Jeffrey D. Klein (Getty)

The millennium arrived sometime during the day of December 4, when New York State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein led his spanking new Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) over to the Republican side of the aisle.

Talk about the rapidly approaching Mayan apocalypse! Mr. Klein, a Bronx Democrat, assures us that he and four fellow Democrats will soon pass much of the liberal agenda in New York…by keeping majority leader Dean G. Skelos and his fellow Republicans in charge.

“Working with the governor and our colleague, I know that we will pass some major progressive reforms, such as an increase to the minimum wage, a reform of stop-and-frisk and serious campaign finance reform,” Mr. Klein told The New York Times, while posing heroically between old campaign posters for both Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John Vliet Lindsay.

Yes, and the lion shall lie down with the lamb—though as Woody Allen added, the lamb won’t get much sleep.

Under their power-sharing arrangement, the Republicans and the IDC are supposed to have “joint and equal authority,” with Mr. Klein and Mr. Skelos alternating as temporary president of the state senate. It’s an arrangement being touted by many as a means of finally breaking Albany’s perpetual gridlock, which dates back to approximately 1540.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie A. Miner, recently installed as Democratic state co-chairwoman by Governor Andrew Cuomo, claimed that she saw the new arrangement as “a pathway out of dysfunction,” while Mr. Cuomo himself, allegedly a Democrat, reacted by proclaiming that he was willing to work with anyone, and that, “I don’t get hung up on politics.”

Well, sure. Why get all hung up over, y’know, politics, when you’re a governor?

This now marks the second time in four years that voters have made history by handing all three branches of the state government over to one party—only to see the Democrats punt their power away. The nonpartisan millennium was originally heralded just after the 2008 elections, when the party took control of the senate for the first time since 1964. But rather than trying to enact any of the social justice legislation they had been advocating for decades, Democrats decided to fight over who was in charge. Employing reformist rhetoric similar to what we’re hearing now, the “gang of four” Democratic senators from the city—Pedro Espada, Jr., Rev. Ruben Diaz, Sr., Carl Kruger, and Hiram Montserrate—broke away from the party and threatened to make their own deal with Republicans.

In fact, the gang of four’s attempted coup might best be described as “a pathway out of jail.” For the most part, it failed. Even by Albany standards, “the four amigos,” as Rev. Diaz prefers to call them, set new lows in sleaze, corruption, and general hate-mongering. Mr. Montserrate was expelled from the senate after being convicted of a nauseating assault on his girlfriend. Mr. Kruger—a closeted gay man who voted against gay marriage—got seven years in the state pen for accepting over $1 million in bribes. Mr. Espada awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to swiping nearly half a million dollars in Medicaid funds intended for his chain of health-care clinics, a feat accomplished by viciously ripping off patients and employees alike.

Only Mr. Diaz—a man who once made a speech on the senate floor calling Americans worse than Hitler for allowing abortions—remains in office and unindicted.

The renegade legislators spent months trying to sell their allegiances to the highest bidder, while further masking their true goals under the rhetoric of ethnic grievance. The four amigos claimed that Latinos would be shut out of leadership in Albany if the traditional “three men in a room” that decide everything there consisted of the senate Democratic leader, Malcolm Smith, who happened to be black; state assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, and then-governor David Paterson. In the end, they went back to the Democrats after replacing Mr. Smith with Senator John Sampson…who is also black.

Disgusted voters swept the Republicans back into power in 2010—only to sweep them out once more. And now the race card is being played again, as Rev. Al Sharpton has entered the fray—oh, joy—to claim that African Americans will be disenfranchised if Mr. Klein joins Mssrs. Skelos, Silver, and Cuomo as the fourth man in the room.

Mr. Klein and the three other white senators in his IDC promptly went out and cynically added to their ranks…Malcolm Smith, who has been openly pondering a run for mayor on the Republican line. This undermined any claims they might have had to being real reformers, as the ethically porous Mr. Smith has been investigated for his role in trying to steer a massive state contract for a “racino” at the Aqueduct Racetrack to a favored bidder.

