Good op-ed by Fred Dicker about how Gov. Cuomo manipulates the GOP Senate:
“Despite public claims to the contrary, Gov. Cuomo worked behind-the-scenes with the Republican-led Senate to defeat Assembly Democrats … Cuomo, the de facto head of the state Democratic Party, defeated a range of Democrat-sponsored proposals supposedly on his agenda through a “two-against-one” strategy in which he allied with Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-Suffolk) against Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), leaving Heastie no choice but to fold, the sources said. “Throughout the negotiations, there was never any real difference between the positions of Cuomo and Flanagan. It was two against one with Cuomo pulling Flanagan’s strings to corner Heastie,” said a source with direct knowledge of the secret end-of-session deal-making … “Not that there should have been, but if there was any doubt that Senate Republicans are nothing but a tool of Cuomo to use against his fellow Democrats, there isn’t anymore,’’ the source complained …”
This was pretty obvious.
“… “Flanagan had the greatest leverage any Republican could have over Cuomo, Heastie and [Mayor] de Blasio: the expiring New York City rent laws,” noted one of the state’s best-known Republicans. “And how did he use it? He gave it away, got virtually nothing for it, renewed the laws without extracting much of anything that could help Republicans out of the disastrous hole they’re in, not to mention help the state as a whole,” the source continued …”
Why not use this leverage to move the SAFE amendments bill?
“… Senate sources said Flanagan, like Skelos before him, was willing to take direction from Cuomo on most issues in exchange for an understanding that the governor wouldn’t campaign next year against Republican senators, who hold a bare one-vote margin over the Democrats.”
This is the same dumb-shit strategy the RINO’s have pushed for years despite the fact the undeniable result of this policy is less Republicans getting elected to public office.