Scooped from pages.prodigy.net/thomasn528/ - 11/13/2007
In a new American Research Group (ARG) poll, a substantial majority of Americans say both President Bush and Vice President Cheney have abused their powers to levels “which rise to the level of impeachable offenses under the Constitution.” Among such Americans, a majority favors Bush’s impeachment and removal, and a substantial majority favors the same for Cheney.
ARG contacted 1,100 respondents between November 9-12, and asked which of the following four statements they agreed with:
- President Bush has not abused his powers as president.
- President Bush has abused his powers as president, but the abuses are not serious enough to warrant impeachment under the Constitution.
- President Bush has abused his powers as president which rise to the level of impeachable offenses under the Constitution, but he should not be impeached.
- President Bush has abused his powers as president which rise to the level of impeachable offenses under the Constitution and he should be impeached and removed from office.
Responses are given below; the margin of error is +/- 3%:
| 11/12/07 |
#1 |
#2 |
#3 |
#4 |
| All voters |
36% |
9% |
21% |
34% |
| Democrats (39%) |
16% |
9% |
25% |
50% |
| Republicans (35%) |
64% |
6% |
12% |
18% |
| Independents (26%) |
29% |
11% |
26% |
34% |
Results were even more pronouncedly pro-impeachment and removal when the same questions were asked about Vice President Cheney:
| 11/12/07 |
#1 |
#2 |
#3 |
#4 |
| All voters |
30% |
18% |
9% |
43% |
| Democrats (39%) |
6% |
25% |
6% |
63% |
| Republicans (35%) |
61% |
12% |
6% |
21% |
| Independents (26%) |
26% |
16% |
18% |
39% |
Two things should interest Congressional leadership about these results. First, the largest group of Democrats are in the “impeach and remove” bracket for both Bush and Cheney, with the result for Cheney approaching near-consensus level of 63%.
Second, the results are only different in degree among Independents. Were Democratic impeachment decisions purely dictated by political tactics, they would seek to win the largest group of “political neighbors” — the 39% of the Independent vote also advocating “impeachment and removal” of Cheney and the 34% advocating that for Bush.
Of course, such decisions ought not be purely dictated by political tactics — impeachment of these two traitors to the Constitution would be the right thing to do regardless of the percentage of Americans agreeing that it is.
But it’s disingenuous in the extreme to plead — as variously Conyers, Van Hollen, and Pelosi have — that impeachment is “off the table” because it might jeopardize 2008 election prospects. If anything, these numbers suggest the opposite.
Whose Democratic Party? What is it for?
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NOTE: ARG poll via ThinkProgress and DailyKos diarist Steve Singiser.
