How Monserrate Explains the Coup to Constituents

State Senator Hiram Monserrate, part of the two-man coup that now has Albany paralyzed, sent a letter (dated June 2009)

State Senator Hiram Monserrate, part of the two-man coup that now has Albany paralyzed, sent a letter (dated June 2009) to constituents from his Senate office, trying to explain why he briefly left his “colleagues in the Majority Conference.” 

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As his supporters have done before, the letter makes a connection between Monserrate and Barack Obama, who, the letter says, “always reminded us, the easy problems have already been solved by somebody else.”

The letter was sent to me by a reader who received it over the weekend.

In it, Monserrate writes:

The same special interests we’ve been opposing in Queens have had entirely too much influence over the State Senate for far too long. This month, I decided to try to change that by taking a dramatic – even drastic – step for reform.

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“On June 8, I broke ranks with my colleagues in the Majority Conference and turned Albany upside down. The newspapers turned all their guns on me. Special interest groups attacked my friends and neighbors with recorded calls.

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Since June 8, the Senate Majority Conference has elected a new group of leaders who are ready to help pass progressive legislation.

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As President Obama always reminded us, the easy problems have already been solved by somebody else. Real leader have to tackle the hard problems.

How Monserrate Explains the Coup to Constituents