12/10/2008
New York Senate Democrat Deal Falls Apart, Smith Issues Statement
As Senator Ruben Diaz Sr.'s earlier remarks suggested, the power-brokering deal between Senator Malcolm Smith and the "gang of three" (Senator-elect Pedro Espada Jr., Díaz Sr. of the Bronx, and Senator Carl Kruger of Brooklyn) has collapsed.
Smith issued a statement this morning:
"Today I am announcing that the Democratic Members of the Senate have elected to cease negotiations on reorganization matters with all three Senators as discussed both in private and in the press. We are suspending negotiations, effective immediately, because to do so otherwise would reduce our moral standing and the long-term Senate Democratic commitment to reform and to change. We believe that ultimately, we must do what is right for the people of the State of New York. Furthermore, real reform cannot and should not ever include limiting the civil rights of any New Yorkers. Those issues must be part of the legislative process. The members of this Conference have come a long way to consider the demands placed on the table. But frankly, we would rather wait two more years to take charge of the Senate than to simply serve the interests of the few. New York State cannot afford the type of self-serving politics being proposed and I will not be the leader to sacrifice what is right for New York for a quick political solution."
The Empire State Pride Agenda reacted to Smith's statement with one from ESPA's Executive Director Alan Van Capelle:
"We applaud Senator Malcolm Smith’s ongoing efforts to lead the new Senate Majority that voters chose during the recent elections. By stating that reform in the Senate cannot include bargaining away civil rights, Senator Smith has once again demonstrated his commitment to standing up for all New Yorkers. The Pride Agenda looks forward to continuing to work with Senator Smith when the legislative session starts. In the meantime we will be working with legislative leaders—Democrats and Republicans—and continuing to do what we’ve been doing all along, and that is working with our community and our allies across New York, including those from communities of faith and organized labor, to earn the votes we need to bring the marriage equality bill to the floor of the Senate for passage."
Previously
NY Senator Diaz Sr. Issues Threat to Gays as Dem Deal Breaks Down [tr]
NY's Gov Paterson: From 'Hands-On' to 'Hands-Off' on Gay Marriage [tr]
NY Gay Leaders Await Answers on Marriage Element of Dem Deal [tr]
New York Democrats Strike Deal; Same-Sex Marriage Vote Tossed [tr]
A Thanksgiving Thaw for New York Democrats? [tr]
'Rogue' NY Senate Democrats Use 'Gay Marriage' as Bargaining Chip [tr]
Posted 2:45 PM EST by Andy Towle in Democratic Party, Gay Marriage, Malcolm Smith, New York, News | Permalink
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Cool. I was wrong, and I am happy that I am wrong. We have more influence over the legislature than I thought and hopefully this means we will not have to do more grassroots building. However, it would be a good thing to keep pushing. That makes me very happy, and my friends who are not able to go to another state to marry. Question: Is there anything we should be doing to help?
Posted by: The Gay Numbers | Dec 10, 2008 3:02:21 PM
So whom are we getting behind to oust the Gang of Three in the next Dem primary? They held the entire state government hostage for the ransom of the coninuted suppression of our rights. They clearly need to go.
Posted by: kevin | Dec 10, 2008 3:08:31 PM
Where are Nic and Mike with their "Blacks hate gays" bullshit now?
Posted by: Q | Dec 10, 2008 3:21:08 PM
Would-be IMPACTers, Day Without Gay Common Sensers....you want us to suggest what you do instead? It's right here before you"
Ya think segregation and Jim Crow laws changed because those in power had a change of heart? WRONG! That the government, drug companies, etc., starting taking AIDS seriously because Jesus sent them a message? WRONG!
Make the lives of the THREE THUGS miserable! Keep jamming their phones. Sit-in at their offices. Picket their homes, restaurants and other businesses they frequent, etc., etc. Bring them to heel or bring them down!
New York Gays: Show your gratitude to those who came before and learn from them that JUST standing around your own neighborhoods with cute, self-righteous signs is ultimately just political masturbation.
The post-Stonewall NY Gay Activist Alliance did public "zaps" on then-Mayor Lindsay, then-UN Ambassador Goldberg, Harper's Magazine, the NY Dem party, et al. ....Bruce Voeller, the co-founder of NGLTF, CHAINED HIMSELF to the desk of the NY McGovern for President office......and CHANGED the status quo.
