No, Senator. We don’t understand.

By now, if you find politics in the least bit entertaining, you’ve watched the long version of Scott Brown’s interview with State Senator Dale Volker (R), and the wild interjection by Volker’s aide, J.R. Drexelius.

I prepared a transcript of the exchange because it contains so many interesting tidbits. It’s quite interesting how Volker frames his replies.

At a State Senate hearing on the Berger Commission hospital closing report, Channel 2’s Scott Brown pulled Volker aside to ask about the possibility that the state legislature, which meets on the 13th in special session, will vote to raise its pay.

Instead of brushing the question off with a simple, “yes”, “no”, or “we’ll see”, Volker starts pointing fingers at real and supposed enemies of his and the legislature’s, and accuses Channel 2 of thwarting the good work of the State Senate by, I suppose, asking too many touchy questions.

Earlier, I re-posted Donn Esmonde’s exchange with Senator Volker at the October removal of the I-190 tolls. Obviously, that temper of Volker’s was no fluke.

This interview with Scott Brown shows an incredible amount of misplaced arrogance, and either a deliberate ignorance or a willful misrepresentation of the Brennan Center’s purpose, goal, and reports. Here’s the transcript:

Volker: Ours is the only area of the state where important issues are not being discussed. I mean, I, I, I gotta tell you, I…

Brown: We’re covering this, aren’t we?

Volker: Yes, yes you are. That’s good. Glad to see that.

Brown: Alright, let’s talk about – pay raise possibility this week? How are you gonna vote?

Volker: First of all, lemme tell you, I’m not gonna answer that question, but I don’t believe any western New York legislator would vote for it, but lemme just tell ya, it’s not a big issue. And your station is trying to make it a big issue, and the only reason I, I, I, it makes us look foolish. It makes the area look foolish.

Brown: Senator, I have to disagree, we’ve got hundreds of emails here from people…

Volker (interrupting): See, your station started this issue. And, and then you insult us with the Brennan Commission, which is a pro-New York City group that’s trying to raise taxes and so forth, you don’t really understand. The same way with the Manhattan Institute, because the business community downstate wants to hurt us upstate legislators.

Brown: But, what does that have to do with pay raises?

Volker: Because we’re the only area of the state that’s even brin… we’re not even bringing it up. It’s not even our issue. It’s downstate people.

Brown: Great. And….

Volker (interrupting): And the reason I haven’t responded is because it wasn’t really an issue. It hasn’t been an issue, except even downstate in fact, Tim Cannan [ph] I was just talking to him, nobody else is even talkin’ about this issue.

Brown: Are you saying there won’t be a vote this week?

Volker: I don’t know. I truly don’t know. But I can tell you this. Us upstaters are not going to vote for it if it happens.

Brown: Does that include you?

Volker: Absolutely. But the reason I haven’t answered is I don’t appreciate somebody getting on and insulting the legislature just because, I, I realize that your station is, is trying to make some money. That’s fine.

Brown: How did we insult the legislature? We listed your pay…

Volker (interrupting): Wait a minute, you didn’t just do that, you brought up the Brennan Commission and tried to insult us, claiming that a New York City operation, which is, by the way, the Manhattan Institute right next door, which is the business insti….these are people that are trying to keep us in upstate from staying in office because we’re a problem for ‘em. We cut taxes, and we protect Western New York.

Brown: It’s not just the Brennan Center, though.

Volker: That is the only issue. What is the other one, the Manhattan Instutute?

Brown: That’s a conservative group.

Volker: That’s a right wing radical group from New York City. Same story. They want businessmen in New York City to be helped. Not upstate. They don’t care about us, they don’t care about real property taxes. I care about that stuff. I represent Western New York, and I’m going to continue to represent it. You should know better. You came out of the Gorski administration. This is not the way to operate, because it makes us look terrible with the rest of the state. The rest of the state is saying, “what’s the matter with Western New York? Why is the media up there so negative?” And the answer is, I said, “Well, it’s the way ya sell newspapers and TV and so forth.” It’s wrong because it hurts the region. I’ll tell ya right now. It hurts the region.

Brown: Let me ask you this. Do you think these types of votes should be taken before election day, as opposed to after election day?

Volker: I’ve always said that, we have always said that. That’s why I voted against the pay raise last time. And, uh, John Daly and I, in fact, said, “let’s get the pay vote out there before.” It’s not my decision.

