(CNN)Two days from a giant vote over whether witnesses will be allowed to be called in the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, Republicans are faced with a stark problem: The voting public really likes the idea.
Three-quarters of the public (75%) in a new Quinnipiac University poll, to be exact. And while that numbers includes almost unanimous support for witnesses among Democrats (95%), it also shows a large majority of independents in favor of witnesses (75%) and even a near-majority of Republicans (49%).
Those numbers aren't an outlier, either. A CNN poll released earlier this month showed 69% support for witnesses -- including, again, a plurality of Republicans (48%). A Monmouth University poll showed 75% for witnesses.
In short: Public opinion is firm in favor of witnesses. And that support is across the political spectrum -- an anomaly in our deeply polarized times. The reason is simple: Logic suggests that if witnesses have new or important information, most people think we should hear from them.
Not allowing witnesses to bring forward that new information feels like a cover-up or at least makes people suspicious as to why anyone wouldn't want to have the fullest picture possible before deciding on whether or not to remove a President.
Three-quarters of the public (75%) in a new Quinnipiac University poll, to be exact. And while that numbers includes almost unanimous support for witnesses among Democrats (95%), it also shows a large majority of independents in favor of witnesses (75%) and even a near-majority of Republicans (49%).
Those numbers aren't an outlier, either. A CNN poll released earlier this month showed 69% support for witnesses -- including, again, a plurality of Republicans (48%). A Monmouth University poll showed 75% for witnesses.
In short: Public opinion is firm in favor of witnesses. And that support is across the political spectrum -- an anomaly in our deeply polarized times. The reason is simple: Logic suggests that if witnesses have new or important information, most people think we should hear from them.
Not allowing witnesses to bring forward that new information feels like a cover-up or at least makes people suspicious as to why anyone wouldn't want to have the fullest picture possible before deciding on whether or not to remove a President.
