Nearly 7 in 10 New Yorkers disapprove of the recent antics:
“Cops turning their backs on their boss, Mayor Bill de Blasio, is unacceptable, New Yorkers say by large margins,” Maurice Carroll, a Quinnipiac University poll assistant, said in a statement announcing the results. “Even cop-friendly Staten Island gives that rude gesture only a split decision.”
Another poll from Quinnipiac shows the mayor’s overall approval up slightly. Friedersdorf runs through more numbers:
I worried New Yorkers would punish Mayor de Blasio for losing control, rather than backing him to insist that the NYPD is subservient to the people. I didn’t give New Yorkers enough credit.
A new poll by Quinnipiac University suggests that the city’s voters have seen through the police union’s tactics, and that its temper tantrum will cost it political support. Consider the following findings:
- “Police union leader Patrick Lynch’s comments that the mayor’s office had blood on its hands are ‘too extreme,’ voters say 77 – 17 percent, the independent Quinnipiac University Poll finds. There is no party, gender, racial, borough or age group which finds the comments ‘appropriate.'”
- “Voters say 47 to 37 percent that Mayor de Blasio’s statements and actions during his 2013 campaign and during his first year in office show he does support police.”
- “The recent slowdown in police activity is more of a protest, 56 percent of voters say, while 27 percent say it is because police officers fear for their safety.”
- “Voters say 57 to 34 percent that officers should be disciplined if they deliberately are making fewer arrests or writing fewer tickets. Black, white and Hispanic voters all agree.”
- “Voters give Patrolmen’s Benevolent Assn. President Patrick Lynch a negative 18 to 39 percent favorability rating and say 43 to 27 percent that he is a mostly negative force in the city.”
Josh Marshall adds:
What also emerged in the poll is public anger that Patrick Lynch, President of the Police Benevolent Association has managed to make the public face of an asshole into the public face of the NYPD. And now there are signs of rising opposition to Lynch within the union itself. A raucous union meeting at Antun’s catering hall in Queens Village on Tuesday night broke down into a melee of pushing and shoving and screaming involving some 100 police officers angry Lynch’s leadership of the union. The yelling and screaming and shoving went on for about ten minutes, according to the Daily News, before Lynch walked out.
Noah Rothman searches for a silver lining for conservatives:
But the Quinnipiac poll isn’t all bad news for the NYPD:
New York City voters approve 56 – 37 percent of the job police citywide are doing, compared to 51 – 41 percent December 17. Approval today is 66 – 28 percent among white voters and 54 – 36 percent among Hispanic voters, while black voters disapprove 54 – 41 percent. Voters approve 71 – 25 percent of the job police in their community are doing.
Furthermore, conservatives can rejoice in the poll’s findings that MSNBC host slash activist Rev. Al Sharpton has received his lowest favorability score in the history of Quinnipiac polling. Only 29 percent of respondents view Sharpton favorably while 53 percent have a negative view of the political activist.
The Dish 