(Photo: Getty)

Republican Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin is officially in damage-control mode after declaring "Hitler would be proud" of Governor Andrew Cuomo for fast-tracking gun control legislation through Albany.

“We were told to shut up and vote and that’s what this is all about,” Mr. McLaughlin said at a press conference today announcing a bill to limit the governor's ability to issue "messages of necessity" to skip the normal deliberative process. Governor Cuomo has used the technique to pass several controversial bits of legislation including his gun control plan and last year's infamous "big ugly" flurry of deals on redistricting, pensions, casino gambling, teacher evaluations and a DNA databank for criminals.

“Just don’t question it and vote. That’s basically the message here," Mr. McLaughlin continued. "If that’s not dictatorial, I don’t know what is. Hitler would be proud, Mussolini would be proud of what we did here, Moscow would be proud, but that’s not democracy.”

Challenged by reporters after the press conference, Mr. McLaughlin initially stood by his comments. However, after a round of condemnations, including one from the Anti-Defamation League, the assemblyman quickly changed his tune and released a YouTube video apologizing for the remark.

"I made an analogy that I really should not have made and I'm very, very sorry about that," he says in the video. "I called the governor to apologize; he did not deserve that. That wasn't fair of me to do. So I apologize to the governor and to all of you for doing that. ... Just like you, I'm human and I make mistakes sometimes, and that's what this was. "

However, Mr. McLaughlin reiterated his opposition to the message of necessity being used for New York State's new gun control law.

"I'm very passionate about defending my constituents," he explained. "I've gotten thousands and thousands of calls from them and they're upset about the way this bill was handled. And I'm upset with the way it was handled. New Yorkers deserve better than what they got here in Albany the past couple weeks. We cannot rush bills through without having them being given the proper debate they deserve."

For his part, Mr. Cuomo defended the move, arguing the new gun policies needed to be quickly expedited to stop the public from stocking up on assault weapons while the Legislature debated.

Watch Mr. McLaughlin's video below:

Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin (Photo: Facebook)

Steve McLaughlin, one of the eight Assemblymen who voted against Governor Cuomo's tax plan, outlined his opposition in a posting on Facebook. "This bill was a shell game that changed nothing, cut no spending, and increased taxes," Assemblyman McLaughlin wrote. 

On Facebook, Assemblyman McLaughlin, who represents the 108th District in the Capitol Region, said the plan accomplished nothing and blasted the closed door, rapid-fire nature of the negotiations between Governor Cuomo, Senator Skelos and Speaker Silver.

"Any time Albany rushes something through on a message of necessity, it isn't good," Assemblyman McLaughlin wrote. "Why would changing the tax code for 19 million people need to be done in a rush with no consideration or debate? Because the three men in a room knew this was a bill that achieved next to nothing."

Governor Cuomo's tax plan passed December 8 with unanimous support in the State Senate and 132 assenting votes in the Assembly. The governor introduced his bill and shored up support from Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in a matter of days before many legislators had an opportunity to see the plan. The governor's tax plan included cuts for all but the richest New Yorkers, who make over $2 million per year, and he managed to obtain support from politicians on both sides of the aisle. Even insiders who expressed unhappiness with the plan hailed it as a masterpiece of political maneuvering.

Assemblyman McLaughlin's critique came in a comment posted on a discussion of the tax plan on the Facebook page Assemblyman Steve Katz's wife, Nicole Katz. Ms. Katz's Facebook page has been quite a hotbed of political activity of late. As of this writing, Assemblyman McLaughlin has not responded to The Politicker's request for comment on this story.