Defiant to the end.
Short of killing someone, Hiram Monserrate proved that violence against women is not enough to be immediately removed from the State legislature.
Gothamist reported that a federal judge rejected former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate's attempt to block his expulsion, clearing the way for a March 16 special election to decide who will hold his now-vacant seat.
There are reports that Monserrate could turn out running for his seat again in the special election
Daily News columnist Errol Lewis complained that Albany as become too much of a school for scandal -- wasting valuable time.
The neglected "To Do" list for the State legislature, even tipped to the left, is enough to leave the kindest critics wondering what the Democrats are doing with so much control of both the Assembly and State Senate.
The New York Law Journal summarized the decision:
The Queens Democrat was expelled "only after a specially-formed committee investigated his actions and an overwhelming majority of the Senate authorized expulsion," Judge Pauley said, adding that similar processes "have long existed in deliberative bodies at all levels of government."
The Village Voice had a timeline on the domestic violence case against State Senator Hiram Monserrate, rationalizing that Governor David Paterson was motivated by an investigation by the New York Times of his own aide David Johnson.
By the way, the Times finally dropped the other shoe -- following a story on Johnson early this week -- with a story on Paterson's "performance" that still has people asking, "Is that it? Is that it?"
As Campaign Nears, Paterson Is Seen as Increasingly Remote
Meanwhile, The Buffalo News noted that there still isn't a comprehensive ethics legislation being passed by these "deliberative" bodies.
With Bernard Kerik sentenced today to four years in prison and Joe Bruno being formally sentenced in six weeks, Republicans will have their own ethics cloud to shake.
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