First, a Washington Post/Schar School poll. The Schar School, if you're unfamiliar, is part of George Mason University. First, the small print: the poll was conducted via phone 10/1 - 10/6 from among a random national sample of 1007 adults. 69% were reached via cell and 31% via land line. The margin of error is 3.5%. On to the questions.
Only 35% of respondents think that president Trump upholds adequate ethical standards; 65% do not, and 5% don't know. Looking at Joe Biden, 47% think he would uphold adequate ethical standards, while 38% think he wouldn't and 15% don't know. And this is even with daily attacks, sometimes multiple attacks, from Trump and his minions about Biden and his son Hunter.
On whether Congress should have begun an impeachment inquiry, 58% agree it should have, with 43% strongly agreeing with the inquiry. On the flip side, 38% disagree with the inquiry, (29% strongly). In a follow-up for those who agree with the impeachment inquiry, 49% say he should be impeached and removed from office, while 9% say impeachment is OK, but removal is not.
Looking at Congress,
- 49% approve of how the Democrats are handling it, while 44% disapprove.
- 56% disapprove of how the Republicans are handling it, while only 33% approve.
- For both parties, 11% have no opinion.
On the Democrats specifically, since they're in charge,
- 53% feel Democrats are acting to uphold their constitutional duties; 42% disagree.
- 61% believe the Dems are making a necessary stand against Trump's actions; 35% disagree.
- 50% believe Dems are distracting Congress from more important issues; 36% disagree.
- 41% think the Dems are overreacting, while 55% disagree.
And now, let's look at a Fox News Poll, with interviews conducted 10/6 - 10/8 from a national random sample of 1,003 registered voters. 229 were via land line, 774 via cellphone. Phone numbers were randomly selected using logic making the phone numbers for each state proportional to the number of voters in each state. That's the small print.
Should president Trump be impeached and removed from office? 51% said yes, 43% said no. Of the 43% who said he shouldn't be, 8% say he should be impeached but not removed, and 82% say he shouldn't be impeached at all.
Here are the top five reasons given for not impeaching him:
- it's political/a witch hunt; 30%
- he did nothing wrong: 21%
- there's a lack of evidence/need more facts: 15%
- I approve of his job performance: 11%
- no impeachable offenses have been committed: 10%
Respondents weren't very impressed with Trump's call with Zelensky; 43% say it was 'best described' as an impeachable offense, while another 27% said it was inappropriate but not impeachable. Only 17% thought it was appropriate. And, overwhelmingly people think it's inappropriate to ask a foreign country to investigate political opponents, by a 41-point margin (66% to 25%).
The survey also asked respondents about motivation, specifically the motivation of Democrats and Republicans in this process. For example
- 48% of respondents say the Democrats really think Trump committed an impeachable offense, but 45% think the Dems are just trying to hurt Trump politically.
- 32% say the Republicans really think he didn't commit an impeachable offense, while 55% think the Rs are just trying to protect him.
And, we'll close with a couple of interesting opinions:
- 48% think Trump is getting what he deserves with impeachment; 37% think people are out to get him.
- 55% think what matters to Trump is doing what's best for him, compared to 39% who think what matters is doing what's best for the country.
There are two or three other polls out recently where a majority of respondents believe that impeachment is the right step to take. I had heard there were some questions with the analysis of the Fox Survey, but again, there are several others showing Americans favor going through the constitutional process.
The politicians should listen to us, for a change, don't you think?
In answer to your question, yes. John Katko, take heed.
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