Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Ending Impeachment Myths I -- "Only the far left fringe wants impeachment."
The call for impeachment of Bush administration officials grows louder and louder. Recently, a long-running campaign to initiate an impeachment via action at the state level was defeated in Vermont's state house of representatives, after passing handily in its state senate. This is the closest such a state-level measure has come to passing, but it is not the first such vote, nor will it be the last.
I have been following the impeachment debate online for quite a while. I'm sorry to say that most of the more prominent arguments against impeachment are based on nothing more than myths. This is the first post in a series that will explore these myths in detail, and hopefully help put them to rest.
Myth #1 -- "Only the far left fringe wants impeachment."
This is myth is easy to prove false.
The last serious poll on the matter was done by Newsweek in October 2006, shortly before the elections in which the Democratic Party made substantial gains and retook both the House and Senate. Although Newsweek was very careful in how it reported the results, a little review of the information provided shows that 28% of Americans polled said impeachment should be a "top priority", and an additional 23% said it should be a lower priority. 28%+23% = 51%. In other words, a majority of Americans asked supported the idea of impeachment, even if they did not agree on the priority level for pursuit of it.
Prior to that, the most significant serious poll was performed by Zogby International in January 2006. Conducted during the height of the furor over illegal domestic wiretapping, 52% agreed when asked: "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?"
In another Zogby poll, this one taken in June 2005, 42% of voters said "they would favor impeachment proceedings if it is found the President misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq".
No matter how generous you want to be with your definition of "fringe", it is clear that it cannot encompass between 2/5 and 1/2 of the entire American public. Support for impeachment is clearly a mainstream view, and has been for some time. It's even more clear that public support for impeachment has been growing steadily.
Hard to believe? Look at the trend:
On a final note, it's important to recognize that the 2005-2006 polling data cited above comes from a period when public approval ratings for the administration were significantly higher than their current level. It seems reasonable to assume that support for impeachment has increased since last October, but it will take more scientific polling to confirm this. The question is: Who will be brave enough to find out?
SUMMARY:
I have been following the impeachment debate online for quite a while. I'm sorry to say that most of the more prominent arguments against impeachment are based on nothing more than myths. This is the first post in a series that will explore these myths in detail, and hopefully help put them to rest.
Myth #1 -- "Only the far left fringe wants impeachment."
This is myth is easy to prove false.
The last serious poll on the matter was done by Newsweek in October 2006, shortly before the elections in which the Democratic Party made substantial gains and retook both the House and Senate. Although Newsweek was very careful in how it reported the results, a little review of the information provided shows that 28% of Americans polled said impeachment should be a "top priority", and an additional 23% said it should be a lower priority. 28%+23% = 51%. In other words, a majority of Americans asked supported the idea of impeachment, even if they did not agree on the priority level for pursuit of it.
Prior to that, the most significant serious poll was performed by Zogby International in January 2006. Conducted during the height of the furor over illegal domestic wiretapping, 52% agreed when asked: "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?"
In another Zogby poll, this one taken in June 2005, 42% of voters said "they would favor impeachment proceedings if it is found the President misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq".
No matter how generous you want to be with your definition of "fringe", it is clear that it cannot encompass between 2/5 and 1/2 of the entire American public. Support for impeachment is clearly a mainstream view, and has been for some time. It's even more clear that public support for impeachment has been growing steadily.
Hard to believe? Look at the trend:
- Jun 05: 42% in favor if FISA laws have been broken
- Jan 06: 52% in favor if public's trust abused in promoting Iraq War
- Oct 06: 51% in favor of impeachment -- with no conditions attached!
[E]ven those identifying as Very Conservative support impeachment by a higher percentage than those of all political affiliations who supported impeachment and removal of President Clinton in the fall of 1998
On a final note, it's important to recognize that the 2005-2006 polling data cited above comes from a period when public approval ratings for the administration were significantly higher than their current level. It seems reasonable to assume that support for impeachment has increased since last October, but it will take more scientific polling to confirm this. The question is: Who will be brave enough to find out?
SUMMARY:
- Supporting impeachment is not a "fringe" opinion, it is a majority opinion.
- Support for impeachment has been steadily growing since at least 2005.
- Based on modern precedent, the threshold for Congressional action on impeachment has already been crossed.
