Reply #50: Buzzflash editorial - significance of the "fixed" WaPo poll on NSA spying:

[Nothing Without Hope]

http://www.buzzflash.com/index.php?story=Story2

Washington Post "Fixes the Polls" for Bush by "Fixing the Questions"

May 13, 2006

A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL

As the blog Firedog Lake so ably reports, the Washington Post loaded a poll so that it would appear that Americans support illegal domestic spying. The problem is that when you read the poll closely, they only support it when it might lead to apprehending terrorists. As we know, that is the discredited and highly dubious claim being used by the Busheviks to implement their domestic spying program -- and the dismantling of the Constitution in general. So, it is an extremely incompetent, even propagandistic poll.

Why is this Washington Post poll important?

Because the Democrats retreat at the slightest indication that their principled position might not be supported by the American public (although we are dumbfounded that with a president at 29% approval ratings that wouldn't be sufficient proof that the public wants the Democrats to stand up for the Constitution and competency, as well as the rule of law.)

So, as Firedog Lake astutely observes, the Post poll quickly became the "conventional wisdom" benchmark of the mainstream media and Democratic Congressional leadership, even though it never emphasized the real pertinent questions, such as: "If the Bush Administration was using domestic spying for purposes other than tracking Al Qaeda suspects, would you support it?" or "If it was highly unlikely that the kind of domestic spying being used by NSA, including records of virtually every call being made in the U.S. -- including your own, could effectively be used to stop much terrorism, would you support its use?"

(snip - more at link)