# Down Goes Eric Cantor **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 11, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516 "2014-06-11T00:05:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/261 "2014-06-12T23:47:14Z")
[Steve King and Michele Bachmann say](http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/209174-delay-gop-leadership-elections-say-reps-bachmann-king) the leadership elections should be postponed because the current lineup of candidates are insufficiently conservative. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/262 "2014-06-13T02:20:20Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Democracy in action. 😉 > [snip] > > There’s not many places in this world where a powerful and rising political figure can be peacefully voted out in a primary election. Not by a national vote. Citizens in his\* own state and his own party\* decided he wasn’t properly representing their interests. :dubious: You should read up a bit more about parliamentary democracies. There are quite a few of them around the globe. There’s a nicely functioning example just to the north of you. Such psephological events are reasonably standard issue each electoral cycle. On this side of the puddle the voters in the electorate of Bennelong turfed out the sitting head of federal government because their collective judgement was he wasn’t properly representing their interests. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/263 "2014-06-13T03:42:28Z")
I thought Cantor was one of the bigger GOP jerks in Washington, but I am the kind of person who sees a lot of jerks in GOP politics these days. What is so surprising is that such a powerful figure is being taken down and no one is saying, “Gee whiz, Washington needs _more_ guys like Cantor, not less!” Nope, it is pretty much all, “Good riddance!”, not just from me, but people who agree with me, disagree with me, know more than me, less than me, you name it. It doesn’t look like _anyone_ is going to miss this GOP leader. I find that surprising. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/264 "2014-06-13T03:45:55Z")
Well, we don’t have primaries here, but certainly in the general election, any incumbent can be defeated at the local level, regardless how popular they may be nationally. Heck, in 1993, the voters in the riding of Vancouver Centre kicked the Prime Minister of Canada out of the House of Commons, ending her political career. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/265 "2014-06-13T04:29:16Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I thought Cantor was one of the bigger GOP jerks in Washington, but I am the kind of person who sees a lot of jerks in GOP politics these days. What is so surprising is that such a powerful figure is being taken down and no one is saying, “Gee whiz, Washington needs _more_ guys like Cantor, not less!” Nope, it is pretty much all, “Good riddance!”, not just from me, but people who agree with me, disagree with me, know more than me, less than me, you name it. It doesn’t look like _anyone_ is going to miss this GOP leader. I find that surprising. If Cantor was turfed out in November, you would have read accolades and observed another full scale modern conservative freak out. Remember that Wingers are mostly tribal. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/266 "2014-06-13T05:04:11Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Heck, in 1993, the voters in the riding of Vancouver Centre kicked the Prime Minister of Canada out of the House of Commons, ending her political career. I lived in downtown Vancouver at the time. It was a great day. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/267 "2014-06-13T05:30:35Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Heck, in 1993, the voters in the riding of Vancouver Centre kicked the Prime Minister of Canada out of the House of Commons, ending her political career. Of course, in 1993, the entire country also kicked her entire party out of the House of Commons, which probably did more to end her political career than her specific defeat. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/268 "2014-06-13T05:40:26Z")
BTW, here is a good article about Dave Brat: [Dave Brat: The man who upended the Republican Party - POLITICO](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/dave-brat-eric-cantor-virginia-107804.html?hp=f2) Hardly a “dull pencil”. Definitely not a politician - but I see that as a plus. ---
**Author:** ![yawuntz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a5b964/32.png) [@yawuntz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yawuntz)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/269 "2014-06-13T06:40:20Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I lived in downtown Vancouver at the time. It was a great day. I was in east Van at the time. Frabjous day! And then who did we get? John Cretin. Oh well, at least he didn’t lead us into Iraq as Harper would’ve. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/270 "2014-06-13T07:49:22Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > I am sure [SI just hates Denver Broncos](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1104392/index.htm). Or dehumanizes them. And Vanity Fair [hates hates hates](http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2014/05/prince-harry-estonia-italy-tour) Italians and Estonians. Yes, as we know, British royals, Estonians, and Italians face widespread racial prejudice in the current immigration debate. Describing migration as “swarming” is a loaded term when the reality is that net migration across the southern border has rapidly declined in recent years. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/271 "2014-06-13T11:31:37Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > and have respect Islam, especially that Allah is described as “the merciful god of mercy”. I have nothing useful to add, but for some reason this just cracked me up. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/272 "2014-06-13T13:18:03Z")
> [@RickG](#): > > The current Majority _Whip_, Kevin McCarthy (CA-23), is, last I saw, the favorite to replace him as Leader, though he is apparently being challenged by Pete Sessions of Texas. Reports coming out that Sessions is withdrawing and it’s a done deal for McCarthy. For whatever that means. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/273 "2014-06-13T13:27:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Well, the idea that the party “hates” those groups is where the craziness begins. I guess one shouldn’t be surprised if craziness begets craziness. But… I would not want a party to be pro-\ as I dislike the entire concept of identity politics. I guess another part of the craziness is that if you’re not "pro-\ you must be anti that group. Ain’t so. > > As for the OP, EC is far from my favorite Congresscritter, but I have to wonder if whoever replaces him is going to be better or worse. I’m thinking worse. And by “replace”, I mean as Majority Whip. This guy who primaried him is pretty much an unknown, and if the people of his district want to exchange a very powerful guy who can actually get things done with the Junior Congressman from VA, I guess it’s their party so they can cry if they want to. Nipick: Cantor is Majority Leader, not Majority Whip. You can hate identity politics but it is here, just like you can go “tut tut, I hate it when both sides do it” whenever Republicans pull off a dirty trick. Republicans have tapped into the angry white male vote for nearly two generations now. It is only recently that they’ve gone from blowing dog whistles to blowing train whistles. Ten years ago, the Voting Rights Act would have passed easily with broad bipartisan support. Now, it’s unthinkable that Republicans would support such a thing. Voter ID, purging voter rolls, limiting voting hours (with dead aim taken at the “souls to the polls” Sunday voting) have one purpose- to suppress minority voting. Immigration reform is dead in the water thanks to the angry white male Republican base. You can say “both sides do it” but you’d be wrong. Only one party makes hatred of others its motivating force. