Jay Gallagher paints an unvarnished picture of the power plays within the Democratic Party in Albany in his latest installment at the Democrat and Chronicle.  It almost doesn’t seem worth the trouble to label them “Democrats” or “Republicans” in Albany, just “Albaneers.”

There’s been a lot of talk about Richard Brodsky challenging Silver for the Assembly Speaker’s position.  But if that buzz was ever real, the quote below puts that all to rest quite nicely:

Assemblyman says buzz on bid to be speaker isn’t true || Democrat & Chronicle: Local News

“He’s clearly agitating for change,” one longtime colleague said of Brodsky. “But he knows there are consequences” to taking on Silver, who rebuffed a challenge to his leadership by then-Majority Leader Michael Bragman in 2000. Bragman, of Syracuse, was stripped of his power and didn’t run for re-election the next year.

The activities of Brodsky, 61, apparently haven’t flustered Silver, 63, who has been speaker for 13 years — the second-longest tenure of any speaker in history.

When asked if he was concerned that Brodsky might be trying to build support for a potential bid to become speaker, Silver said, “No.”

Whoa. Talk about your unapologetic display of power! Who does this remind you of? Well, if you’re a sci-fi geek like myself, maybe you recognize these guys?

Technorati Tags: Shelly Silver, Richard Brodsky, Albany, Legislature, Speaker of the Assembly

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