If a new poll showing Gov. Dannel P. Malloy with his lowest-ever popularity rating hurt his feelings, he wasn’t showing it Wednesday.
Malloy came to New Haven City Hall to announce the receipt of $2.3 million in federal money for “second chance” criminal-justice reform programs. Earlier that morning the Quinnipiac University Poll released the news that the second-term governor’s public approval rating sank in the most recent survey to an all-time low of 32 percent.
After the criminal-justice announcement, reporters asked Malloy his reaction to the poll. (Click on the above video to watch it in full.)
“Polls come and polls go,” he responded. “I tend to pay attention to them five days before an election. It’s worked out pretty well for me over the years.”
“I’ve never run my life to be popular,” he said.
Malloy was pressed about his mid-year cut of $63.4 million in Medicaid reimbursement to hospitals, which along with other cuts made in the face of declining state revenues may be contributing to his popularity dive. (Click here for a story about those cuts.) The state’s hospital association along with some members of both aprties have criticized the cuts, with mean the hospitals lost a total of $192 million when federal matching money is added in.
“In an industry that has $916 million in profits, to ggive tham an additional $65 million to pad those profits, and you expect that a portion of that money will go toward paying higher slaaries to top executives … it just doesn’ tmake a lot of sense,” Malloy said.
Republican legislative leaders have called for a special legislative session to undo those cuts.
“I love Republicans. They’re great. They want to cut money. They just don’t want to cut any programs. And that’s the game they’ve been allowed to get away with,” Democrat Malloy said.
He criticized State Senate minority leader Len Fasano for not providing specific alternative proposals; and state House minority leader Themis Klarides for recommending cuts in aid to cities and Malloy’s long-term trasnportation initiative. Malloy said the state needs to make those long-term investments. Click here to read about Klarides’ position.
The poll was an approval rating poll, not a popularity contest. There is a difference. Malloy's problem is that he's a liar and he's not trustworthy. The poll reflects that along with the clear results of his policies and spending.
One other note: Malloy has a thing about the hospitals. Yet, he says nothing about the other providers. Nothing about the doctors, nothing about the insurance companies. My god, what was it, a couple of years ago, he was willing to give tens of millions of dollars to a hedge fund that paid its CEO $3.2 billion in one year. ESPN got millions. This all contributes to Malloy's approval debacle - he's just not authentic. He's a player.