House Speaker John
Boehner is retiring because of pressure from conservatives in Congress. His
heir apparent, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, decided he wouldn’t run for the position,
likely for the same reason. Former GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul
Ryan says he really doesn’t want the job, but would take it with conditions.
There’s been talk that Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell should step
aside, too.
All that matters little
to voters, however, according to a new WND/Clout poll by Clout Research, a national opinion research firm in Columbus,
Ohio.
Its telephone survey
Oct. 15-19 found a startling two-thirds of likely GOP voters believe the new
House speaker should be someone from outside Congress.
And Republicans were
joined in that position by independent voters.
The poll found 63.6
percent of the GOP voters would like an outsider to take the reins in the
House, and 73.9 percent of independents agreed.
Overall, 65.5 of the
respondents, including nearly 40 percent of Democrats, favored bringing in an
outsider, as the Constitution allows.
Fritz Wenzel, chief of
Clout Research, told WND an outsider candidate could be someone such as former
Vice President Dick Cheney or former Speaker Newt Gingrich.
The poll shows “the
party rank-and-file is ready for a revolution,” he said.
“After two landmark
midterm elections back to back that dramatically changed the U.S. House
complexion, making it more conservative, and after they have won very little
for all their work, Republican voters appear willing to double down on change,”
he said.
Wenzel said Boehner and
McCarthy represented “anything but change, and members of the GOP conference
who have cheered their exit from the speakership scene are likely feeling the
heat from their supporters back home.”
Ryan has said several
times he doesn’t want the job, but he has been heavily recruited. In his latest
statement, he said he would take the position with certain conditions,
including unified support from GOP factions.
“Does Rep. Paul Ryan
bridge this gap between establishment and opposition?” Wenzel said. “It’s yet
unclear, but our survey findings do show that he will not be able to ignore the
grass roots Republicans who are hungering for substantive changes to be made.”
He said conservatives
“have proven they will not go away – they have endured insult and inaction on
their agenda for five years – and it appears we are at a key crossroads for the
future of the party.”
“Any electorate
who appears willing to hand their party’s presidential nomination to
Donald Trump is clearly looking for a serious diversion from business as usual
in Washington, and these findings indicate that that must be a top priority of
the next speaker – or the GOP insurrection will continue.”
The poll’s
candidate-preference results aligned closely with other major polls, with 33 percent
picking Donald Trump for the GOP nomination, 24 percent Dr. Ben Carson, 10
percent Sen. Marco Rubio, 9 percent Carly Fiorina, 8.9 percent Sen. Ted Cruz
and 7.9 percent Gov. Jeb Bush.
The desire for an
outsider is reflected in voters’ views of leaders in Congress.
Nearly 80 percent said
their performance is only fair or poor. That figure was almost 90 percent for
independents, 80 percent for Republicans. Only 55 percent of the Democratic
Party gave the House leadership those ratings – most other Democrats had no
opinion.
Regarding McConnell, 78
percent of respondents gave him an “only fair” or “poor” rating, while for
Boehner, the criticism topped 70 percent.
Offered a choice between
one of the “so-called Republican establishment” or “one of the conservatives
who have opposed” Boehner, 52 percent called for a conservative replacement.
Wenzel pointed out the
19 percent positive job performance ratings for the GOP leaders,.
“Just as Donald Trump
has confounded establishment types by leading Republican presidential
preference polls, nearly twice as many GOPers nationwide said they would prefer
a member of the opposition faction of the Republican Party to replace John
Boehner as speaker of the House when he soon retires,” he said.
“While 28 percent of
Republicans said they would prefer another Boehner-like establishment leader,
52 percent said they would rather have a new leader who represents the
opposition faction of the House.”
http://www.wnd.com/2015/10/gop-ready-for-a-revolution-survey-reveals/
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