Support NeoGAF

[Macam]

Zogby Poll Finds Suprising Support For Impeachment

A newly-released Zogby poll indicates that 42 percent of voters say that “if it is found that President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should hold him accountable through impeachment.”

That is a stunningly high number when you consider that only 41 percent of the American public supported Congress proceeding with impeachment hearings against President Clinton in late September 1998. This was after President Clinton’s grand jury testimony was made public and just before the House Judiciary Committee approved a resolution recommending an impeachment inquiry.

Source

Not that it'll ever happen.

 

[Everdredbanned]

That's horrible. It's essentially saying that, if Bush lied to the American people in order to fight a war that has cost thousands of lives (and a whole boatload of dollars), not even half would support impeaching him. For committing an act tantamount to soliciting murder, not even half the American populace would want him out of office, let alone in jail.

 

[Brannon]

Yep. God I hate my fellow Americans.

-DJBrannon, American.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

At least Bush didn't have an affair!

 

[Yossarian]

Clinton wasn't impeached for having an affair but for lying under oath to a grand jury. There is a huge difference there.

 

[Macam]

Clinton wasn't impeached for having an affair but for lying under oath to a grand jury. There is a huge difference there.

What did he lie about?

 

[Hitokage]

What did he lie about?

An inadmissable question, IIRC.

 

[Alcibiades]

"...President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq"

:lol

even if he did it to start WWIII, how would anyone ever find out short of a lie detector test, which in itself is not always accurate...

 

[Mandark]

Yeah, he was asked about a consensual hummer, a question which was later thrown out.

This poll doesn't really show a surprising amount of support. Any poll beginning with word "If" says very little about actual support or opposition.

Two examples come to mind: A majority of Americans said they would support an impeachment of Clinton if it turned out he had lied under oath. A majority of Americans said they opposed the US invading Iraq without a UN resolution. In both cases, the actual support was dramatically different from what people said it would be.

This is all a moot point, anyway. You'd need a signed admission by Bush and a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress. I'm not sure which is more unlikely.

Honestly, I don't think impeachment talk really gets anywhere, other than drawing out a series of "Grr, I'm mad" or "Why does X hate America?" responses.

 

[Macam]

Honestly, I don't think impeachment talk really gets anywhere, other than drawing out a series of "Grr, I'm mad" or "Why does X hate America?" responses.

Just thought it was a mildly amusing and interesting topic to throw out, I certainly expect little in the ways of real public support or action.

 

[APF]

It's not that surprising because it's mostly drawn along party lines:

Impeachment Question Shows Bitterness of Divide

In a sign of the continuing partisan division of the nation, more than two-in-five (42%) voters say that, if it is found that President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should hold him accountable through impeachment. While half (50%) of respondents do not hold this view, supporters of impeachment outweigh opponents in some parts of the country.

Among those living in the Western states, a 52% majority favors Congress using the impeachment mechanism while just 41% are opposed; in Eastern states, 49% are in favor and 45% opposed. In the South, meanwhile, impeachment is opposed by three-in-five voters (60%) and supported by just one-in-three (34%); in the Central/Great Lakes region, 52% are opposed and 38% in favor.

Impeachment is overwhelmingly rejected in the Red States—just 36% say they agree Congress should use it if the President is found to have lied on Iraq, while 55% reject this view; in the “Blue States” that voted for Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry in 2004, meanwhile, a plurality of 48% favors such proceedings while 45% are opposed.

A large majority of Democrats (59%) say they agree that the President should be impeached if he lied about Iraq, while just three-in-ten (30%) disagree. Among President Bush’s fellow Republicans, a full one-in-four (25%) indicate they would favor impeaching the President under these circumstances, while seven-in-ten (70%) do not. Independents are more closely divided, with 43% favoring impeachment and 49% opposed.

Source: Zogby International

Which lends support to something independents (like myself) and Republicans have been saying for a while now: that the "tone in Washington" is the most vicious it's been in years--worse than during the Clinton years, worse than Reagan, etc. The funny thing is, the same poll suggests, "Americans Tiring of Partisan Division on Capital Hill." Which is pretty ironic, considering.