A Daily Gazette Op-Ed
By Steve Keller
Even though they didn’t win a majority of seats in the 2016 election, Republicans control the state Senate.
They’ve managed this feat due to an alliance with the eight-member
Independent Democratic Conference and the supremely independent Sen.
Simcha Felder — all of whom caucus with the Republicans and assure us
it’s not about opportunism.
Sen. Jeff Klein, leader of the IDC, has frequently claimed that his
group’s defection has actually enabled the passage of progressive
legislation.
Now’s the time to put Klein’s claim to the test. A bill is currently
going through the Senate which would establish a single-payer healthcare
plan in New York State that would grant a baseline of coverage to all
New Yorkers. Importantly, Jeff Klein and the IDC are in the strongest
possible position to make a vote on this happen. They should prove their
liberal bona fides instead of merely insisting they exist.
At this point, the eight members of the IDC will probably say I’m
being unfair. After all, they are unanimously cosponsoring the very bill
I’m talking about, which now has 30 of 62 senators as sponsors.
What else does the IDC need to do?
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