Is the state Senate budget a case of downstate provincialism?

A lot has been said recently as the budget process grinds forward. The age-old us vs. them arguments continue to broil.

When Governor Paterson first released his executive budget, there were rumblings from local officials alleging the Governor was throwing the 9.2 billion deficit on the backs of the North Country.

A few phone calls quickly showed this to be false. Paterson wanted to cut over $1 billion -- over $300 in municipal aid alone -- to his hometown of New York City.

But the Senate's version seems like a different beast.

Until two years ago, the state's upper house was the lone bastion of GOP power in New York. Then Majority Leader and now convict Joe Bruno ran the floor with an iron fist -- and made some enemies on the other side of the isle.