I called Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. after seeing his comments to Jimmy Vielkind about the possibility of his support for a Republican Senate majority leader, and he confirmed he’s “not committed to anybody” at the moment.

“I have to wait and see what happens,” the Bronx Democrat told me. “That’s nothing new.”

“I think we’re going to go back to last year. That means it’s going to be chaos. I’ve got to see who’s going to be the leader, what they offer, what’s going to be. You know?…If it’s 31-31, I’m going to have to decide. The only thing that I could tell you, Liz, is that it’s going to be very interesting to see how things develop.”

Diaz Sr. referred to himself as the “lonely amigo, the only one left.” (Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. was defeated in the Sept. 14 primary by Gustavo Rivera and Hiram Monserrate was expelled by his peers in February). Sen. Carl Kruger is still around, but Diaz Sr. rather mournfully said: “I don’t think he’s an amigo anymore.”

The senator said he hasn’t spoken to either Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos or Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson, adding: “Nobody talks to me. I don’t talk to nobody. I’m pretty sure that when the time comes, they’re going to be talking. Right now, there’s nothing to talk about.”

“The only thing I can tell you is this: My colleague, Ruth Hassell-Thompson, paid for two buses so people could come to my office to picket me…And when I went to Staten Island to demonstrate against the discrimination on the Mexicans, Diane Savino received me with a demonstration, talking bad things about me. OK? OK.”

“If you hear what I’m telling you, you gotta know that in politics they say: Never get angry, get even.”

Share|