According to the Albany Times-Union on Friday, a quadraphonic Senate 'leadership' structure was emerging.  It worked out to be Dean Skelos, Pedro Espada, Steve Pigeon and Tom Golisano vs. Malcolm Smith and John Sampson.

If it came to pass, this one wouldn't even be close.

How do we know this? It's because Smith and Sampson keep adhering to serially irresponsible--but entirely predictable--concepts and retro-babble like:

Privately, many Democratic members said that the leadership of the Senate needed to be retained by a black member, as Gov. David Paterson’s dismal poll numbers make 2010 increasingly less likely.

Wouldn't you think that instead of worrying about the governor, the Democratic conference would be more interested in reestablishing a majority and not frittering it all away again? As opposed to say, counting complexions and calling the governor some kind of affirmative-actioned coke-head?  This is just embarrassing.

What the hell is going in there?  People like Kevin Parker, John Sampson and Carl Kruger are getting called back into session because they blew their majority by saying and doing dumb things that the governor had absolutely nothing to do with.

The leadership of the Senate Democratic conference is just a disaster.  Espada, Libous, Skelos (and Monserrate) have demonstrated this by shredding it, without a moment's effort. As such, Smith and Sampson (especially if Sampson was in fact, selected by Smith to 'succeed' him) really need to be on the curb, instead of cutting new deals with a bunch of guys who are only gonna slit their throats. Again.

And now with Tom Golisano thoroughly committed and invested, the Senate Dems got themselves a pathologically predacious billionaire and his proxy in their living room making as much mischief as possible and doing everything a pathologically predacious billionaire can to spend/connive/perpetrate the State Senate back into a solid GOP majority again.  And then do some serious damage to the state.  And there's absolutely nothing Malcolm Smith and John Sampson can do about it. Except turn out the lights.

The best the current Senate Dem management can hope for is that one of these   GOP principals catches a felony conviction. Or, lacking that, the Assembly somehow bails them out. Again. And Golisano knows this above all things.  He knows this because he was entirely unable to impose his will on Shelly Silver and the Assembly Democrats on the budget (but much more on this later).   My guess is that they, the Assembly Dems, were laboring under the premise that when somebody like Tom Golisano is dust-mopped, it's usually good for everybody else.  And that kind of thinking makes Tom cranky--and a wee bit loco too.

Speaking of making Tom cranky and loco, here's a special FYI for him. Hey, maybe he should keep publicizing his fantasies, the Assembly Dems might pick up another half-dozen members by the time Monica stuffs a tennis ball in that mouth of his.

And Malcolm Smith and John Sampson never see this dolt coming after them from a mile away? How's that even happen?

Maybe Malcolm and John's tech-guys should have set up a special Twitter-feed on Tom Golisano's mouth and Steve Pigeon's location. [Dare I say, like NGD has?]

So just in case you still wonder why Pedro Espada's still smiling like he's swallowed the canary, it's because he has. It's name was Malcolm Sampson.

I wonder if Malcolm Sampson even knows they're finished.  Seriously. Or know any of anything about say, 'Responsible New York' cooking the books--so they can finish pissing on their heads?  Probably not.

Maybe they should just sue Espada, Skelos, Pigeon and Golisano for child abuse. Or just rehire Mike Fallon, blame him again, and then fire him again.*

*That strategy only works if the Senate Democrats have since hired another individual who has ever actually drafted legislation. And then can find the Bill Drafting Commission. All in the same day.