Face-slashing pol Hiram Monserrate was found not guilty of felony assault, but they got him on a misdemeanor. He'll be sentenced in December. But now his fate rests with Albany Democrats. So he's fine.

It is a shitty decision, frankly. Misdemeanor reckless assault means it was unintentional, but if the judge didn't see any intent, why did he issue an "order of protection" keeping Monserrate away from his girlfriend until the sentencing? According to a New York criminal law blog, if the judge had found Monserrate guilty of intentional misdemeanor assault, the fact that he used a "dangerous instrument" would've made it an automatic felony, which would've forced his removal from the State Senate, once again throwing Albany into chaos.

But whatever! What's slashed and dragged to a hospital is done! What is next for ol' Hiram?

Albany Democrats were, perversely, praying for a felony conviction, if you believe the anonymous quotes in the Daily News. This would've saved them the trouble of having to oust Hiram themselves.

"I was praying that [expletive deleted] would get convicted and he would be gone," one furious Democratic senator said.
[...]
"A lot of people want to oust him," a Senate Democrat said. "As the days go by, I think most people will (agree) that we should get rid of the guy. This is not a guy who most of his colleagues want to see back."

But!

Fearful of losing their slim majority in the Senate, Democratic leaders were vague about the what kind of "disciplinary action" Monserrate might face.

Hah. Yes, and when the pol in question is happy to switch party allegiances whenever it suits him (making Republican calls for ouster equally amusing), and when that switch has the potential to give the other party the Senate majority, your disciplinary options are limited, especially if you're a bunch of scum-sucking political cowards and hacks. Which they are.