Senate Democratic spokesman Mike Murphy responded to the op/ed that Gov. Andrew Cuomo laid out in an op/ed to The Times Union today, noting that “litmus test” for lawmakers the governor proposed is a similar agenda.

“This past session and through recent elections, the Senate Democratic Conference laid out a progressive agenda New Yorkers responded to and have overwhelmingly demanded through their votes on Election Day,” Muprhy said. “The Governor has now presented a similar agenda including many issues the new Republican Coalition has opposed. Senate Democrats will continue to lead the fight on this progressive agenda, and we will hold the Senate Republican Coalition accountable until New Yorkers get the progressive change they deserve.”

Note the use of the phrase “new Republican Coalition” as opposed to the IDC-GOP’s nomenclature of “majority coalition.”

The governor did not back a full Democratic takeover of the state Senate. In the op/ed, Cuomo writes that Democrats “squandered” their opportunity in the majority, though as a Capitol insider noted to me earlier this morning, IDCers Jeff Klein and Malcolm Smith both were part of that leadership team.

This argument — whether the five-member IDC, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Cuomo can pass any of these liberal-friendly goals through the Legislature — will likely be the main determination of whether the coalition can live up to its stated promise by Klein.

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