Coup plotters have always rationalized their devious plots as necessary to realize the will of the people.The Republican-led junta that seized control of the state Senate yesterday was no exception.
"This is a new beginning for New York State," propagandized one of the Democratic turncoats that made the coup possible, Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada. "A new beginning of bipartisan government, a new beginning of real reform."
What a crock.
This was a GOP power grab, plain and simple.
The Republicans saw a chance to overturn last fall's election results, which put Democrats in the majority for the first time since 1965. And the GOP pulled it off - with all the stealth and precision of an "Ocean's Eleven" casino heist.
Any talk about fixing Albany is the thinnest of cover stories.
No secret conspiracy involving the likes of Espada and Queens Sen. Hiram Monserrate - two of the least reputable pols in Albany - can claim to be a reform movement.
Monserrate is fighting a felony indictment charging him with slashing his girlfriend in the face with a broken glass.
Espada has a long history of unethical and illegal behavior. Current violations include living outside his east Bronx district, in Mamaroneck, and refusing to disclose who financed his latest campaign.
He's betrayed his party before, flipping to the Republicans in 2002. A few months later, he was caught trying to direct $745,000 in pork grants to his Bronx health clinics.
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