The Big A is proving to be the black hole of New York politics, sucking in and crushing all who approach it. Also under investigation for bid-fixing at Aqueduct has been…John Sampson. The racino debacle put the final nail in the coffin of David Paterson’s disastrous governorship, and nearly capsized longtime Queens powerbroker and former congressman Rev. Floyd Flake. Gov. Cuomo’s attempt to replace the whole racino idea with a huge convention center/gambling complex—a complex that would be developed and run by one of his major campaign donors—has already proved a risible flop.

It’s no coincidence that so many of our leading pols have found themselves irresistibly drawn to the assorted Aqueduct scams. Gambling is not a growth industry. It’s a cancer, one that feeds addiction and funnels billions of dollars from the poor, the lonely, and the desperate to a wealthy few. It’s the sort of brain-dead idea that—in an age of technological wonders—is all the insulated deal-makers who run the state of New York can come up with for our future.

Mr. Klein’s nonpartisan posturing won’t cut through that insulation, only add more layers than Bob Vila. You can rest assured that his supposed liberal agenda will never see the light of day in Albany without a conservative quid pro quo—a racino here, a little fracking there, etc. A system where party labels and platforms and promises mean absolutely nothing—where there is, in essence, one big party—is one that will usher in a politics of meaninglessness, where corruption is free to flourish as never before and democracy is a cynical charade.

Or as the Rev. Ruben Diaz posted on his website last week, “Diaz to IDC: you’ve vindicated the ‘Four Amigos.’ ”

“We’re going to conference the language of the amendments,” said Republican Senate Leader Dean Skelos after meeting privately with Governor Cuomo.

Asked if he was obligated to present the vote during business hours, instead of late at night when, presumably, less public attention would be paid to the issue, Skelos demurred.

“I’m not going to work under time constraints,” he said, predicting the 32-member GOP conference would be “lengthy.”

For weeks, Cuomo has met privately with a handful of Republican Senators who wanted to see greater protections for religiously affiliated organizations who do not want to recognize or do business with gay couples. Cuomo has said he has faced “no obstacles” with Republicans.

Mr. Cuomo himself noted that there are no certainties in Albany. That cautionary note seems well-advised, since the property tax cap has no shortage of enemies and skeptics. Many public employee unions oppose the cap, while some lawmakers are talking about a provision that would require the cap to be reviewed by the Legislature every few years.

The union opposition is not surprising. But the quiet maneuvering in the Legislature to require a so-called "sunset provision," that is, a clause that would require the cap to be renewed time and time again, is more than a little mischievous. When Mr. Cuomo campaigned for a property tax cap, he made it clear that he wished to achieve real, long-term efficiencies in local government. There was no asterisk attached to that promise.

Members of his own Democratic party, however, seem less than enthused. So the governor should be prepared for a fight if he wishes to avoid a cap that would inevitably become a volatile political issue every time it comes up for renewal.

Local governments, of course, collect property taxes and depend on them to pay for municipal services, including schools. So it's interesting to note that many local officials support the governor's effort to cap property taxes. They also argue, with merit, that the state needs to do its share by reducing Medicaid costs and unfunded mandates. These costs have helped drive up property taxes to unaffordable rates throughout the states.

Property tax relief entails more than a simple legislative dictate. It should require a broad examination of all those issues that drive up the cost of local government. That said, property tax caps should be real, with little room for creative accounting. And they should not be subject to renewal every two or three years. The state needs genuine and permanent relief from oppressive taxation.

Same-sex marriage advocates, who have been coordinating their efforts with Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, announced they're bringing their Republican counterparts into the fold.

"We are thrilled to have Log Cabin Republicans join the coalition" said Brian Ellner of the Human Rights Campaign.

What impact they will have on Republicans--many of whom voted against the bill two years ago in the State Senate-- is unclear.

A spokesman for the Republican State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos said it's not clear when a vote on this will take place. Cuomo reportedly wanted a vote by June.

