[Vision2020] Huge majority wants Clapper prosecuted for perjury

[Paul Rumelhart]

I'm curious how people here would have voted on the poll.  If you don't 
want to read further, here is the question that was asked:

"Edward Snowden revealed that the Director of National Intelligence lied 
to Congress about whether the government was collecting millions of 
phone and Internet records from ordinary Americans. The Director has 
since admitted he did not tell the truth. Do you think the Director of 
National Intelligence should be prosecuted for perjury?"

Also, how much gall is there in Obama asking Clapper to head an NSA 
reform panel?  Is he trying to look evil?

Paul



Here is the article from Salon 
(http://www.salon.com/2013/08/15/huge_majority_wants_clapper_prosecuted_for_perjury/):


Huge majority wants Clapper prosecuted for perjury

  New polls show Americans in various states want the director of 
national intelligence held to account for lying
By David Sirota

There is no longer any doubt that Director of National Intelligence 
James Clapper lied to Congress. Likewise, there is no doubt that his lie 
runs afoul of federal law. And, of course, there is no doubt that in 
terms of its implications for oversight, constitutional precepts and 
privacy for millions of Americans, his lies were far more serious than 
those that have gotten other people prosecuted for perjury. The question 
now is whether his brazen dishonesty will become a political issue --- 
or whether it will simply disappear into the ether.

As evidenced by President Obama this week attempting to promote Clapper 
to head an "independent" NSA reform panel, the White House clearly 
believes it will be the latter. But a set of new polls out today 
suggests such a calculation may be wrong.

Commissioned by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Credo and 
conducted by Public Policy Polling in five ideologically diverse states, 
the surveys find that huge majorities want Clapper prosecuted.

The question posed to respondents was:

     Edward Snowden revealed that the Director of National Intelligence 
lied to Congress about whether the government was collecting millions of 
phone and Internet records from ordinary Americans. The Director has 
since admitted he did not tell the truth. Do you think the Director of 
National Intelligence should be prosecuted for perjury?

In the Democratic states of California and Hawaii, 54 percent and 58 
percent of voters, respectively, want him prosecuted. In 
middle-of-the-road Iowa, it's 65 percent. And in Republican Texas and 
Kentucky, it is 68 percent and 69 percent, respectively.

These are particularly striking numbers because the "not sure" numbers 
are relatively small. Oftentimes, Washington scandals have a Las 
Vegas-style quality to them in that what happens in D.C. stays in D.C. 
That often means voters don't have strong feelings about a controversy 
--- or don't feel informed enough to have a strong opinion.

But in this case, the polls show relatively few voters expressing such a 
sentiment. That suggests not only that the NSA story has seeped into the 
national consciousness, but also that people are specifically aware of 
--- and disgusted by --- the rampant lying by the Obama administration.

PCCC is already running a campaign to try to force a formal 
investigation into the NSA's activities. Will we soon see ads by 
congressional candidates criticizing the administration's failure to 
prosecute Clapper? Last week, D.C. political operatives might have 
laughed at that idea.

But with these new polls, it doesn't seem so far-fetched. In fact, it 
seems more and more like shrewd politics --- especially if the White 
House continues to grant de facto immunity to Clapper and others who hid 
potentially illegal and unconstitutional surveillance from Congress.
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