Brown: And what are you…you’re in the leadership there? What do you hear about the possibility of a vote this week on Wednesday?

Volker: There is a possibility, there’s a possibility of all kinds of things. I’m working, by the way, on civil confinement, that’s my main thrust. I’m concerned about this [hospital closings], I’m not sure yet exactly what’s going to happen, with the final issue, I mean, we’re not going to let St. Joe’s close, but again, that’s another issue. Uh, but you see, the reason we can do that is because we have…we have the power to do that, as Senator Stachowski said, the problem is the media here doesn’t seem to realize it hurts us with this kind of stuff because we don’t, it looks as if we don’t have the backing of the people. That’s too bad. And, and the reason I haven’t responded is, cause, since, as far as I know it’s not an issue, who, who, wha, wha, what if the pay raise was a hundred bucks? Let’s say we get a hunnert dollars. Should I vote against it? I mean…

Brown: Do you think legislators deserve a pay raise for the work they’ve done?

Volker: Listen. This is the busiest legislature in the country. Uh, we are criticized primarily because there’s some people in New York City who don’t like us. Why wouldn’t they like us? We’re not giving them enough money, we’re not giving the schools in New York City tons of money. That’s why they don’t like us. And we are the biggest obstacle to their raising taxes and to the fact that we haven’t put more money into New York City, and we want Medicaid reform, and we want government reform, but not at our expense.

Brown: But the median salary in the area is probably half of what state legislators make. Can’t you see why people would be upset that there be a vote on a pay raise after election day?

Volker: Well, of course. But downstate the median salary is way up. I mean, we don’t make these decisions, the problem is people downstate are making salaries way, way above the legislature’s. …And the rest of the country is kinda laughing at us, because we’re so damned busy, California what they did is they raised their salary from where we are, gave themselves free cars, free telephones, all kinds of stuff that we don’t have, which is fine; we don’t want that. I don’t have a car. I could, but I don’t have one. I don’t have a free telephone car, I don’t have all that sort of stuff. But that’s because we have always been fiscally prudent. But the problem is, that, uh, there’s some people that just want to be negative. OK, I understand that. Is it, you know…is anybody going to vote for a legislature, a legislator because he voted for a pay raise? I don’t think so.

[Volker aide J.R. Drexelius pulls Volker away and says, "I think she (the next reporter down) wants to talk about this issue rather than..." ]

Volker: Ok, ok.

Drexelius (gesturing wildly): I don’t know why you [inaudible - we’re at a health care hearing! You’re talking about an issue that doesn’t exist!

Brown: How doesn’t it exist? Why wouldn’t he return five phone calls that I made?

Drexelius: Because - you know what?

Brown: What?

[Drexelius starts to speak, then Volker says off-camera, "Because he insulted the legislature".]

Drexelius: Yeah! And you know what? It’s a speculation! You don’t what the heck … there’s no bill!

Volker (off camera, to Drexelius): Calm down.

Drexelius: Ugh! [to Brown:] You’re wrong! [Drexelius storms off]

[Camera pans to Volker, talking to another reporter, who says:]

Volker: He’s uptight because, we’re in some very heavy stuff here civil confinement is huge, this [pointing] is huge, and all we hear from your station is about pay raises.

Brown: That’s not, that’s not true.

It’s the state legislature that perpetrates a daily insult on the people of Western New York. Sure, channel 2 is trying to sell “TV”, but this is an issue that boils WNYers’ blood. It’s Volker who doesn’t understand. He doesn’t understand what the media’s role is. He doesn’t understand that WNYers don’t care what the rest of the state is saying about us. He doesn’t understand that we’re tired of overtaxation, overburdensome regulation, and the disappearance of our population. He doesn’t understand that there’s a problem with our median income being below the national average, not to mention Westchester County’s.

That exchange should be burned in everyone’s mind as indicative of how completely and utterly out-of-touch people in Albany are when it comes to the dire problems facing upstate New York.

Similar to this comment, made by a State Senate staffer about the Brennan Center’s reform proposals:

oh, boo hoo. What planet are these people living on? Whadda they want something like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington? Get in the real world.

I contacted the Manhattan Institute and the Brennan Center to get their reaction to Volker’s accusation of tax-raising, upstate-hatred.