Paterson Speech Chastises Lawmakers

[The Northerner]

ALBANY — In a strikingly blunt State of the State address, Gov. David A. Paterson chastised the lawmakers seated before him on Wednesday, saying they had spent the state into near-ruin and stood by as a plague of political corruption destroyed New Yorkers’ trust in their government.

Dispensing with the ritualized flattery that typically precedes the annual address, Mr. Paterson said that the Legislature’s reluctance to make hard decisions and rein in its own excesses had plunged the state even deeper into crisis.

“You have left me and other governors no choice,” Mr. Paterson, the former State Senate minority leader, said. “Whether it be by vetoes or delayed spending, I will not write bad checks, and we will not mortgage our children’s future.”

The public scolding drew a cold response from lawmakers, who gave Mr. Paterson little applause and rose from their chairs only when he entered and exited the Assembly chamber.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/nyregion/07state.html