The Country's Most Dysfunctional Government

With all of the press ink flying around, you might be tempted to think that it's our federal government. You'd be wrong. It's been an almost universally accepted fact over the last several years that the State Government of New York, under the leadership of Governor George "I wanna be president too" Pataki, holds that title. Now, however, they claim to be working towards making some changes.

The country's most dysfunctional government is changing how it does business.

On Thursday, the Assembly and Senate each proposed more than a dozen changes in their operating rules, which are expected to be voted on Monday. The remodeling follows a year of activists and average voters alike loudly calling for a reform of the way Albany runs.

But, like most things in Albany, it may not happen without a fight.

While the Assembly rules changes are a bipartisan effort that is expected to easily pass, the Senate's package was designed by the Republican majority and includes changes Democrats say will make their party even weaker.

So what makes them so dysfunctional? Leaving aside the fact that they have failed to pass a budget less than six months late for eight straight years, and the small detail that they've managed to take one of the more robust state economies in the nation and drive it into a massive repression with sky high unemployment... not much.

Pataki oversee an unruly collection of clowns in Albany who are so busy engaging in partisan bickering that they couldn't agree on which exit to use if the Capitol caught on fire. The assembly is controlled by the Democrats and the Senate by the Republicans. And unlike Washington, it's very often difficult to figure out which side are the villains and which the heroes. As a resident, I've long been of the opinion that we have no heroes. Just villains of two different colors. Each chamber has their own party "boss" who runs that body with an iron fist. Since the two houses clash on everything, little of substance is ever accomplished except for handing more cash over to well connected associates of New York's "Old Money" gang.

Pataki benefits from this by being able to blame all of the lack of progress on the messed up legislature and spend most of his time looking for photo ops.

But now that they seem to at least be pretending to try to fix things, the Republicans in the state Senate are showing their true colors.

One change would end "empty-seat" voting, a process by which lawmakers can vote without being in their chambers -- or even in Albany. Opponents of the practice compared it with getting paid without showing up to work.

The Assembly said it will require legislators to be present during a slow roll-call vote on each bill.

The Senate, however, would require senators to be present only for "no" votes. Senate Minority Leader David Paterson, D-Harlem, said the provision specifically targets minority members because almost every bill voted on is sponsored by a majority member.

"Ninety-nine percent of the 'no' votes are cast by the minority, because the minority (members) don't put any of the bills on the floor," Paterson said. "So the majority doesn't have to be there at all. They're exacerbating the problem, instead of curing it."

Isn't that lovely? I have to wonder if there are any other states that even allow an abomination like empty seat voting. It's basically a proxy system where the members can allow their leadership to put in their votes for them, effectively absconding from their responsibilities and continuing to get paid when they don't' even bother showing up for work.

Pataki has had ten years to demonstrate some level of leadership and start dragging these chambers of chuckleheads out of the quagmire and towards some semblance of a functional state government. He has done nothing. And this guy wants to be our next president?