State Senator Malcolm Smith is giving up on negotiating with Senators Pedro Espada Jr., Carl Kruger, and Ruben Diaz Sr. So no one knows who will run the New York state senate and what will happen to gay marriage and whether those three assholes will remain Democrats or what. Smith's is a frustrating but morally correct decision, and only one of those modifiers usually describes doings in Albany. Diaz was typically incoherently dickish in a message to a reporter:

"The only rat is Ed Koch," Diaz exclaimed. "When he was mayor, nobody in our community wanted him. The only rat he had was this rat. Rev. Diaz. Now this rat is no good anymore."

"The gays are calling my office. They're jamming my phones. They're going to see what we can do. They've going to see exactly what we can do. Ed Koch is going to see what we can do. They're just going to see. That is what I'm telling you."

Why would be bring Ed Koch into this? No clue.

Democrats took control of the New York state senate this year, giving them complete control of Albany for the first time since the bipartisan decision to redistrict the state so as to create permanent partisan gridlock was ironed out a generation ago. The first thing they were gonna do was let the gays get married, like they can in Connecticut and Massachusetts! Then, of course, three Democratic state senators—precisely the number needed to guarantee a Democratic majority—used the moment for a power grab, refusing to support Dem leader Malcolm Smith unless gay marriage was off the table and one of the dissidents was placed in charge of the senate.

So Smith said fuck them, basically, and with good reason. "Frankly, we would rather wait two more years to take charge of the Senate than to simply serve the interests of a few," Smith said.

Sorry, gays! Better luck next election cycle!