There has been a Rasmussen poll quoted in a recommended diary which I believe distorts the reality of the situation here. It shows that a majority of Americans still do not support impeachment of President George W. Bush.
Let me explain why these numbers should NOT be relied on when the question is phrased this way...
"Do you believe the President of the United States should be impeached and removed from office?"
(NOTE -- Rasmussen doesn't actually tell us what the poll question actually is. But for the purposes of this diary, I will assume that a question similar to the way they phrased it in their news release.)
BruinKid wonders if the results would have been higher if the qualification of Cheney not becoming president was mentioned in the polling question. Well, I think it's simpler than that.
This Rasmussen poll and others that simply ask if you support impeachment (without any preamble) relies on the notion that...umm...Americans are informed citizens.
Well, as history has shown us -- especially in the last 6 years -- Americans are NOT well informed. This is chiefly the result of a corporate media that avoids real debate on the important issues facing America
I won't bother showing you all the polls that explained that U.S. citizens -- well after the Iraq war -- believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11.
I won't bother showing you the polls that explain that most Americans don't know who Scooter Libby is (or even care to know).
This is well known to us informed plebes who use the internet to fetch information.
So allow me state this simple point.
A poll that talks about impeachment without, first, stating that "if the President has broken constitutional law" is NOT a poll Kossaks or congresspeople should be digesting when considering whether to put impeachment back on the table.
It's simple logic. A citizen is not going to tell you that impeachment should be an option if they aren't aware of what the facts are. They are not going say "yes" to impeachment if they do not know that George W. Bush has actually admitted that he has broken constitutional law by spying on Americans without a warrant.
All that matters is that Americans understand that...
Breaking Constitutional Law = Impeachment
For it is through the constant day-in day-out broadcast of the impeachment hearings that Americans will FINALLY be informed as to what their "dear decider" has been up to. They will also discover -- through these LIVE hearings -- that what George W. Bush has been up to is well beyond an impeachable offense. It is criminal. I have full confidence that Americans are not THIS stupid to NOT understand this when impeachment proceedings take place most prominently on national television.
Indeed, there have been polls that have asked the impeachment question with the preamble.
Take this one done in January, 2006 by Zogby International:
"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."
52% - Yes
43% - No
(margin of error = +/- 2.9%)
Or this one published in November, 2005:
"If President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment."
53% - Yes
42% - No
(margin of error = +/- 2.9%)
Or this one published in the previous month (October, 2005):
"If President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should consider holding him accountable by impeaching him."
50% - Yes
44% - No
(margin of error = +/- 3.1%
Start impeachment proceedings -- and the rest will follow.