Billionaires with big egoes are a hazard.
That seems to be the lesson in Albany, where Rochester billionaire Tom Golisano, who spent a lot of money helping Malcolm Smith and other Democrats win election, got insulted. As a result, he organized Monday's plot to overthrow the Democratic leadership of the State Senate. As Golisano explained it, Smith made him angry when Golisano visited him in his office and the newly minted Democratic majority leader kept looking at his Blackberry instead of listening to Golisano.
I know Golisano. I covered him during a couple of his attempts to become governor himself. He seemed like an interesting guy with a good sense of humor. But his latest foray into politics has the aroma of hubris and arrogance. As Golisano complained to the Times, when Smith played with his Blackberry instead of giving Golisano his full attention, "I said, 'I'm talking to the wall here.'" He explained: "I was miffed."
So he organized a plot against the Democratic leadership of the Senate. He enlisted two Benedict Arnolds of the Democratic majority, Sens. Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr. And they turned on their elected leader, joining the other party at least temporarily. The two Democratic traitors said they're part of a new power-sharing coalition.
On Wednesday, Gov. David Paterson, who's having a rough time himself staying politically afloat, called on senators to go back to the chamber, elect a leader and go back to work. Vital issues like property taxes, health care and same-sex marriage are on the agenda.
Deploring the fact that all work has been suspended, Paterson said: "All of us are tarnished by this."
That is an under-statement indeed. The whole crowd -- the power-hungry Democrats who defected from their party, the power-hungry Republicans who embraced their foes to take control of the Senate, the billionaire manipulator who thought he could oust the Democratic leadership and engineered the coup by meeting with co-conspirators in dark places like the rock club Red Square in Albany -- all are guilty. Clearly, they have less interest in the long-suffering New York taxpayer than in wresting or maintaining personal power.
Monserrate is awaiting trial for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. Espada has legal troubles too. He ran a non-profit organization that is being investigated for allegedly misappropriating funds.
There's an old saying that what goes around comes around. We can hope that, sooner or later, these guys will get their comeuppance from the voters.
Sooner would be better.
