The Yanks are coming off another loss to the Red Sox, while the Mets are trying to bounce back after some tough losses to the Phillies.

No courts deciding these games, fortunately – and I doubt there will be any coup against either manager. Just some good baseball. I’m looking forward to it... and I hope you enjoy your weekend, whatever you have planned.