GOP 'READY FOR A REVOLUTION,' SURVEY REVEALS

2 of 3 say new House speaker should come from outside Congress

Published: 13 hours ago

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.”

See the results:

Question 4: Thinking about Republican leaders in Congress, would you say that, overall, they are doing an excellent job, a good job, only a fair job, or a poor job?

Question 5: Thinking specifically about the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, would you say that, overall, he is doing an excellent job, a good job, only a fair job, or a poor job?

Question 6: Thinking about U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner, would you say that, overall, he is doing an excellent job, a good job, only a fair job, or a poor job?

Question 7: Since Speaker of the House John Boehner has said he will soon retire, in your opinion, should he be replaced by one of his top assistants who have been part of the so-called Republican establishment, or by one of the conservatives who have opposed him and helped force his retirement?

Question 8: The Speaker of the House does not have to be an elected member of Congress … which means Republicans could replace John Boehner with an outsider – someone like former Vice President Dick Cheney or former Speaker Newt Gingrich, or even a business executive, who might bring a new perspective to the job. Would you favor Republicans choosing a new speaker from within their own ranks or would you favor someone who is an outsider?

Question 17: If you were voting today in your state’s primary or caucus election for the Republican nomination for president … for whom would you vote?