Posted on 01/15/2006 9:42:01 PM PST by Aussie Dasher
A new Zogby poll indicates a majority of Americans want Congress to consider impeaching President Bush if he wiretapped American citizens without a judge's approval.
Respondents were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the following statement:
"If President Bush wiretapped American citizens without the approval of a judge, do you agree or disagree that Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment."
The poll found that 52 percent agreed, 43 percent disagreed and 6 percent said they didn't know or declined to answer.
"The American people are not buying Bush's outrageous claim that he has the power to wiretap American citizens without a warrant," said Bob Fertik, co-founder of the left-leaning group AfterDowningStreet.org which commissioned the survey. "Americans believe terrorism can be fought without turning our own government into Big Brother."
The poll interviewed 1,216 adults in the U.S. from Jan 9-12, and has a 2.9 percent margin of error.
As one might expect, the respondents' political affiliation played a role in their answer, as 66 percent of Democrats favored impeachment, as did 59 percent of Independents, but only 23 percent of Republicans.
One month ago, one-third of Americans polled by Rasmuseen Reports said they believe Bush should be impeached.
"If President Bush ordered the wiretappeding of American citizens without the approval of a judge, if one is required by statute or by the Constitution, do you agree or disagree that Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment?"
Most people do not understand Article II or the War Powers inherent in the office of the Presidency. If the President were to go to Congress every time he wanted to act in the pursuit of the war on terror it might be rightly deduced that he does not believe he has any Constitutional authority. If the Congress specifies in the procedures to be followed by the FISA Court process requirements for warrant authority for wiretaps in instances other than in war - it cannot encroach on the President's war powers authorized by the Constitution. There is a real interesting issue here but I'd be willing to be 90% of the people responding to this question do not understand or appreciate it. Thus the poll is worth half a bucket of warm spit.
Illustrating absurdity with absurdity...very nicely done.:)
Actually, statistically, about 1,000 people is enough if a truly random sample is used. But if the sample is manipulated, you could make the poll say whatever you wanted.
They HAD to get something negative about Bush to talk about...remember the Alito hearings went VERY BAD for the dems...must deflect attention...
It should be obvious to all that Zogby's sympathies lie with the Pan-Arabist, anti-American troublemakers of the world. His creative polling should carry no weight.
Lead sentence...
"Zogby, a democratic pollster, who is Lebanese and has been adamently against Bush's Middle East policy, has conducted a new biased poll...."
Not even on Fox!
At the very beginning of the Iraq War I got a call from ABCNEWS/WAPO poll. "How many deaths are too many" was the question. Biased obviously, what a surprise.
LOL...great minds think alike!
Zogby's Arab blood has gone to his head.
Zogster is unreliable. As biased more more so then Ipsos.
Polls are manufactured news. Always remember that.
In any poll, if you throw in a word like consider, you probably pick up 10% of the population who'll vote yes for considering anything -- folks who believe that Congress ought to consider and discuss impeachment, or just about anything else, really, even if there's little chance they'll act.
A similar phenomenon is the "do you think it's possible that ..." construction of a question, which picks up a similar percentage who'll shrug and say "well, anything's possible."
Good post.
I think they believe 1300 is needed for the +/- 3%.
1,000 responders taken from 5-7pm on Friday is not very valid.
Gee .. how about a poll stating the facts
They seem to keep forgetting to add that little part about receiving calls FROM KNOWN TERRORISTS THAT ARE PLOTTING TO MURDER AMERICANS
This is an invitation to the terrorists to attack us.
Look at the question
They aren't spying on just any american .. just ones that are getting calls from KNOWN terrorists
They keep forgetting to add that part .. Gee I wonder why
Its all in the way the question is framed. If you asked Americans if Bush could wire tap foreigners with a tie to Al Queda....you would get an 70 plus approval.
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