"Senator Skelos makes it a point to meet with advocates on both sides of this and every other issue," Skelos spokesman Scott Reif emailed me to say. "At the appropriate time, the conference will discuss whether or not this bill should come to the floor this session."

One Republican who may be changing his vote is State Senator James Alesi of Monroe county. He "agonized" over the issue right before voting no, back in 2009. Now he is saying he's undecided. Democrats from Queens who voted no - Joe Addabbo and Shirley Huntley - are also reconsidering the issue.

Update: Ellner elaborates. "It's clear we are going to need a bi-partisan coalition to get this passed" he said in a brief interview just now. His coalition, and the Log Cabin Republicans will be "sharing resources and relationships and intelligence" which "did not happen in the past."

In 2009, only 24 State Senators voted to legalize same-sex marriage. Currently, 26 state senators are on the record saying they'll vote for it. Advocates estimate they'll need a handful of Republicans to cross over and support the measure. An April 11 Siena poll said Republican voters were "nearly evenly divided" on the issue.

2012: Obama's re-elect kicks off with testimonials from the grassroots. [BarackObama.com]

FOIL: Wikiaccountability.org collects FOIL requests scrutinizing Obama. [Noam Cohen]

Federal Budget: Schumer doubts there'll be a shutdown. [Thomas DeFrank]

Redistricting: Tie-breaking professor endorses "Democratic-drawn map." Christie a loser. [Lisa Fleisher]

Redistricting: Christie got very involved. [Richard Perez-Pena]

Comparing Cuomo: He's like "Happy Warrior" Alfred E Smith, but Cuomo "isn't known to be as warm and fuzzy." [Rick Karlin]

Questioning Cuomo: Why did't Cuomo negotiate with schools the way he negotiated with healthcare "stakeholders" during Medicaid redesign? [Fred LeBrun]

Questioning Cuomo: Will education cuts and property tax hikes be blamed on Cuomo, or local school districts? [Casey Seiler]

Property Tax Cap: Cuomo insiders say Skelos may hold it up. [Fred Dicker]

Albany Ethics: It's next up on Cuomo's agenda. [WNYT]

Albany Ethics: Silver says he has a deal with Cuomo. [Ken Lovett]

Albany Ethics: "Cleaning Albany's ethical stable is as necessary a task as maintaining a balanced budget" say the editors. [New York Post]

Message Control: State's top geologist is barred from talking to reporters since making comments about gas drilling. [Times Union]

Labor: Central Labor Council holds first political directors meeting in six months; major rally set for Saturday. [Celeste Katz]

Voting: Walter Cronkite and Frank McCourt among dead celebrities listed as eligible voters. [Aaron Short]

Education Deals: Dean Skelos gets TAP funding approved, Agudath officials agree to support GOP for Kruger's seat. [Chris Bragg]

Education Money: "The pain is just beginning." [Jay Jochnowitz]

Education Money: Downward pressure to make budget cuts. [Tiffany Lankes]

Education Staff: Bloomberg sends new mailers, attacking "Last In First Out." [Heather Haddon]

Education Staff: "No teachers in the classroom should be cut, period," says Gale Brewer. [Emily Neil]

Education Staff: As enrollment dropped, more supervisors and teachers were hired. [Brendan Scott]

Campaign Money: Oddo says raise bar for matching funds. Paper describes "candidates [who] got a total of $900,000 in matching funds but only got an average of 6 percent of the primary vote." [Tom Wrobleski]

Campaign Money: Critic complains Oddo's bill will hurt minority challengers. [Sally Goldenberg]

Housing: De Blasio wants "worst landlords" info on Craigslist; potential 2013 rival has long record on the issue. [David Chen]

Crime: 24 percent spike in rapes in NYC compared to 2010. [Bob Kappstatter]

Crime: 32 percent spike in rapes in NYC compared to 2009. [Bob Kappstatter]

"For the past two years, when state government was controlled by the Democrats, New Yorkers were hit with late budgets that increased spending, increased taxes and drove jobs out of the state," Skelos said.