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/274 "2014-06-13T13:46:37Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Of course, in 1993, the entire country also kicked her entire party out of the House of Commons, which probably did more to end her political career than her specific defeat. Nonsense! if she had retained her seat, then with her charisma and command of the debate in the Commons, she would have single-handedly led the Tories triumphantly back into power in the next election! well, maybe not. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/275 "2014-06-13T15:12:28Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Reports coming out that Sessions is withdrawing and it’s a done deal for McCarthy. > > For whatever that means. [Sessions has dropped out, Hensarling never got in, and now the TP wing is talking of drafting Jim Jordan of Ohio.](http://www.salon.com/2014/06/13/gop_civil_war_explodes_anew_raging_tension_amid_bitter_fight_to_lead_house/) > [@](#): > > Cantor’s downfall was significant in that it brought a sense of immediacy to the civil war between the Tea Party and the establishment. Primary fights were and are dramatic, but their impact was always going to be felt much further on down the road, after the November elections, when the new Congress convenes in 2015. With Cantor defeated and his leadership position vacant, there was a sudden and unexpected opportunity for the Tea Party to assert its influence now. And the establishment moved quickly to make sure that didn’t happen. > > So now instead of trying to cobble together a temporary alliance between insurgent candidates and established incumbents aimed at taking down the Democrats, the two camps are at each other’s throats less than five months before Election Day. Republicans in disarray! > > From a pragmatic standpoint, McCarthy sliding into Cantor’s spot with a minimum of fuss makes the most sense, arguably for both the establishment and the Tea Party. The establishment obviously would want to promote one of their own, but McCarthy will have to face another leadership election next January. The Tea Party caucus could use that time to organize and get its candidates and strategy set. But the drama of Cantor’s downfall has left them feeling like they’re owed something. “Less than twenty-four hours after the shockwaves of Eric Cantor’s defeat, the House Republican Party has decided to ignore the results as a meaningless anomaly,” Erickson wrote. > > The irony, of course, is that McCarthy, Sessions and Hensarling are all very conservative lawmakers by any objective reading, and Cantor’s defeat will likely mean that whoever occupies the majority leader’s position will yank the party even further to the right than it already is. Erickson and his ilk have already won, but they refuse to realize it. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/276 "2014-06-13T15:25:36Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > [Steve King and Michele Bachmann say](http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/209174-delay-gop-leadership-elections-say-reps-bachmann-king) the leadership elections should be postponed because the current lineup of candidates are insufficiently conservative. So “insufficiently conservative” is now righty codespeak for “not batshit insane enough”? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/277 "2014-06-13T17:03:49Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > This guy who primaried him is pretty much an unknown, and if the people of his district want to exchange a very powerful guy who can actually get things done with the Junior Congressman from VA, I guess it’s their party so they can cry if they want to. :dubious: For the Tea Party types, “getting things done” is a bug, not a feature. Investing in infrastructure – even just to the point of making sure [D-grade roads](http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/) don’t further disintegrate into F-grade roads – is wasteful pork that “we cant afford!” as they repeat mantra-like. :rolleyes: Getting bills passed involves compromise with [He Who Must Not Be Named](http://davebratforcongress.com/reforming-washington/) or at least his minions, which is the most evil thing a politician can do. So the fact that Brat wouldn’t be able to “get things done” is totally a good thing to the people who voted that Cantor wasn’t conservative enough. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/278 "2014-06-13T17:23:02Z")
Be fair. \*\*John \*\*said “can” get things done, not “does” or “wants to”. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/279 "2014-06-13T18:30:52Z")
Policy-wise, greater Tea Party power makes future government shutdowns more likely. Debt default is still improbable, but also more likely. Debt default threats are likely. I’m not hand wringing: this is one of the core issues that divides the Republican Party: should the government pay its bills? Both wings pursue lower taxes, lower social spending, higher military spending and higher budget deficits in practice. What divides them is their stance on holding the economy hostage when they are a minority party. Tactics and morality, not ideology. ## Of course when modern Washington Republicans attain majorities, their enthusiasm for budget cuts tapers off, suggesting that their true beliefs need to be imputed by the prudent and that their statements shouldn’t be trusted. We could trust them, but that would be wrong. As I noted upthread, Cantor leaned towards the rebels to begin with and wasn’t really a deal cutter. So no loss for the country. And I wonder about the value of pork to the average resident. New roads and rails can be useful, but some projects benefit only a modest chunk of the district. Skeptical voters might bear that in mind and inform themselves on the internet. Besides, he was allegedly against earmarks anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516/280 "2014-06-13T18:39:34Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Wow! Except for the fact that I am a Republican and support SSM, have gone to pride parades with my wife’s friends, have dated Muslim women and have respect Islam, especially that Allah is described as “the merciful god of mercy”. > > Youy response? Or are you going to ignore it like all the other Dems that paint Republicans with a broad brush assuming we’re all TeaBaggers? Woo! You went to a parade! What, exactly, is the legislative record on gay rights of the Republicans you’ve put into office? Going to a parade doesn’t make you an ally, it makes you a tourist. What matters is what you do in the voting booth. And if you’re regularly throwing gay people under the bus so you can pay slightly lower tax, why exactly should I have any sympathy for you if you end up getting some of your party’s unrelenting torrent of hateful bullshit smeared on your hands? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-goes-eric-cantor/690516.md?page=15)