Majority of Republicans view Boehner as ineffective

A new poll by Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell shows that Republican Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) is no favorite of Republican voters.

{mosads}After four years of watching and rooting for Boehner to succeed in fighting to limit the size and scope of government, fully 60 percent of Republicans surveyed want someone new to be Speaker.

To make matters worse for Boehner, 64 percent viewed him as being “ineffective in opposing Obama’s agenda.” A resounding repudiation to the person most associated nationally with leading Republicans during the Obama presidency.

What is almost as amazing is that the Speaker is barely right-side up on the favorable/unfavorable test among Republican voters, scoring a meager 43 percent to 34 percent edge among those who should be his staunchest supporters.

The poll has been released in advance of the upcoming House session, with increased movement amongst members to reconsider their decision to support Boehner on the floor of the House.

Discontent among Republican House members over the handling of a variety of issues during the lame-duck session, most notably the decision to fully fund President Obama’s top three priorities — ObamaCare, the Environmental Protection Agency and his executive amnesty — have created a rebellion within his own conference.

Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), who previously pledged to vote for Boehner, changed course in a press announcement, writing that “The CR/omnibus legislation sufficiently undermines the checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution that it warrants my pending vote against the [S]peaker. 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.”

It only takes 29 Republicans to vote for a Republican other than Boehner for Speaker on the floor of the House to throw the position open to another Republican alternative. Indications from within the conference are that there are many more than that who would be willing to vote against the Speaker, if they believed the effort would succeed.

The key will be whether what was expected to be a relatively calm House Republican Conference meeting on Monday evening turns into a donnybrook over the Speaker election. If this occurs, all bets are off and Tuesday gets interesting.

In baseball terms, when the dust settles, the question of whether House Republicans decide to rehire a manager who is viewed by their fanbase as somewhat affable and well-meaning, but completely ineffective in leading their team to victory, will be answered.

Republicans around the country clearly don’t want another two years of a Boehner speakership. Will their elected representatives agree?

Manning is vice president of public policy and communications for Americans for Limited Government.