Poll: Most NYers support protests

[Book Lover]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-bc-ny--convention-poll0826aug26,0,7508180.story?coll=ny-top-span-headlines


August 26, 2004, 9:03 AM EDT


NEW YORK (AP) _ Seventy-one percent of the city's registered voters think protesters should be allowed to demonstrate in Central Park during the Republican National Convention, and 11 percent plan to go to a demonstration themselves, according to a poll released Thursday.

Most New Yorkers, 81 percent, approve of lawful demonstrations during the convention, and 68 percent approve of nonviolent civil disobedience, the Quinnipiac University Poll found. Nearly all disapprove of violent protests, according to the poll.

...

Two-thirds think the convention and the protests surrounding it will cause major disruptions, but just 10 percent plan to leave during the event, the poll said. Half said they were worried about the convention being held in the city, and 31 percent said they thought a major terrorist attack during the convention is "very likely" or "somewhat likely," the poll found. New Yorkers were split on whether the convention will be good for the city, with 30 percent saying it would be, 33 percent saying it would not be, and 33 percent saying it won't make a difference, according to the Quinnipiac University Poll.

As for President Bush, the star of the event, 70 percent said they disapproved of the job he is doing, compared with 25 percent who approved, the poll said. The poll surveyed 822 New York City registered voters between Aug. 20 and Aug. 24 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

[cmf]

1. "11 percent plan to go to a demonstration themselves"

11 percent??!?!?! Holy shit! That's 880,000 people right there.

[rbnyc]

5. I thought that sounded like a low percentage...

...but it IS a huge number.

I'll be helping out at United for Peace and Justice's staging area, but can't march myself. I'm glad I was able to do something tho.

[Comicstripper]

6. Not to MENTION all the protesters commuting in....

....this is gonna be HUGE! I'm so excited. It's like waiting for Christmas!

[rbnyc]

7. It IS!

I'm so pissed about the park tho. And now Bloomberg has sent the message that people can go ahead and go to the park, as long as they go just like any other people.

He is CRAZY! People will have just had this experience together, people will have their signs and puppets and costumes and t-shirts--and are not supposed to look like a group.

I'm really hoping the police realize that the mayor has put folks in an impossible situation.

[prodigal_green]

2. Eleven percent are planning to protest?

Right there is nearly a million people.

AWESOME.

on edit: beat me to it cmf!

[starroute]

3. That alone comes out to 381,450 demonstrators

There are 3,467,728 registered voters in New York City. (http://www.naleo.org/CivicEd/new_york_voters_crosstabs.htm)

If 11% of them attend demonstrations, that comes out to 381,450 people.

That's not even counting teenagers and others who aren't registered to vote -- let along people from Jersey and the Island -- let along all the good folk who are coming more substantial distances.

Maybe the figure of a million that keeps getting tossed around isn't so far off the mark after all.

[aden_nak]

4. Concerning a terrorist attack during the RNC. . .

Why do you think Bush held it in NYC? Yeah, the 9/11 symbolism is schmatlzy and typical of him, but if there were a terrorist attack during his convention, he'd be a dead lock.

"Now you all know who al-Queda DOESN'T want to win this next election."

And yes, I think he's enough of a dick to hope for it. Why is it we think that murderers and psychopaths can become the leaders of OTHER countries?