We’ll start with the ‘Just the facts, ma’am’ portion of the story. Here’s who was elected last night at the caucuses:
Senate D’s: Dave McBride, President Pro-Tem; The Ethically-Bankrupt Nicole Poore, Senate Majority Leader; Bryan Townsend, Majority Whip.
Senate R’s: Gerald Hocker, Senate Minority Leader; Cathy Cloutier, Minority Whip.
House D’s: Pete Schwartzkopf, Speaker; Val Longhurst, Majority Leader; Larry Mitchell, Majority Whip.
House R’s: Danny Short, Minority Leader; The Extreme Right Reverend Tim Dukes, Minority Whip.
I deliberately linked to the Matt Bittle story instead of the write-up from That Other Guy. Why? Well, let me just quote from the Other Guy’s story w/o linking to it:
The Senate Republicans also chose Sen. Cathy Cloutier of Arden as their new minority whip – the post previously held by Greg Lavelle of Sharpley who lost his re-election bid on Tuesday.
Uh, ‘Other Guy”, can I call you Scott? Cathy Cloutier doesn’t live in Arden, has never lived in Arden, has never, to my knowledge lived next door to Arden. I should know. I live in Arden. I’ve been to Cathy’s house, which is not in Arden. Her residence is in Heatherbrooke, which is right next to Brandywine High School. Doesn’t live there, either. She’s living outside the district she represents. Maybe you can jump right on that story. Look, I understand that all of upstate might seem the same to you. But couldn’t you at least have bothered to look up this basic fact on her website? Jee-zus. OK, let’s see just how long it takes him to correct his screw-up. Starting…now.
OK, here are my takes. The elevation of Bryan Townsend was an olive branch to progressives in the Senate Democratic Caucus. It’s an encouraging sign, but let’s just see how the committee assignments shake out. The big problem is that Nicole Poore, did I mention that she is ethically-bankrupt, is Majority Leader. Her ethical misfeasance can pose a threat to the entire caucus. At some point, she needs to be excised, either by the caucus or by the voters.
Man, nobody really wanted to lead that Senate R Caucus, and I can’t blame them. I guess the greengrocer is as safe a choice as they could make. I see the Cloutier appointment as a valedictory and a way to boost her pension before she leaves the Senate in 2020.
The House D’s: Two ex-cops and the Executive Director of the Police Athletic League. This team will be way to the right of the caucus on every criminal justice reform effort. By far the worst leadership choices of the night.
As to the House R’s, their choices are proof that this entire party, whatever remains of it, is based far below the canal. Ramone and Smith are the outliers, until they aren’t. Which could well be in 2020.