(photo: jeffkleinny.com)

Senator Jeff Klein sat down for an extended televised interview, as well as one with Gannett Albany, to discuss his decision to caucus separately from the Democrats. “That’s absolutely not true,” Mr. Klein told Gannett of the idea that his move boosts the Republicans. “A coalition government is not benefiting one side or the other. It’s Democrats and Republicans working together to agree on a policy agenda. It’s equal authority over everything.”

But Democratic Senator Mike Gianaris doesn't sound happy. "Good God, you're not talking about the dysfunction of the past, try having three people trying to make decisions instead of just one party that actually won an election," he said on Capital Tonight. "We have a democratic process that works for a reason. People get to go out on Election Day, they make their choice. The choice is known. Somebody wins, somebody loses, then that party governs. Yet in this case we have these proposals that no one can make heads or tails out of at this point in time, which for some reason, you have a small group of Democrats that are talking about teaming up with their ideological enemies who oppose what they're trying to get done. That doesn't make any sense to me."

While Democratic Assemblyman Karim Camara was even more critical on the same program. "Even more disturbing than the policy issues is the lack of diversity in that potential coalition. [There's] perhaps one woman, no people of color, no black, no Latino [members]," he argued. "So when you look at it, it looks more like a coalition from the Deep South of old than it does the diversity of New York. The leadership, the committee chairs, the people who decide the agenda, what bills come to the floor, the allocation of state resources, that should be a diverse coalition."

And the Daily News took two swipes too, urging Mr. Klein and Majority Leader Dean Skelos to "come clean" in an editorial and an article entitled "Pols hold Albany hostage in push for bipartisan coalition to lead chamber." But former Senator Craig Johnson, a close ally of the breakaway conference, tweeted back, "Hard to see anything being held hostage. Typical tabloid fodder."

In news unrelated to Mr. Klein, GOP Councilman Eric Ulrich is the latest pol to knock anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, declaring he "is living in fantasy land."