Andrew Cuomo released his own video statement about the budget this morning, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver--the third man in the room where the budget deal was negotiated--has released a statement touting the budget but lamenting the expiration of the millionaire's tax.

Update: Senate Democratic spokesman Austin Shafran emails to say, “The Senate chamber, which Senator Skelos blocked the public from yesterday, should be a place for bipartisan cooperation and united action, not political attacks. It is our hope the spirit of bipartisanship that gave us an on-time budget will continue and the promises we all made will be promises kept."

State Budget: Skelos and Silver offer some details. [Jimmy Vielkind]

Libya: "[T]he Democratic president echoed the language of his Republican predecessor." [Michael Shear]

Libya: A Kos blogger ties Obama's argument for action in Libya to the health care debate. [nyceve]

Obama in NYC: "Brilliant sun shone down on the baseball fields where the helicopters landed and kicked up dirt on the infield. The POTUS walked across the infield to the waiting limousine." [Celeste Katz]

Strategy: Schumer caught saying, “I always use the word extreme…That is what the caucus instructed me to use this week." [Jennifer Steinhauer]

Mergers: Schneiderman investigating At&T's acquisition of T-Mobile. [Market Watch]

Census: Proof of an undercount. [Liz Benjamin]

State Budget: The bills that were printed so far. [Casey Seiler]

State Budget: "The Cuomo budget, which was negotiated in secret, is a virtual war on the middle class, working people, and the poor," writes Alan Singer, a social studies educator from Hofstra University. [HuffPo]

State Budget: Silver says he worked with Cuomo, not defeated by him. "it's probably more like a tag team. Democrats against Republicans." [NY1]

State Budget: Former Assemblyman defends Assembly Speaker. [Liz Benjamin]

State Budget: "The mayor got little of what he asked for." [Erik Engquist and Jeremy Smerd]

State Budget: " 'I am not here to talk about the governor’s budget,' Ms. Lee said, smiling, as she cut off a reporter’s question about the budget. 'Thank you.' " [Ashley Parker and Thomas Kaplan]

Housing: Christine Quinn explains a fascinating program to turn empty condos into affordable units. [WNYC]

Refunds: "U.S. Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, recently returned about $230,000 of his 2010 congressional office budget to the U.S. Treasury to help pay down the national debt." [Maury Thompson]

Scandals: Editors say prosecutor and Levy need to disclose what's going on. "Something strange and sleazy is going on in Suffolk County." [New York Times]

Tickets: Weiner got $2,000 worth of them, in DC. [Geoff Earle]

Green Taxis: A Kos blogger likes the Gillibrand-Nadler bill, but doubt's it'll go anywhere. [Mets102]

White Plains: Meet the mayoral candidates. [Nick Reisman]

Covering Congress: CNN "likely" to tap Kate Bolduan. [FishbowlDC]

Media: Dick Brenan featured in Inner Circle. [Fox News]

Media: New York Times gets the name of one of its own blogs wrong. [FishbowlNY]

Paywall: McGeveran doesn't like Keller's explanation; provides his own. [Capital New York]

Bloggers: NYT's profile of "Juicebox Mafia" wasn't very diverse. "Not surprisingly, they were largely white and all male." [Sarah Seltzer]

The RIght: Palin, losing O'Reilly. [Mediaite]

Pictures: Sandra Lee, at Grand Central. [City Room]

"If any of you know the history of the Cuomo family, it's either my way or I'm going to screw you," said Joseph Strasburg, head of the pro-landlord Rent Stabilization Association, at a townhall meeting last night. We learned of the comments via a heavily edited video from advocates of stabilized tenants, who were at the meeting.

Mr Strasburg continued: "He will do whatever is necessary for himself. If you're in his way, he'll crush you like his father did."

Many in Big Real Estate remember Mario Cuomo as the governor who spearheaded the late '80s tax changes that industry people say all but halted real estate trades. But thus far the outspoken opponent of rent stabilization has been largely diplomatic about the new governor, telling The Observer he strongly supports the younger Mr. Cuomo's agenda of fiscal reform.

