Thursday, July 23, 2009
Hispanic Bronx: the Four Amigos and a smart Latina
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
My sweet Bronx, where, before air-conditioning appeared on the scene, retired garment workers sat late into the night, on park benches grouped in the median of Grand Concourse, enjoying the breeze and arguing Socialism. It has changed. Of course, that was before the burnings, and the exodus to Coop City. Now the borough’s fame and notoriety come from its Hispanic contingents.
The madness in the NYS Senate has been continuing. Senator Pedro Espada Jr. of Bronx, who with Senator Hiram Monserrate of Queens joined the Republican coalition on June 8, giving GOP a 32-30 control, on July 9 rejoined the Democrat caucus (Monserrate had done so earlier), returning Senate control to the donkeyheads and reclaiming his post as Majority Leader. What is Spanish for chutzpah? This happened when, a day earlier, Governor David Paterson made a smart move, appointing Richard Ravitch as Lieutenant Governor, to get in a tie-breaker vote, solving the 31-31 deadlock. This elicited an instant lawsuit from Espada and Dean Skelos, the GOP leader, claiming the action to be unconstitutional, and a restraining order from a Long Island magistrate, seeking to block Ravitch from assuming office. The order was overturned by a judge, Espada made his countermove, returning to the Democratic caucus on July 9, and claiming his Majority Leader role (you should see the cover photo of Albany’s Times Union of July 10, showing Espada slithering his hand towards Smith, the crocodile eyes ready to grasp, or withdraw, or strike) while the Espada /Skelos lawyers still maintain the lawsuit, asking for more time to prepare for resolution of the issue. Meanwhile, the Four Amigos -_ Espada and his allies Monserrate, Carl Kruger from Brooklyn and Ruben Diaz Sr. of Bronx – have been threatening a reorganization of the Democratic conference, and some of it has happened. On July 16 in a joint statement the transformed Senate leaders, Senate President Smith, Majority Leader Espada, Dep. Majority Leader Jeffrey Klein, Conference Leader John Sampson, and Minority Leader Skelos passed reforms to the Senate rules, making the Senate “more open, accountable and all inclusive.” The changes empower individual Senators to get bills out of committees, limit committee chairmanships to eight years, liberalize the hiring of committee staffs, provide members with access to mailing and printing services, and propose more equal distribution of discretionary amounts for legislative incentives. The last is a Republican initiative – after squeezing the Democrats during their 40 years of GOP Senate majority, they wanted equality; the staffing liberalization is an Espada demand. In the deal Monserrate also got his committee chairmanship back! But Mayor Bloomberg’s continued authority over the city’s schools was denied, and some of the Governor Paterson’s requests still need be enacted, such as reducing party jumpers to junior status. He has experienced threats beyond those from the Four Amigos.
Third parties and party changers have had significant impact in American politics. In 1948 George C. Wallace took 8% of Presidential vote; Ross Perot as Independent/Reform scored 19% in 1992 and 8% in 1996. And then in 2000 there was Ralph Nader with his crucial history-changing 3% Green party vote. None have been as blatant as the benefits-seeking NY Senate Democrats, looking for perks, committee chairmanship pay and contract influence, staff jobs for supporters and suppression of legislation (e.g. gay marriage) in committee. Perhaps the best comparison is the defunct Liberal party in NY, a small group that would provide the crucial swing votes, some initially based on idealism, and Shas in Israel that votes Labor or Likud for education and social benefits for its faithful.
Let us move now to the glory of Hispanic Bronx, the US Senate confirmation hearing of Judge Sonia Sotamayor, a woman of humble origin who is reaching for an accolade higher than that of the term-limited Presidency of the US, the lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. She has been mercilessly scrutinized by Southern Senators, asking for her opinions on birth control, gun ownership, executive power and eminent domain, all of which she has parried correctly, issues that should be judged on past performance and rulings, public statements and affiliations, all fair subjects. Questions about ethnic identification and gender and political preferences, based on one paragraph spoken to encourage minority women to strive for better accomplishments go too far in imputing preferences. However, one would also object to the Kabuki dancer masks that someone suggested are assumed by Supreme Court candidates, trying to project the images of middle-of-the-roaders, the preferable role. The Supremes are our most important rulers, even to the point of electing an American President in 2001, and we should endeavor to know all we can about them, the books that they have on their shelves, the music and drama they prefer, whom do they share their dinners with, the inner man or woman or child that they are. Five Supremes are in their seventies and we will see more candidates before long. The lives of candidates for the lifetime appointment to Supreme Court should be open books, more so than those of elected high officials. That is how I feel.
