Much of American Public Naïve, or Worse, About Bush and Civil Liberties
Not enough Americans revere the liberties that make this country great and are all too willing to surrender them. And some Americans seem to want to live on Planet Dictator.
Much of American Public Naïve, or Worse, About Bush and Civil Liberties
October 31, 2006
After all of Bush’s abuses of power, a majority of the American public still doesn’t get it.
Even though the Patriot Act allows him to send law enforcement into your home when you’re not there, even though his NSA spying policy allows him to tap your phone without a warrant, even though the Military Commissions Act allows him to detain you as an enemy combatant and to lock up any visiting relatives from overseas for life without a trial, most Americans amazingly seem OK with Bush’s expanded power and their diminished civil liberties.
This, according to a CNN poll of 1,013 American adults conducted by Opinion Research Corp October 20-22.
When asked, “Do you think the Bush Administration has gone too far, has been about right, or has not gone far enough in restricting people’s civil liberties to fight terrorism,” people responded in the following way: 39% said it had gone too far,34% said it had done about right,25% said it had not gone far enough, and 2% gave no opinion.
While it may be reassuring to know that a plurality thought he’d gone too far, when you combine those who said he was doing “about right” with those who wanted more infringements, you get 59 percent who are content to see their liberties, our liberties, encroached upon.
And the 25% who say he hasn’t gone far enough—what planet are they on? Planet Dictator?
Unfortunately, not enough Americans revere the liberties that make this country great and are all too willing to surrender them.