Poll: Majority of Americans Say Snowden Is A Whistleblower, Not A Traitor

Over my vacation I read the book "In the Garden of Evil" by Erik Larson which recounts the experiences of William E. Dodd, America’s Ambassador to Germany and his family in Third Reich Germany over the four years from 1933 t0 1937.  It is an interesting read and demonstrates how a democracy can be subverted into a dictatorship by a small group of individuals.  One of the many things that was striking was how the German populace closed their eyes to growing domestic spying and ultimately terror against citizens, especially those of Jewish descent, which was justified as necessary for domestic stability and national security.  As we all know, by the time many woke up to reality, it was too late to stop Hitler and his megalomania.  I'm am by no means comparing either George W. Bush/Dick Cheney or now Barack Obama to Hitler, but the justifications for the NSA's spying on American citizens sounds frighteningly similar to the Nazi's justifications for actions that led both to domestic terror against anyone deemed non-supportive of the Nazi regime and, of course, the nightmare of World War II.  A new poll reported on in Talking Points Memo suggests that so far the America public is not as complacent as Germans in the 1930's.  Here are story highlights:

A majority of American voters believe National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is a whistleblower, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University released Wednesday morning.

The nationwide poll found that 55 percent of voters regard Snowden, the 30-year-old former defense contractor who leaked details of top secret surveillance programs, as a whistleblower. A mere 34 percent labeled him a traitor. 

The poll suggested that a majority of the country disagrees with much of Capitol Hill, with bipartisan chorus of lawmakers — from Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) — characterizing Snowden as a traitor.

One can only hope that Barack Obama and members of Congress from both parties are listening.  The America public needs to know what the crimes committed in their name (i.e., Bradley Manning's disclosure of war crimes) and likely unconstitutional domestic spying on U.S. citizens.