| Just remember what some of New York's so-called political pundits were saying about the New York State Senate coup that happened in June: It will blow over and voters will forget about it come 2010. That is the summarized version of the belief that while the coup was bad for Albany, it won't hurt incumbents in 2010.
Today's Marist poll has a lot of statistics there that don't speak well for Albany.
For example, three months after the coup took place, 70 percent of respondents said they were angry with what happened in the New York State Senate. Only 26 percent said that they weren't upset with it.
70% of New York State registered voters say they are angry about the situation in the Senate while 26% report they are not. These proportions are virtually unchanged from when Marist last asked this question in June. As in that survey, outrage transcends party lines. 72% of Democrats, 71% of Republicans, and 67% of non-enrolled voters admit to feeling this way. These attitudes remain little changed since Marist's previous poll.
And, this translates into a poor job approval rating for the Senate. A majority - 54% - of registered voters across the state report that the Senate is performing poorly. Just 14% think the legislative body is doing either an excellent or good job, and three in ten think they are performing only fairly well.
Perhaps the biggest stat of all is the one about reform in Albany. Most New Yorkers want reform in Albany, but the numbers speak volumes for what kind of action citizens want their elected leaders to take.
68% of registered voters statewide think the way things are done in state government in Albany needs major changes. 21% report daily political operations require minor changes, 10% think they are broken and beyond repair, and only 1% of voters say they do not need to be changed. More than seven in ten Democrats and Republicans - 71% and 70%, respectively - think Albany needs a major, political overhaul. 60% of non-enrolled voters agree.
Let's think about this: 68 percent of respondents said that they want major changes. Another 21 percent said that they want minor changes. That means 89 percent of those surveyed believe that some changes need to be made. That is a huge number, considering only one percent of voters said that nothing needs to be altered. Talk of ethics reform legislation has occurred in recent days, but nothing is set in stone yet.
Another interesting focus of the poll was support for a constitutional convention. The Marist poll found 48 percent oppose a constitutional convention while 42 percent support it. To break it down even further, more Republicans (56 percent) than Democrats (44 percent) oppose it.
Reform is needed in Albany. Some want it sooner rather than later. Rushed reform merely to score political points is not reform. What we need are reforms that will be set in stone and help every single assemblymember and senator who goes to Albany be better for it. |
