Posted on 02/01/2006 5:02:29 PM PST by SC33
A new online poll of 1,028 conservative activists and donors shows that 77 percent are either seriously disappointed with Republican congressional leaders or want them replaced.
The Jan. 31 survey also found that 54 percent of conservatives feel so abandoned by current congressional leaders and President Bush that they plan to reduce their contributions and/or grass roots work for GOP candidates in the 2006 election. And 70 percent would support a principled conservative challenger running against an established incumbent Republican in a 2006 GOP primary.
The poll, taken just two days before House Republicans vote to choose new leaders, should serve as a wake-up call to GOP officials and President Bush, said Richard A. Viguerie, chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, which sponsored the survey.
"Conservatives feel betrayed by the Republican leaders, and they want them replaced, said Viguerie, who has been dubbed the "Funding Father of the conservative movement. "Conservatives, which form the GOPs base, provided most of the volunteers and money to elect a Republican-controlled House and Senate and wound up with bigger government as a result. Now more than half of these committed activists say theyll reduce or end their involvement in the 2006 elections which could prove devastating for the GOP.
Asked how they feel about the Republican members of Congress, 48 percent of conservatives report being "disappointed and an additional 32 percent think they "should be replaced.
Asked to grade the GOP-controlled Congress, 73 percent gave it a D or F on "controlling government spending," 73 percent gave it a D or F on "reducing illegal immigration and 54 percent gave it an "overall grade of D or F.
Sixty-three percent gave Bush a D or F on controlling government spending.
Perhaps most troublesome for the GOP, Viguerie pointed out, is how that anger may affect the 2006 mid-term elections: 51 percent of donors said they plan to reduce or end their financial support in 2006.
"This is a recipe for Republicans losing both houses of Congress in 2006. Republican leaders need to comprehend that if they govern as liberals, they will lose the support of conservatives, Viguerie said.
A recent example might be the governor's race in Virginia. A leftist won the race for governor of Virginia. The Republicans in the State House and Senate raised taxes; the Republican running for governor positioned himself as a moderate who stood for nothing. He took his good old time to reaffirm the second amendment. It it no wonder he lost to Tim Kaine. It does not seem to matter whether Virginia has a Republican or Democrat in office, because there is no conservatism.
"If people choose to ignore the anger that has built up over the last few years rather than address it, then the Republicans will lose."
All politics is local. What can individuals do, to acknowledge their anger, to their satisfaction?
Bush is done in 2008, in case the one making these threats hasn't realized.
Individual candidates run, every two, four or six years. That is where the rubber meets the road. If they don't like a particular representative, put money behind a primary alternative.
Real simple!!
Pessimists aren't always right
Online polls, no matter what they show, are worthless.
If the they were accurate, then John Kerry would have won all 50 states in 2004, the House and Senate would be 90% Democrat, and the population would be demanding homosexual marriage be made legal.
Of course, just like the Democrats and MSM media do with their bogus polls, the Bush haters will latch onto this poll, claim it is true, and then use it to justify their whacked out positions.
And that is why 2005 was a record year for the RNC.
I'm a guy like "you [ReaganMan]" and I believe you are mistaken or deliberately lying. I never heard one Reagan supporter say that. Democrats said that. Republicans bitched about O'Neill and minions breaking deals and going wild on spending. We were fighting to keep the tax cuts.
That is just one of the most deceptive characterizations I've read on this site, which has a lot of them.
BS, there were a lot of so-called "true conservatives" who were whining about Reagan back in the mid-80's.
Dane, we were hunkered down taking heat because of insistence on deficits and increasing military spending in the face of deficits. Sorry, but what you say is just a lie.
should read, "insistence on keeping tax cuts and increased military spending"
I bet you if you did a Lexis/Nexis search, there would be a ton of articles whining about Reagan not being conservative enough back in the mid-80's.
Some of the issues that are making Republicans and conservatives in particular angry today are not trivial. It isn't about whining for the sake of it and history has proven over and over when people get angry enough they will throw out incumbents.
lol
Oh stop it with the drama queen exaggerations. What have you only been here two minutes?
I never heard one Reagan supporter say that.
Did you live in some remote cave with no TV? I remember it well and I'm sure many others do too.
JMO, it's called political sour grapes, bruised ego, etc.etc..
ping
"It remains to be seen, however, whether this will have a serious impact at the ballot"
Clearly that sentence came out weird, but I think you understand what I mean.
Don't, you'd lose. For starters, you don't know me at all. In 1986 the deficit was coming down, welfare entitlement and non-security discretionary spending had been reduced and Reagan nominated a solid conservative to the SC by the name of, Antonin Scalia. And the GOP ws getting my donations. Life was good.
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