Liz Krueger's Office Disavows IRS Letter
I just got off the phone with Travis Proulx, spokesman for state Senator Liz Krueger, one of the three people whose name was attached to that IRS letter about Joe Bruno.
Although the names of Senators Krueger, John Sampson and Valmanette Montgomery - all members of the finance committee - were attached to the letter, they “did not draft a single word of it,” he said.
Proulx said it was being shopped around to see who would want to sign onto it. None did. Proulx said he does not know who actually wrote it but what is clear is that nobody supported it.
“The big objection is the letter talks about personal gains from state aircraft,” rather than discussing the “political gains.” He added, “They did not write a word of this letter and killed it once they saw it.”
But the issue about using the state aircraft is still weighing on the minds of senators, according to Proulx.
Bruno “shouldn’t be using tax-payer funded state aircraft to raise money for the Republican party. But if the law allows it, we can gripe all we want about it” until the law is changed, Proulx said.
The state Senate is schedule to go back into session on the 22nd. A spokesman for Joe Bruno just told me an agenda for that session is not yet available.
UH-0HHHH..so what do we have here? Did Smith and/or his aides shop this letter around? Who really wrote it? Was the steamroller involved? Why were Democratic Senators' named attached if they didn't support it?
This could be a HUGE problem for Smith. Hope this doesn't divide the Dem Conference.
Divide the Conference?!!! Looks like Jeff Klein is counting votes again, and he probably has at least three more now than he did last spring - that makes 17. There's got to be an "anyone but Smith" groundswell among the membership. What a way to pick a Leader. But then again, Democrats had high hopes for Spitzer and voted for someone they really believed in - look what they got. What will be interesting to watch is who the casualties will be when this "gang that can't shoot straight" runs out of bullets. Clearly this rock of integrity leading the Senate Minority will never own up to responsibility for anything. It only took a minute for him to roll the Steamroller and three of his members right in front of the train. But Bruno will demand more flesh than a Florida strip joint for this one.