A new poll from the Washington Post suggests that the President Bush may be winning a double victory with his illegal NSA domestic surveillance programs. Americans seem willing to buy the White House's "tough on terrorism" hype at the expense of the law and their own civil liberties. And as an added ironic bonus, the President gets another opportunity to decry leaks that supposedly jeopardize national security.
Surprisingly, the poll data show Americans even more content with revelations over government mining of their personal phone records than with its unlawful warrantless eavesdropping. 63% of those surveyed support the NSA's effort to track the phone calls of millions of Americans, with a staggering 44% strongly supporting the initiative. A shocking 66% of respondents said they would not be bothered "if you found out that the NSA had a record of phone numbers that you yourself have called." 42% of those surveyed backed the administration's claim that the media was wrong for having reported the story.
All of which is very good news for Karl Rove and the Republicans 2006 mid-term election prospects. Rove and the RNC have made it very clear that will ride "Brand W" and go to the well one more time on the GOP's supposed "tough on terrorists" advantage. Americans can expect a healthy dose of the endless Republican chant of the Democrats' supposed "pre-9/11 worldview." For the GOP, partisan political advantage, it would seem, trumps patriotism and the law.
Meanwhile, Congressmen from both parties howl over the NSA phone records scandal, promise hearings with the telecommunications companies, and raise the specter (no pun intended) of blocking the confirmation of General Hayden for the CIA. And in the White House, President Bush smirks and says, "bring it on."
For the latest news, legal documents, key statutes and other essential materials, visit the Perrspectives NSA Domestic Spying Scandal Resource Center.