These days, a survey showing 49 percent approval of congressional Republicans is astonishingly positive ... unless the people being surveyed are House Republican aides. In that case, it's not so hot.
CQ Roll Call sent the questionnaire to congressional aides from both parties and in both the House and the Senate, and the House Republicans stood out in
their gloomy view of their own party.
The angst in the GOP House is even more striking when compared with how Senate aides of both parties and Democratic House staffers view their own leadership.
For example, 55 percent of Senate GOP aides said they approved of the job the Republican leadership is doing, compared to the 49 percent of House Republican aides who approved of it.
The discrepancy between disapproval ratings was more pronounced. Only 28 percent of the Senate aides said they disapproved of the job GOP leaders are doing, compared to 45 percent of House aides.
The Republican aides didn't seem very confident that new Speaker Paul Ryan would get a honeymoon period from rank-and-file lawmakers, either. Just 50 percent said Ryan would get his honeymoon, while 49 percent didn't think so, so it's not like they think that the turmoil of John Boehner's departure is necessarily over. That said, in a bit of bright news for the country—if they're right—just 12 percent of congressional aides and just six percent of House Republican aides surveyed think there will be a government shutdown in December.
But the Republican aides' lack of faith in their own leadership is a good signal to the rest of us that Speaker Ryan won't be setting the House on course anytime soon.