The Siena New York Poll for December 2007 shows Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s political career is on a fast train heading south. Here are a few of the highlights from the latest monthly poll, conducted by the Siena Research Institute, published on Dec. 10th:

“Voters are continuing to lose faith in their Governor,” said Steven Greenberg, Siena New York Poll spokesman. “Today, a majority of voters have an unfavorable view of Spitzer. More than two-thirds give him a negative job performance rating. More voters think he’s doing a ‘poor’ job than think he’s doing an ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ job combined. Even 61 percent of Democrats view his job performance negatively.”

Spitzer’s rating is 36 percent favorable, 51 percent unfavorable (down from 41-46 percent in November and 64-22 percent in June). New York City voters rate him favorably by a 45-40 percent margin, while upstate voters rate him unfavorably by a 26-62 percent margin. His job performance rating is 27 percent positive, 70 percent negative (down from 33-64 percent in November and 55-37 percent in June).

“A majority of voters, 56 percent, are not prepared to re-elect the Governor,” Greenberg said. “Only one in three Democrats is prepared to re-elect him, while 42 percent prefer ‘someone else.’ Nearly half of New York City voters, 57 percent of downstate suburban voters, and nearly two-thirds of upstate voters prefer ‘someone else.’ He’s dug himself a deep hole and so far has not been able to find a ladder.”

Also part of the findings:

New Yorkers overwhelmingly want the Governor and Legislature to address deficits by cutting spending (82 percent) rather than increasing taxes (13 percent), including two-thirds of Democrats.  If taxes are increased, more than half (53 percent) would prefer business tax increases over income (10 percent) or sales (27 percent) taxes. Two-thirds of voters would prefer to see cuts made in infrastructure expenses rather than education (eight percent) or health (10 percent).

“The voters’ clear message to Albany: do not increase our taxes. They would strongly prefer spending cuts, preferably not in health or education,” Greenberg said. “And by a margin of 67 to 28 percent, voters are opposed to legislators giving themselves a pay raise. Not surprisingly, more than three-quarters of voters support Governor Spitzer’s decision to withdraw his license proposal.”

Why has Eliot Spitzer fallen so far so fast in the polls? I can think of at least three good reasons:

1. Troopergate - Spitzer used New York State Troopers to track the use of state aircraft by a political opponent (Joe Bruno, Senate Majority Leader), with the intent to smear him. This one may still lead to criminal indictments.

2. Illegal Drivers’ Licenses – Spitzer tried to ram through granting drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants in a pathetically veiled attempt to boost the Democrat Party by a few hundred thousand new voters.

3. Internet Taxes – This one disappeared almost as fast as it was announced. Spitzer was planning to tax New Yorkers’ Internet purchases and he almost did it. But the bad publicity was too much and he withdrew it.

Spitzer’s own mafia-like bullying and off-the-chart arrogance are his undoing. He has no one to blame but himself.

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