It seems that no matter how deep in debt we are in the state everything boils down to “what can I get for me” attitude. Articles like this and others really expose the crusted, nasty underbelly of Albany politics. It is like we do not exist except for their never ending source for revenue.

Bloated government, corrupt politicians, 1950’s style union thuggery, unions and lobbyists padding the campaign accounts of them all. Each seems to be unaccountable, untouchable and above the Law. When the hell are we going to wake up in this state and call for a Constitutional Convention so we can change these archaic Laws and practices. The Primary is the only place to take these people out, even then without mega bucks and getting people off their apathy will things change.

In Democrats’ Senate Bid, Threats From Inside - NYTimes.com

Over the last year, Democrats in New York have raised millions of dollars, deployed hundreds of campaign volunteers and hurled dozens of advertisements onto the airwaves in their most ambitious effort yet to wrest the State Senate from Republicans, who now hold a one-seat majority.

But the control of the Senate may not be decided at the ballot box in November. Instead, it may turn on the decision of three men most New Yorkers have never heard of.

Two Democratic senators, Carl Kruger of Brooklyn and Rubén Díaz Sr. of the Bronx, have refused to commit to supporting a Democrat for majority leader when the Senate convenes next year. A third Democrat, Pedro Espada Jr., who won a fierce primary in the Bronx this week and is all but sure to win election to a Senate seat there, announced on Wednesday that his vote, too, would be up for grabs.

That means that Democrats could attain a majority of Senate seats in November, and yet not necessarily win control of the body. Republicans could maintain their grip by convincing one or more of the three men either to switch parties or to merely back the Republican majority leader, Senator Dean G. Skelos, in a leadership vote.

“We don’t expect it will come to that,” said John E. McArdle, a Senate Republican spokesman. But he said he thought Mr. Skelos could draw “support on both sides of the aisle” after the November elections.

That could leave control of the Senate up in the air long after Election Day, with each party bidding for the three Democrats’ support with committee chairmanships, money for hometown projects and jobs for friends and allies.

In other words, this widely observed, unusually hard-fought battle for the Senate might devolve a more familiar Albany routine: a back-room deal, negotiated in secret and consummated with pork.

“No one wants to bring home less than the majority does,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a New York political consultant. “Therefore, they will vote for whoever can butter their bread for the longest period of time.”

Both sides are already courting Mr. Espada, albeit with a light touch. Mr. Skelos and the Democratic minority leader, Senator Malcolm A. Smith, both called to congratulate him, Mr. Espada said, though Mr. Smith staunchly backed his opponent, an incumbent, in the primary.

“They really tried to cut us down at the knee,” Mr. Espada said. “And that’s a conversation I need to have with them.”

Both Mr. Díaz and Mr. Kruger have voted often with Senate Republicans. Both are socially conservative; Mr. Díaz is a Pentecostal minister and an ardent opponent of abortion rights and gay rights. Both refused to sign a pledge circulated by Senate Democrats this year to vote for Mr. Smith as their leader.

“We shouldn’t look at whether someone is a Republican or a Democrat; we should look at who is doing the best job for their neighborhoods,” Mr. Kruger said in an interview.

Mr. Kruger noted that Republicans had appointed him chairman of a Senate committee, a move he called “trend-setting.” Asked whom he would support for leader, Mr. Kruger replied, “I think that right now, the majority leader is Dean Skelos, the minority leader is Malcolm Smith, and I’m Carl Kruger.”