Hiram Monserrate: His Own Victim

As readers likely know by now, late on Tuesday 9 February 2010, the New York State Senate voted 53 to 8 to expel one of their own, Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens County), from the Senate (as reported by the Daily News's Liz Benjamin). Monserrate's misdemeanor assault conviction, stemming the videotaped aftermath of a violent incident that took place in his apartment between himself and his girlfriend, is well-known, and was the official basis for the expulsion.

Hiram Monserrate has long-argued that the pursuit of him by his fellow Senators is political in nature, and doubtlessly he'll continue to do so. He will paint himself as a victim of politics, a victim of his enemies.

I think it's beyond question that he's at least partly right. Really, how could he not be?

Hiram Monserrate, as Senator-Elect and Senator, betrayed both sides of the aisle at least twice. Twice he had either gone over to the Republican side, or floated the idea that he might, only to in short order turn his back on the Republicans and rejoin the Democrats.

Senator Marty Golden (R- Kings County) had, in a clear and desperate attempt to maintain Republican control of the Senate regardless of the outcome of elections, tried to keep Senator Monserrate from being seated at all. Yet, Senator Golden didn't have a problem voting with Monserrate in favor of the June 2009 coup. In the aftermath of that coup, Senator Diane Savino (D-Richmond County) snarled to Senator Monserrate “life is circular” as she left the chamber in disgust. To assume that Senator Savino's February 2010 vote to expel Monserrate is somehow unrelated to her obviously strong feelings about the coup stretches credibility to the breaking point, if only because it assumes Senator Savino lacks the courage of her convictions.

Monserrate's political actions gave certain people motive to get him. His personal, and violent, actions gave them the means.

It's ridiculous, however, to suggest that Hiram Monserrate was solely the victim of his enemies. He'll probably try to sell us on this notion in the coming weeks, and we shouldn't believe him. It was Monserrate's own actions, and those alone, that both made enemies and provided those same enemies with the means to get him.

Some might compare Monserrate to Members of the Assembly expelled in 1920, for the "offense" of belonging to the completely legal Socialist Party during the “Red Scare.” Monserrate's true political kinship is, I suggest, to be found elsewhere.

Monserrate has now joined a long, illustrious, and infamous list of New York State politicians, including figures as diverse as DeWitt Clinton, William Sulzer, and Eliot Spitzer. All of these figures, and others not named, made new enemies, or antagonized old enemies, who knew where to look for old indiscretions, or committed new indiscretions in full view of enemies old and new, and then had the abject nerve to whine and cry when those indiscretions were predictably used against them. Not all of these politicians fell the same distance, and the nature of their various indiscretions varied greatly, from prostitution to changing their positions on bills they had previously supported. But they all shared the same completely unwarranted sense of surprise at a fate that was predictable, and at least partly within their own power to change.

Hiram Monserrate's enemies didn't make him behave violently, and I didn't see any politics on that videotape of him dragging his bleeding, crying girlfriend to the hospital. Senator Monserrate's own behavior gave his enemies the means to get him.

Further, he made these enemies he made totally on his own. No one made Hiram Monserrate betray both sides of the aisle twice. No one made him decide to go back on political commitments multiple times.

Regardless of what one thinks of his expulsion, no one but Hiram Monserrate is to blame for Hiram Monserrate's self-defeating actions, personal and political. His own character flaws garnered him enemies, and then conveniently gave those enemies the weapons to use against him.

At the end of the day, regardless of the manipulations of his enemies, Hiram Monserrate is primarily a victim of his own actions.