WP falsely reported .. Americans approve of Bush's "wiretapping tactics"

[Coexist]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200603150004

from MediaMatters:
<snip>
Summary: Washington Post staff writer Shailagh Murray reported, in an article about Sen. Russ Feingold's censure resolution, that Democrats are "wary of polls showing that a majority of Americans side with the president on wiretapping tactics." Actually, polls consistently show that most Americans disapprove of the wiretapping tactics the administration has used -- specifically, conducting surveillance without seeking or obtaining a warrant.

In a front-page March 15 article on Sen. Russ Feingold's (D-WI) call to censure President Bush for "authoriz an illegal program to spy on American citizens on American soil," Washington Post staff writer Shailagh Murray reported that Feingold's fellow Democrats are "wary of polls showing that a majority of Americans side with the president on wiretapping tactics." In fact, polls consistently show that a majority of Americans disapprove of the wiretapping tactics the administration has used -- specifically, conducting surveillance without seeking or obtaining a warrant.

<snip>
"In fact, most polls show the opposite. A Quinnipiac University poll conducted February 21-28 found that while 79 percent of "American voters say the government should continue monitoring phone calls or e-mail between suspected terrorists in other countries and people in the U.S.," 55 percent say "that the government should get court orders for this surveillance." A CBS News poll conducted February 22-26 asked respondents: "Regardless of whether you approve of the President authorizing the wiretaps, do you think the President has the legal authority to authorize wiretaps without a court warrant in order to fight terrorism, or doesn't he?" Fifty-one percent said the president does not have the legal authority to do so. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll from February 9-12 reported that 50 percent of respondents believed the Bush administration was "wrong" to wiretap "conversations without a court order," while 47 percent said it was "right."

Murray appears to have conflated public approval of spying on suspected terrorists with approval of the means through which the Bush administration has conducted the eavesdropping. Approving of the surveillance and approving of the tactics are two very different things. As the polls show, one can believe the president should conduct surveillance on suspected terrorists and at the same time believe that he should obey the law in doing so."

... if this doesn't convince Senators to hop on board and American's will be behind this as a public service - nothing will.

[SoCalDem]

1. Has anyone done a poll using REAL language?

The ones I have seen use a negative in the question and a yes/no or agree/disagree in the answer-choices.. I think this is done deliberately because probably most americans cannot figure out HOW to answer.. (the ole double negative thing)..

Someone needs to ask a SIMPLE question..(because americans are pretty simple these days)



Q- Should a president be able to wire tap YOUR phone, open YOUR mail without the approval of a special court?

yes...
no...

because that;s what it ultimately comes down to.. YOUR phone YOUR mail because someone else will do the tipping-off and you will not know about it until AFTER it's been done...when two guys in suits show up to ask you questions..

In the climate we have now, some neighbor who has a beef with you, can call a hotline and say they have seen arabic looking people coming to your house, or that they have seen you acting suspiciously..that's all it takes these days..

[dogday]

3. Your toe scares the crap out of me........

:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

[Lefty-Taylor]

6. Very well put, SoCalDem. Most Americans

need to hear the second-person "your" -- otherwise they can place distance between the illegal act of wiretapping without court order and themselves. The article in the WP proves once again that the MSM still caters to BushCo.

It wasn't so long ago that the Washington Post had real reporters, digging to get the truth. One who comes to mind is Morton Mintz, with whom I once published a co-bylined story in The Nation. They don't make any like Mort anymore. To read him, visit tompaine.com

[MrModerate]

2. Nothing will . . . yet

They really are pretty craven. Bush will have to bleed out more before they dare poke him with a stick.

They just don't get it: NOW is the time to stand up to this tin-pot regime. They will lose the advantage handed to them by 'Lican wickedness and incompetence if they continue to act like cowards.

[Coexist]

4. I agree, I agree

[dogday]

5. Sometimes it only takes one person to start

the chain of events in motion... Someone has to be the leader, someone has to take the chance... Then the others will fall in line once they realize the public is wanting this.....

[Coexist]

7. we all know the press likes to fall in line with current public opinion

so lets let them know what we think!