Dean Skelos, Marty Golden and the rest of the State Senate GOPers make their deal with the Devil to keep their "majority" perks and bennies by replacing "Republican" and "Conservative" with "Bipartisan" and "Independent" --- to help cover his tracks, Golden bravely hides behind the victims of "Hurricane Sandy"

Colin Campbell's  "HAPPY FAMILY  ---   State Senate Unveils ‘Unprecedented Agreement’ to Share Power Between GOP, Breakaway Dems" gives us  a real ripped from the headlines  "Law and Order   --  Criminal Intent"  insight into what's left of the NYS GOP,  particulerly  that notorious bunch of bounders and scoundrels the New York GOP State Senators led by Dean Skelos  

In a last gasp grasp to hold onto to something of  special value for their own members, the GOP State Senators -- who now happen to be the newly elected minority in the New York State Senate -- have agreed to share  a lot of  their perks and bennies  with five breakaway Democrats  of the “Independent Democratic Conference.”  What's more they'll share the presidency of the NYS Senate on a fifty-fifty basis. As a result, and as something completely new in the State Senate, the five-member “Independent Democratic Conference” is to be given equal status to  the thirty-member Republican Conference and the somewhere-around-thirty-member Democratic Conference, but only the breakaway Democrats and the Republicans get to run the senate chamber as equals, with Republican Dean Skelos and Democrat Jeff Klein sharing the presidency of the New York State Senate.

Of course that will make the State Senators in  the five-member “Independent Democratic Conference” Super-senators to pursue their "progressive agenda" along with the  somewhere-around-thirty-member Democratic Conference  ---  or did I miss something in the hustle and bustle?

According to the Colin Campbell report in this afternoon's  Politicker: 

Senator Martin Golden (R-C, Brooklyn) said, “The new bipartisan coalition will be an effective way to ensure that we continue to move New York forward. The people of this state want their representatives to work together to address the issues that impact their lives and, particularly important to the people of my district, work with other state and federal leaders to help us recover and rebuild from the devastation of hurricane Sandy”;

Senator Skelos said, “The Senate Republican Conference has worked closely with the Independent Democratic Conference and Governor Cuomo to bring historic progress to New York. We’ve brought spending under control, ended Albany dysfunction, and consistently delivered the bipartisan results New Yorkers need and deserve — even on many of the most difficult issues. Senator Klein has proven to be a thoughtful and effective leader, and I look forward to partnering with him to move this state forward."

Such is what distinguishes RINO Republicans like Golden and Skelos, who participate in bipartisan coalitions with Independent Democrats, from "Independent  Republicans" who put conservative  Republican positions first.