NYC Opposes Congestion Pricing, So Force The Kids To Sing

A WNBC/Marist Poll released today finds a significant majority of New Yorkers are opposed to Mayor Mike Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan.

According to the poll, 61% of all New York area residents are opposed to the plan, while only 23% outright favor it. And only in Manhattan does the plan have any real support, with 48% favoring the proposal and 46% opposing it.

More [here]. The [last time a poll showed New Yorkers opposed the congestion charge](http://www.nypress.com/20/22/news&columns/JohnDeSio.cfm) supporters were quick to declare that the pollster was unfair because he did not include a multi-paragraph explanation of all the magical benefits of the program, also known as a "push poll," or a poll designed to reach a predetermined conclusion through its framing of the question.

How do you combat all this opposition if you support the plan? For starters, you can [brand all of your opponents] as bought and paid for by the parking industry. If that doesn't work, why not force children to parrot your political talking points in an effort to cloud the real issue in sappy emotion? Witness the new video from congestion plan supporters [Environmental Defense](http://environmentaldefense.org/page.cfm?tagid=1256).

What do you call it when you force children to take political stands? Child exploitation! Or you can just suspend disbelief and buy into the idea that the little girls in the video understand all the nuance of Bloomberg's plan and weren't just told what to say by an adult.