Politics on the Hudson

State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long said “Governor Paterson got it half right.  Paterson doesn’t deserve to be in office next year, but he doesn’t deserve to be in office this year, either.”

Long, who is expected to back Republican Rick Lazio for governor, said “New York is in a real economic crisis with job losses haunting families across the state.  And Paterson can’t do anything to help by sticking around under an ethics investigation and stripped of all political credibility.

“It is time for Paterson to put the people of New York ahead of his personal interests.  It is time for him to go. “An accidental Governor from the start, it is time Paterson help clean up the wreck.”

Lazio, once Paterson’s defender against the New York Times and critics, offered a general statement about Albany’s dysfunction.

“This is another sad chapter in New York State government. It’s dysfunctional, it’s broken and it doesn’t work,” Lazio said. “It’s exactly why we need someone not tied to the Albany culture to bring the sweeping change we deserve.”

Likely Democratic Sen. candidate Harold Ford, who yesterday called on Paterson to not run, said Paterson should resign if he can’t govern effectively.

“Finally, the governor should be honest with the voters about his effectiveness going forward in dealing with the budget and other pressing matters,” Ford said in a statement. “And if this very serious investigation further erodes his ability to govern out his term, he should immediately step down for the good of the state.”