Hiram Monserrate is the other Democrat who made the GOP coup in the N.Y. state Senate possible. But now he seems to be having second thoughts. There's a good column about his position in in the New York Daily News.
The column sums up by saying Monserrate has a conscience that won't let him rest. Deep down he must feel he's made the wrong move.
When I first heard about this coup, I shrugged to myself and say, "Fine, let the GOP have one branch of government. Absolute power corrupts absolutely."
But as this thing has dragged out, there is just nothing good in it. It has degraded into an infantile, playground fight over who owns the ball. And it comes at the worst time in the legislative calendar, when a lot of work needs to be wrapped up. State residents can only get hurt by this.
When I first read that not only had Democratic Sen. Pedro Espada (a freshman senator) switched parties but also claimed the leadership, this felt like just a grab for personal power.
Monserrate may actually switch sides again if the Democrats can pick someone better to be their leader. That would give the chamber a tie.
But, the political costs that both Espada and Monserrate will have to pay for creating this crisis may be greater than they can bear.
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