In 2010, David Senjem (R-Rochester) served as the Senate Minority Leader. In the euphoria of capturing the Senate for the first time in decades, though, the GOP dumped him, opting for Amy Koch’s conservative credentials over Senjem’s leadership experience. Now that the Senate GOP leadership under Amy Koch has crashed and burned, the GOP has come crawling back to Senjem.

Senjem isn’t a bad choice. He has leadership experience, and he’s comparatively moderate, although that’s not saying much. But I can’t escape the feeling that his tenure will be inconsequential and short-lived.

This legislative session is likely to be quite short. It’s a bonding year, and although I’m skeptical our so-called “surplus” will actually materialize, it’s unlikely that we’ll have to deal with a mid-biennium deficit. The Senate may also have to limit its session due to Amy Koch’s fiscal mismanagement.

That leaves relatively little for Senjem to do this session, at least by the standards of a majority leader. But what about 2013?

As I see it, there are two ways things could work out for Senjem. First, the GOP loses their tenuous grip on the Senate, and he returns to being the minority leader. Second, they retain control and once again give Senjem the boot for someone more conservative. They may have come crawling back when they were desperate, but that doesn’t mean they’ll keep him around long.

So it would appear that Senjem has signed up for a thankless task with a party that will likely not reward success. That should win him a lot of respect from party stalwarts; unfortunately for him, it probably won’t.