And we should note that the video is so heavily edited that the time of day appears to change, while the crowd remains the same.

But could the comments be taken out of context? Not according to Joseph Strasburg. "It is what it is," he said when reached this afternoon by The Observer, adding he knew someone was filiming him. "He's a very tough governor," he told us. "Everybody has to understand he is the 800-pound guerilla."

Mr. Strasburg also had some controversial comments about disgraced former Democratic Senator Pedro Espada (whose fall from grace is credited by some with ending Democratic hopes of strengthening rent regulation the last time around). He said:

The guy who saved this industry was Pedro Espada, and everybody makes fun of him because he's in litigation, but if it wasn't for him, this industry would have been hit on all those issues I just rattled off.

Espada a savior and Cuomo a bully? Indeed.

lkusisto@observer.com

Libya: Not helping Obama with his domestic agenda. [Jeff Zeleny]

Libya: Why not remove Khadafy? [Mike Lupica]

Libya: "Obama administration has delivered a clinic in the liberal way of war." [Ross Douthat]

NJ: Christie does things that may be unpopular locally, but appealing nationally. [Bob Jordan]

State Budget: $2.6 million spent defending Cuomo's plan. [Jimmy Vielkind]

State Budget: Administration source tells Fred Dicker "Shelly's vision doesn't extend beyond his conference and the people who give him the money to keep his conference in power." [NY Post]

State Budget: Dean Skelos' op-ed. [Buffalo News]

LIFO: "Bloomberg is in such a hurry to do away with seniority protections that he can't really answer how he'd go about determining which 4,600 or so teachers might have to be laid off in New York City this year due to budget cuts." [Times Union]

Medical Malpractice: GOP State Senator DeFrancisco may have a conflict. [Carl Campanile]

Taxes: Editors urge Cuomo to do more than stop the 'tax the rich' plans. [WSJ]

Rent NYC: Landlord group open to hiking $2,000 rent deregulation limit. [Eliot Brown]

Parking NYC: Allow it by broken hydrants, says Greenfield. [Sally Goldenberg and David Seifman]

City Council: Inez Dickens owns troubled property. [Barbara Ross and Tina More]

City Council: Four Council members get tax breaks for claiming property outside their districts as their primary residence. [Daily News]

City Council: Ruben Wills apologized for not addressing decade-old arrest warrant. [Javier Hernandez]

Privatization NYC: Deputy Mayor Goldsmith's plan. [Adam Lisberg]

Waterfronts: The Staten Island perspective. [SI Advance]

Drugs: Rep. Grimm wants an on-line database for prescription drugs. [John Annese]

Buffalo: Mayor wants to stay; turned down Cuomo job. [Bob McCarthy]

Local News: Jay Rosen not impressed after chat with Patch editor. [Twitter]

Pets: Get to know them, says Ruben Diaz Sr. [Candice Giove]

Embarrassments: "SUNY Albany cancels Fountain Day after street riots" [AP]

The critique arose in response to how Cuomo reacted to news that two Democratic lawmakers were swept up in a corruption and bribery probe from the US Attorney and FBI.

Upon news of State Senator Carl Kruger and Assemblyman William Boyland's arrest, Cuomo's office released a statement saying what the governor has said before: pass the ethics legislation or face the wrath of a Moreland Commission.

Dicker called the move Cuomo's "first major blunder since taking office" and suggests a more aggressive approach.

"I write that he should act more rapidly, more immediately, and maybe even on Monday call a public leaders' meeting with Speaker Silver and Senator Skelos and, out in the open, discuss why they're not moving right now to pass the toughest ethics law ever in New York," Dicker said on his radio show this morning.

Later, in the hour-long show, Dicker said Cuomo "appears to be desirous now of waiting until after the budget is done, and maybe a couple of other things are done before finally joining the issue of ethics reform."

Cuomo's office did not have a comment on Dicker's story.

Overall, the comments from Dicker are incredibly mild, especially when compared to the kinds of things he's said about other governors. But undoubtedly, they are being obsessed over by many.