As Dana Rubinstein at Capital New York documents, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s habit of picking how he wants to answer direct questions in a press scrum was in full force today.

Instead of engaging on the relative merits of the Senate Democrats versus the Senate Republicans, Cuomo demurred.

He made a broader point, however, about what he’d like to see dominate the Senate: Functionality.

As it’s been written here and elsewhere over the last two years, Cuomo has worked well with Senate Republicans. It’s led for a resurgence of liberal criticism that he’s not a real Democrat, a charge that will become all the more potent should he run for president.

But the New York State Senate has a set an awfully low bar and one thing Cuomo doesn’t want to see his the remainder of his term scuttled by dysfunction.

“I’m not really interested in their politics,” Cuomo said of legislators. “I’m interested in what’s good for the people of the state of New York.”

Cuomo noted in his Q and A with reporters that the state faces financial obstacles following the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

“We’re going to have real economic challenges in this state,” Cuomo said. “We need a government that works. So do your politics, pick your leader, but come to Albany prepared to function and work for the people… That’s what I want and what the people want and what the people expect.”

The Senate’s leadership is in doubt due in part to ongoing absentee ballot counts in the 46th Senate District and the 41st Senate District, along with what the four-member Independent Democratic Conference may or may not do should Democrats achieve a numerical 32-member majority.

But the last thing Cuomo needs is a Senate that’s mired in chaos, be it controlled by Republicans, Democrats, Klingons or some coalition.

“This is a serious time and government needs to function and it needs to function well,” he said. “We’ve had a good two years, past two years, but we have to keep it going, and this is not the time to put internal politics above functioning government for the people.”

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