I only caught the end of Tweety's show on NBC this morning

[Somawas]

but I thought I heard him say that the Republicans have realized that the NSA wiretapping story is actually a positive for them. How can that be? Is there actually a poll out there showing support for illegal wiretapping?

[WCGreen]

1. It's a split in the poll I saw.....

People are worried about getting blown up even though they have more of a chance at getting killed by lightning, or drowning in their own bathroom, or getting killed by a drunk driver...

So they are more than willing to give up something as intangible as a "right" for a feeling of safety...

It's human nature...

In the last Harry Potter movie there was a line about doing what is right...

I don't remember which character it was, but one of the teachers told Harry the it wasn't always an question of good or evil or right or wrong but a question of what is good and what is easy...

America today is ripe for the easy answer...

Not what is good, or right, or the truth....

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I think there have been some polls showing about 50% think it's OK

because the BFEE has convinced them that the terrists will come and kill them if warrants are ever required for wiretaps.

[threadkillaz]

3. I thought there was an MSNBC poll was at 85%..

..who thought the NSA spying was grounds for impeachment.



Spinmeisters working overtime.

[WCGreen]

5. That was an on-line poll.....

The poll I was refering to above is here:

http://www.pollingreport.com/terror.htm

They show all the questions from a few different research outfits...

[Mr Rabble]

4. Right. Now they just need to amend the constitution.

Then, a poll of whether people mind or not will matter.

The pResident is an admitted criminal.

[AtomicKitten]

6. This is Rovian strategy for the 2006 election.

The Rs believe national security is Bush's strong suit and that by being willing to break the law to "protect America," they win.

However, one needs merely to replay all the kvetching and hang-wringing the Rs did about "the rule of law" during MonicaGate. Their hypocrisy has never reeked more.

[tishaLA]

7. Republicons think that anything dealing with "national security"

is a bonus for them. Even if the story is *negative* the fact that we talk about hit helps them because their overreaching makes Democrats look weak by comparison.

It's a perverse world and they are probably right that it's a positive. That's why this Osama tape will lead to a bump in the george's polls even though it should make them drop because it shows, again, that he hasn't been captured.

[BillZBubb]

8. The Repugs are claiming it's a positive.

But that is because they want the reliably timid Dems to drop the issue. They know if they scream loud enough about how a "majority" support them, the Democrats won't push it because they don't want to lose votes.

The Democrats need to understand that polls showing support for the criminal wiretaps are generic--they don't ask the hard questions about warrants being necessary. They just ask do you think the government should listen for terrorists.

This is a winning issue for the Democrats if they fight it right.

[Armstead]

9. Because Tweety has decided it is so

Typical media whore spinning.

Ask someone if they would object to the government bending a few rules to catch a group of sworn enemies of the US from causing anotehr 9-11. It's a no brainer that most will respond that they would support that. I probably would myself.

But that is not the issue. The isue is opening the door to systemic abuse tghat would expand the Big Brother powers of the government on an ongoing and all-perasive basis. Most people would not support that if it were presented to them in real-world terms like that.

"Would you want to be prevented from flying becaue you have some overdue parking tickets?"

"Would you want to be afraid to innocently say words lkike "Osama bin Laden" in casual conversation on the telephone without worrying whether you might appear on an ongoing Snoop list? "

If Democrats and civil libertarians put it in terms that peope can relate to, the real implications can make people less knee-jerk about the question.