Golisano: The Shadow Governor of New York

B. Thomas "Tom" Golisano is a self-made millionaire of the sort that think that the world is made for them to reap as much from as they can earn. Believing that the state of New York needed to be made safe for the likes of him, but not caring to kowtow to party hacks, he ran three times for governor as an independent candidate. His best performance was in 2002, when he earned 14% of the vote. Bearing in mind my reservations about the brand-name loyalty of most voters which perpetuates the American Bipolarchy, I think I can still say safely that the voters of New York State have thrice rejected Golisano by decisive margins. Yet now, more than six years after he last exposed himself to electoral scrutiny, this unelected person has emerged as the mastermind of the "coup" in which two defectors from the Democratic party gave control of the state senate to the Republican party. This news comes weeks after Golisano had announced his intention to quit the state as a protest against high taxes.I would have thought that quitting the state meant taking no role in its political life, particularly since his right to such influence as he has apparently demonstrated is questionable, to say the least. So what does his orchestration of the "coup" consist of? The people of New York have a right to know, and the elected officials of New York have a duty to ask, especially if the answer involves any subsidies for the two senators' legal or electoral expenses. If the state assembly has any power to summon Golisano for questioning, the majority, being vengeful Democrats, should do so. I have no sympathy for them as Democrats, and I'm not about to claim that they're the good guys of New York politics. But Golisano's ability to alter the balance of power from the shadows should be just as alarming to Americans as the persistence of the Bipolarchy, if not more so. Let's get to the bottom of this.