My sweet Bronx, where, before air-conditioning appeared on the scene, retired garment workers sat late into the night, on park benches grouped in the median of Grand Concourse, enjoying the breeze and arguing Socialism. It has changed. Of course, that was before the burnings, and the exodus to Coop City. Now the borough’s fame and notoriety come from its Hispanic contingents.
The madness in the NYS Senate has been continuing. Senator Pedro Espada Jr. of Bronx, who with Senator Hiram Monserrate of Queens joined the Republican coalition on June 8, giving GOP a 32-30 control, on July 9 rejoined the Democrat caucus (Monserrate had done so earlier), returning Senate control to the donkeyheads and reclaiming his post as Majority Leader. What is Spanish for chutzpah? This happened when, a day earlier, Governor David Paterson made a smart move, appointing Richard Ravitch as Lieutenant Governor, to get in a tie-breaker vote, solving the 31-31 deadlock. This elicited an instant lawsuit from Espada and Dean Skelos, the GOP leader, claiming the action to be unconstitutional, and a restraining order from a Long Island magistrate, seeking to block Ravitch from assuming office. The order was overturned by a judge, Espada made his countermove, returning to the Democratic caucus on July 9, and claiming his Majority Leader role (you should see the cover photo of Albany’s Times Union of July 10, showing Espada slithering his hand towards Smith, the crocodile eyes ready to grasp, or withdraw, or strike) while the Espada /Skelos lawyers still maintain the lawsuit, asking for more time to prepare for resolution of the issue. Meanwhile, the Four Amigos -_ Espada and his allies Monserrate, Carl Kruger from Brooklyn and Ruben Diaz Sr. of Bronx – have been threatening a reorganization of the Democratic conference, and some of it has happened. On July 16 in a joint statement the transformed Senate leaders, Senate President Smith, Majority Leader Espada, Dep. Majority Leader Jeffrey Klein, Conference Leader John Sampson, and Minority Leader Skelos passed reforms to the Senate rules, making the Senate “more open, accountable and all inclusive.” The changes empower individual Senators to get bills out of committees, limit committee chairmanships to eight years, liberalize the hiring of committee staffs, provide members with access to mailing and printing services, and propose more equal distribution of discretionary amounts for legislative incentives. The last is a Republican initiative – after squeezing the Democrats during their 40 years of GOP Senate majority, they wanted equality; the staffing liberalization is an Espada demand. In the deal Monserrate also got his committee chairmanship back! But Mayor Bloomberg’s continued authority over the city’s schools was denied, and some of the Governor Paterson’s requests still need be enacted, such as reducing party jumpers to junior status. He has experienced threats beyond those from the Four Amigos.
Third parties and party changers have had significant impact in American politics. In 1948 George C. Wallace took 8% of Presidential vote; Ross Perot as Independent/Reform scored 19% in 1992 and 8% in 1996. And then in 2000 there was Ralph Nader with his crucial history-changing 3% Green party vote. None have been as blatant as the benefits-seeking NY Senate Democrats, looking for perks, committee chairmanship pay and contract influence, staff jobs for supporters and suppression of legislation (e.g. gay marriage) in committee. Perhaps the best comparison is the defunct Liberal party in NY, a small group that would provide the crucial swing votes, some initially based on idealism, and Shas in Israel that votes Labor or Likud for education and social benefits for its faithful.
Let us move now to the glory of Hispanic Bronx, the US Senate confirmation hearing of Judge Sonia Sotamayor, a woman of humble origin who is reaching for an accolade higher than that of the term-limited Presidency of the US, the lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. She has been mercilessly scrutinized by Southern Senators, asking for her opinions on birth control, gun ownership, executive power and eminent domain, all of which she has parried correctly, issues that should be judged on past performance and rulings, public statements and affiliations, all fair subjects. Questions about ethnic identification and gender and political preferences, based on one paragraph spoken to encourage minority women to strive for better accomplishments go too far in imputing preferences. However, one would also object to the Kabuki dancer masks that someone suggested are assumed by Supreme Court candidates, trying to project the images of middle-of-the-roaders, the preferable role. The Supremes are our most important rulers, even to the point of electing an American President in 2001, and we should endeavor to know all we can about them, the books that they have on their shelves, the music and drama they prefer, whom do they share their dinners with, the inner man or woman or child that they are. Five Supremes are in their seventies and we will see more candidates before long. The lives of candidates for the lifetime appointment to Supreme Court should be open books, more so than those of elected high officials. That is how I feel.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 7:44 PM 