Take the marvelous passion and numbers you showed with the demonstrations at the NY Mormon church and turn it against the THREE THUGS!
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. ... History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. ... Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Posted by: Leland Frances | Dec 10, 2008 3:31:57 PM
Diaz is already twirling his moustache..."I'll get you meddling kids!"
Posted by: Doug | Dec 10, 2008 3:38:53 PM
I am sending a check to Smith! Now, that is what a principled politician does!
and, LELAND, I agree... it is time for ZAP to go live again.
Posted by: ERB | Dec 10, 2008 3:42:21 PM
I've been calling Diaz all day as well. The smartest thing is for us to find three people from their districts, who are part of the community, and back them silently, so we do not seem like 'outsiders' who are messing on another's district.
I'm sure there are many who are more open minded then these three schmucks.
Posted by: patrick nyc | Dec 10, 2008 5:32:41 PM
This is EXACTLY the message that should have been sent out in the first place. To go to the table and throw us under the bus should NEVER have been an option. They did just that and now that things aren't going so well they are backtracking and saying all the right things.
I'm not gonna look this horse in the mouth too much. I very proud of the statement made. I'm only saying that it would have been much more powerful and much more believable had they taken that stand at the very beginning when these three bigots started holding their breath and stomping their feet to get their way.
Posted by: Zeke | Dec 10, 2008 6:03:42 PM
Oh, and Malcolm Smith ROCKS!
Posted by: Zeke | Dec 10, 2008 6:09:44 PM
Q,
Nic & Mike won't say squat nor will the other racists unless they can toss more dirt.
It's the same old same old. If a gay bashing occurs and it involves a white perpetrator, he or she is a terrible person. No general statements will be made condemning millions of white people. The bigot is the exception.
Malcolm Smith, Deval Patrick, or David Paterson can be champions for gay rights but somehow they, as African-American men, are ignored or trivialized. Paterson can go out of his way to recognize same sex unions but ALL black people are homophobic. Hell, Barack Obama can be the first president-elect to recognize gay people in his acceptance speech but ALL black people are homophobic.
It's the same story. The fact that Nic is Mexican-American and should know better than to make patently racist statements does not occur to him. Instead, he frames things as "blacks againsts gays" and "blacks against browns" (even though anyone with an ounce of brains knows that a many Latinos are brown because of their African ancestry, and a lot of Latinos are white--Cameron Diaz, etc.).
Posted by: noah | Dec 10, 2008 6:37:09 PM
Right on, Noah.
Posted by: Q | Dec 10, 2008 9:38:04 PM
Finally, the racist drivel that comprises nic is being called out.
Posted by: rudy | Dec 11, 2008 4:22:06 PM
thank you, sen. smith. i only wish that you had given those idiots the bum's rush at the beginning.
Posted by: nic | Dec 12, 2008 12:12:53 AM
NOAH,
do you think that you are teaching me about "latinos"? first of all, i never referred to latinos as a race. to the contrary, i have reitterated that there is no such thing as race. the difference between you and me or any other commenter on this site is nothing more than an accident of geography. there is something having to do with skin color and eye shape and hair texture informing those characteristics, and gawd how i love that!
that not withstanding, there are cultural differences owing to upbringing, religious indoctrination, and stressors beyond the obvious.
i picked cotton as a kid during the hot summers in texas. i also picked cherry tomatoes and strawberries. we (me, my brothers and sisters and my mom) did this to earn money for clothes for fall--the beginning of the school year. we were not taken to the north (el norte), we were not migrants; we did not miss school. we maintained our grades, and pulled through. we did this knowing that 200+ years ago we owned the land we were now working.
truthfully, i cannot compare my life experiences to yours, but i do remember seeing signs that said, "no mexicans or negroes served". and others that included "or dogs" in the signage.
for better or worse, you and i are of a piece. do not disparage me for asking a question that i might ask of any group, depending on the issue. your time and mine would be better spent on looking for answers, rather than cursing at each other or cursing the darkness.
Posted by: nic | Dec 12, 2008 5:16:46 AM