Still, there have been rumblings about how lackluster Speaker Boehner's support is among Republicans - both in Congress and in the general population. A new poll is out that shows Boehner's support among self-identified Republicans is tepid, at best. As Jim Geraghty reports for National Review:
Asked, “If it were up to you, would you elect John Boehner to continue as Speaker of the House or would you elect someone new?”, 11 percent of respondents said “definitely” Boehner, 15 percent said “probably,” 26 percent said “probably” someone new, and 34 percent said someone new, definitely.
When asked whether they agree with the statement, “Speaker Boehner has been ineffective in opposing President Obama’s agenda”, 64 percent agreed, 24 percent disagreed. An entire 29 percent strongly agreed, only 9 percent strongly disagreed.
That second part is pretty astounding - that Republicans don't think Speaker Boehner has been effective in opposing Obama.
And in a piece for The Daily Signal, Rep. Jim Bridenstine writes:
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The CR/omnibus legislation sufficiently undermines the checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution that it warrants my pending vote against the speaker. John Boehner went too far when he teamed with Obama to advance this legislation. He relinquished the power of the purse, and with it he lost my vote.
Bridenstine does not say who he might support outside of Boehner. Again, there's no particular person running against Boehner right now, and despite all of this, it's very likely that Boehner retains his Speakership after next week's elections. Still, numbers like these are important - at a time when Republicans are taking control of all of Congress and many conservatives are energized, they're not particularly fond of the Republicans' leader in Congress.
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