Half of NY Wants Sheldon Silver Gone - Except his Voters

Half of New York voters think that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver should quit because of his actions in the Vito Lopez sex harassment scandal, and 52 percent disapproved of his overall performance, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Which is a meaningless figure, since Silver continues to be very popular in his district which encompasses the Lower East Side and Lower Manhattan.

The state ethics commission last month issued a report charging that Lopez harassed at least eight female staffers, most of them after Silver approved a secret settlement in return for two of the victims’ promising not to reveal the incidents, The New York Post reported.

Naturally, the Post has been a sworn enemy of Silver, whom they're yet to associate directly with any wrongdoing.

Lopez finally resigned last month after he faced possible expulsion.

“The Vito Lopez sex scandal persuades a bare majority of New Yorkers that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver should step aside," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "A lot of voters say get rid of the pack of them; there should be a legislative house-cleaning.”

But in a democracy it doesn't matter what the NY Post thinks (or what Israel Today does, for that matter). Democracy is decided by the voters. And Lower East Siders, especially the local Jewish voters, are sticking with Shelly...