There is much in New York State's brutal political scene that I find noble, perhaps mostly the way, as observed by Political Scientist Sarah F. Liebschutz, it's driven by conflict and cooperation between the contrasting forces of competition and compassion.
I have taken note, however, a third force at work in the Empire State's politics. It takes the form of a disease, or contagion. I suspect the disease has been around for awhile, festering in the dark corners of the Capitol Building and causing an occasional outbreak, but these days it appears to be particularly virulent. While I know a fair amount of New York's fascinating political history, I can't reliably tell you if the contagion has ever been as bad as it is now.
I call the contagion the Entitlement Syndrome; a distinct and destructive sense of entitlement among many in New York State's political class.
• The Syndrome in Albany
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson are both “of counsel” at prominent New York City law firms. As near as I can tell, being “of counsel” at a law firm means they get to do hardly any work for large fees and never ever once have to disclose a client list. That many of those undisclosed clients have business before the State Legislature is pretty much a foregone conclusion. Hey, you need legal representation anyway, right. Assuming you can afford it, why not retain either Silver's firm or Sampson's firm or both? At the very least, it sure can't hurt your chances with the Legislature.
Former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno was recently sentenced to two years in federal prison for “theft of honest services.” He set up a business consulting firm, but produced little or no written products for his clients, and routinely mixed up his State and private business interests.
I'm sure most readers are familiar with the recent, bizarre incident at a Senate Finance Committee meeting, wherein Senator John DeFrancisco expressed an ignorance of racism in the State contracting process. Senator DeFrancisco's ignorance, however, was quickly eclipsed by a nearly-violent, angry outburst by Senator Kevin Parker.
It should be noted that Senator Parker, in the words of reporter Liz Benjamin, “has a history of anger management issues.” Kenneth Lovett goes over some of these issues here, in a story on a Senator Parker outburst against fellow Democrat Diane Savino. (In that story, please note how Senator Carl Kruger, whom Senator Parker threatened during the Finance Committee incident, was egging on Senator Parker in the Senator Savino incident. No real purpose to pointing this out other than the amusing irony.)
Senator Parker's response to Senator DeFrancisco is all the more fun when one considers that it wasn't just a single outburst. Senator Parker was a seething cauldron of hate for days afterward, accusing Republican State Senators of being “White Supremacists,” before he finally issued a half-assed apology.
Note the following excerpt from a speech Senator Parker made on the Senate floor, as cited by the Times:
To the extent that my words last week brought commotion and emotion to this house in ways that may distract or divert us from the important work of the people of New York State, work that’s so important for all of us, I offer my sincerest apologies for my zealous advocacy.
That isn't really an apology at all, as far as I can tell.
In other entitlement news, two State Legislators were overheard at the capital whining over their lack of a pay raise. This, in the middle of multiple fiscal and ethical crises and with a State budget well over a month late.
The Entitlement Syndrome is not only limited to individual politicians. It can infect interest groups too, for example the State government worker unions. Anyone who is familiar with my comments, here and elsewhere, knows that I am a big fan of labor unions, but the Entitlement Syndrome has torn through New York State's government employee unions, ravaging their characters, turning them from noble organizations into train wrecks waiting to happen. No union should ever favor layoffs over furloughs, and that's basically what they've been doing.
We could, I suppose, go on and on. We haven't once discussed former Senator Hiram Monserrate, current Senator Pedro Espada, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, or Governor David Paterson.
The common thread here is the Entitlement Syndrome. It causes the victim to feel untouchable, to make him or her feel deserving of public office, of money, of power, of privilege. No one can touch me, the victim thinks, so why should I think about what I'm saying or what I'm doing. It causes victims to draw attention not to their beliefs or causes, but to themselves. It causes loss of the sense that actions have consequences, and a loss of the sense that it's important to get along, at least superficially, with the people you work with every day, even the ones you hate with a passion.
• The Syndrome Outside of Albany
It is frightfully easy to blame the Entitlement Syndrome on Albany, on its culture, on the sense of isolation from reality that, I am informed, can easily set in there. It's thus easy to see ethics reform, campaign finance reform, term limits, and a whole sad litany of standard “reform” ideas as a cure for the Syndrome.
Consider, however, the fact that Carl Paladino is not from Albany. (The link is not to a particular story, but rather to the Carl Paladino “category” on the Daily News's Daily Politics political blog.) Consider the fact that Mr. Paladino appears to consider himself qualified to run for Governor despite his racism, sexism, propensity for forwarding bizarre and offensive E-Mails without a care in the world, and overall lack of any kind of good judgment. Mr. Paladino appears to have one standard response to these stories when they come out, and that is that he's not politically correct and that these matters are all distractions. He is, in brief, attempting to turn behavior that, if any of us were engaging in it, would be considered a sign of a serious mental defect, into a political asset.
Clearly, Mr. Paladino is suffering from the Entitlement Syndrome.
Another victim is Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. Executive Levy isn't from Albany either, though he did a brief stint there as a Member of the Assembly. Yet, he also suffers from the Entitlement Syndrome. In addition to his switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, and his not understanding that his new fellow Republicans might, gasp!, not accept him right away, see this story from Liz Benjamin. Levy says he'll “shake up Albany,” and refers to himself as a “real man.” We've heard similar talk before, from a man named Eliot Spitzer.
Any man who feels the need to refer to himself as a “real man” is, in most instances, not.
Once again, a man who sees himself as entitled, who pounds his fist on the table when he doesn't get what he wants. If that's a “real man,” aren't there enough of that species in Albany already?
• Conclusion
I can only guess how the Entitlement Syndrome developed and how it spreads. It clearly is not limited to Albany. In fact it appears to be spreading rapidly, throughout New York's political class. Almost every prominent New York State politician and interest group appears to have it, to one degree or another. The examples I've cited are far from being the only ones.
I have no idea how to stop it.
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