The New York State Senate has been locked in a partisan battle for control that has brought the legislative process to a grinding halt for weeks.

Now Governor David Patterson has asked New York State courts to uphold an initiative he believes will get everyone talking again – Get back to work or we’re withholding your pay.

“July 6 (Bloomberg) — New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, at the request of Governor David Paterson, asked a state court today for permission to withhold Senate pay as an impasse over control of the chamber entered its 29th day.”

“The governor’s position is that they have abdicated their responsibility,” Marissa Shorenstein, another Paterson spokesman, said yesterday. “We’re asking for a direct ruling on whether it’s right or wrong for them to get paid.”

Wouldn’t it be great if the American people could do this with the United States Senate when we disapprove of their performance?