woke up a bronx democrat

went to bed a bronx democrat. sort of.

today's "shocking news" of a political power shift in the new york state senate was in the tea-leaves last september:

The Senate has a rich history of party-switching, usually involving the defection of Democrats. Senator Nancy Larraine Hoffmann, from the Syracuse area, switched to the Republican Party in the late 1990s. She was later followed by Olga A. Méndez, who represented East Harlem, and Joseph E. Robach, an assemblyman from the Rochester area who cut a deal to switch parties when he ran successfully for the Senate.

this time around, hiram monserrate is one of two new york state senators deciding to swish switch his allegiance to the republicans this afternoon. monserrate is also under indictment for allegedly slashing his girlfriend's face with a piece of broken glass ("it was an accident," he says) and would be removed from office if convicted.

the other switcher, the bronx's pedro espada, has had some difficulty in the past deciding which direction his gate swings:

Espada had previously switched to supporting Republican control, then was defeated for re-election by a Democrat in 2002. He then came back in 2008, winning the Dem primary in another district -- and immediately put his organizational vote up for grabs before ultimately backing the Dems for a while. Espada will now be the Senate President, and is officially still a Democrat.

and that barely scratches the surface. espada has previously come out in favor of gay marriage and monserrate hasn't indicated which way he'd vote, so it appears this is not about the gays. it's new york, back-room politics at it's best worst.