It’s only a matter of time before Senator Abel Maldonado breaks caucus ranks and goes up on the budget, providing the third needed GOP vote. In his words, there are "no sweeteners," as of yet, but that is presently being worked out. Ain’t politics grand?
My prediction: It will be over tonight.
Once the respective party leaders realized there was no longer any hope for an aye vote out of Senator Dave Cox, the focus turned to Maldonado. Sometime after the Senate recessed late this morning, emissaries went to his office to grab him for discussions. Unlike the Assembly in lockdown on the Floor, the Senate was in an honor system situation, but Maldonado couldn’t be located and his office was locked with the lights out. The knocking on the office door went to no avail.
What’s more, a search of the Capitol garage indicated his car was gone. The buzz quickly spread that the shrewd Maldo was hiding out, knowing the longer no one could find him, the more he could up the ante with "sweeteners."
Yet, sometimes all the conspiracy theories in the world amount to nothing. The Senator had not left the building. As it turns out, Abel was asleep in his office, tired and oblivious to the attempts to reach him, no pounding at the door breaking his 40 winks. His car, it seems, was being utilized by his staffers for a breakfast run.
Now awake and accounted for, my prediction stands. I hope I’m wrong.
Let’s say it again. Ain’t politics grand?
7:45 pm Update: Word is out — and others including http://www.politicalvanguard.com are reporting — that Maldonado’s demands include an open primary question be on the ballot, as well as some of the pork get taken out of the budget. If he’s hard over on these requests, my prior prediction stinks. Both demands end up losing other Senate votes. He may be shrewder than I thought, but it means nothing if his aye vote loses others. Not so shrewd, then. Perhaps, just a love for being sought after.
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