Comment on Deseret News (from a NYT feed),"Blame panic on GOP for standoff in Albany"

For our friends in Utah this may seem a strange story about combative and colorful New Yorkers but there are important issues here. For decades NY has had the least democratic (small d) and least effective legislature in America. While the Republicans bought into being lazy corrupt and incompetent the system and culture are right out of the Democratic party playbook. All decisions are made by "Three men in a room" who are the Governor and the heads of the majority in each chamber. The head of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, makes big money on the side as a practicing trial lawyer. There is no meaningful reconciliation or committee system. Bills are written by lobbyists to a far greater extent than was true in Washington, until recently that is. Now that Obama is bringing the nearly as dysfunctional Illinois model to DC, Chicago rules in effect, we can expect the nation to move towards this 3rd World model of governance.