August 1974: 66% favored impeachment of Nixon.

[WinkyDink]

A Louis Harris survey released this week (August 12, 1974) showed a dramatic shift in favor of impeachment and conviction, undoubtedly because of the impact of the televised Judiciary Committee proceedings. By 66% to 27%, those polled in personal interviews last week favored impeachment, up from 53% to 34% in a survey taken in July, just before the public committee debate started. According to the poll, a majority (56% to 31%) now believe that Nixon should be ousted from office, up from 47% to 34% in the earlier sampling. In July, a Harris survey found that most people (55% to 27%) thought that Nixon would not be found guilty. Now 47% to 40% say that he will be found guilty.

http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,908622,00.html

[H2O Man]

1. "Some people draw

a picture of a horse and then write 'horse' under it. We just drew the horse."
-- Senator Sam Ervin at a July 12, 1974 press conference, discussing the Senate's historic Ervin Committee.

[longship]

4. For those who weren't there.

The Senate hearings began a whole year prior to the House impeachment hearings.

The Senate hearings were approved Feb 7, 1973, the House impeachment hearings on Feb 6, 1974. Lots and lots of stuff happened in the interim.

[leveymg]

2. Note the 47/34 opinion split before hearings were televised

I think we could get those numbers up to 66/27 if the whole BushCo mess was unearthed on live gavel-to-gavel coverage.

But, later. Wait for the Congressional investigations to dig up the worms, first.

[longship]

3. Those wanting Chimp impeachment need to read this.

The whole article. It's very important for all of us to understand what it takes to get a President impeached, and I don't mean using Clinton or Andrew Johnson as examples. Nixon is the only exemplar. We should use it as our guideline.

Right now, support for impeachment is *soft*. Of the majority who would support impeachment, most of them qualify it by saying, "if Chimp is shown to have committed impeachable offenses" or "if Chimp is shown to have lied us into war." "Shown" means in hearings and investigations, not public hearsay or Net chat.

We really have a lot of work to do if we are to accomplish impeachment.

[WinkyDink]

5. Yes, but if you enjoy what you do, it isn't "work". ;)

1973-74. What a time. John Dean became, and remains, a hero to me.
I have about 50 books about this historic time. Yeah, I was a wee bit interested.

[longship]

6. I wish other DUers would get just as interested.

Especially those calling for House impeachment inquiries before investigations. They really have no idea how bad that would turn out. If our goal is to impeach--I remain totally unconvinced--we're going to have to turn around public opinion, the Press, and Congress. If we get any two of those, we'll get the third.

[Captain Hilts]

7. Most people didn't know what 'impeachment' exactly was. Sad, but true. nt