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Thread: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

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    Default House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Eric Cantor, the US congressman from Virginia's 7th District, has lost the Republican primary election to the economics professor Dave Brat. Although this is an opinion piece below, it perfectly captures the populist reasons why Dave Brat won, despite his campaign budget of $231,000 being absolutely dwarfed by Cantor's $5.7 million. It appears that sometimes money in politics doesn't always guarantee a victory, thank God. Even if, ideologically as a voter, you disagree with many of Brat's stances on conservative issues and policy, it's good to see that in 2014 - in the wake of the Supreme Court decision on "Citizens United" - the populist candidate can actually challenge and win against the guy with all the corporate donations and all the money.



    Dave Brat's Win Over Eric Cantor Exposed the Unholy Tea Party-Wall Street Alliance

    (Note: the bold text is done by me, not the author.)

    The Tea Party wave that built around the country in 2009 and 2010 was fueled by many things—resentment over foolhardy homeowners getting mortgage relief, backlash against the Affordable Care Act, and anxiety over federal spending. But if its rhetoric was to be believed, the movement was also driven by a healthy dose of old-fashioned anti-Wall Street populism—anger over the TARP bailouts, the AIG bonuses, the Obama administration’s failure to prosecute any of the bankers who’d brought us close to ruin.

    Something funny happened, though, as the pitchforks made their way to confront the money changers at the temple: Wall Street and big business co-opted them. It turned out that some elements of the Tea Party movement were much more opposed to Obama than they were to self-dealing CEOs and bankers, and perfectly willing to join with the latter to fight the former. This quickly produced the confounding spectacle of a purportedly populist uprising that was working hand in hand, and in many cases funded by, the business elite. And the nexus for this alliance was the Republican leadership in Congress. When Republicans were trying to block the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, they took Frank Luntz’s devious advice to label the bill a “bailout” for the banks—deploying Tea Party rhetoric to attack a bill that was in fact bitterly opposed by the bailed-out banks. In recognition of this effort, Wall Street in 2010 swung its campaign spending sharply toward GOP candidates, including many running under the Tea Party banner.

    And when the Tea Party wave reached Washington, after the Republican rout in the midterm elections, who put himself forward as the new arrivals’ standard bearer within the House leadership? None other than Eric Cantor—the top recipient of financial industry money in Congress, the longtime protector of one of the most notorious Wall Street favors of all, the tax loophole for the carried-interest income of private-equity and hedge-fund managers. It was an incongruous spectacle, but so muddled had the right’s populism become by that point that the opportunistic Cantor was able to brazen his way through it. It was he who goaded the insurgent congressmen to make the raising of the debt-ceiling limit in June of 2011 their big stand against Obama: “I’m asking you to look at a potential increase in the debt limit as a leverage moment when the White House and President Obama will have to deal with us,” Cantor told the rank-and-file in a closed-door meeting in Baltimore in January 2011. It was he who undermined Speaker John Boehner’s effort to reach a grand bargain with Obama to pull the nation back from the brink, by riling up rank-and-file conservatives against the deal. It was a brilliant display: in one fell swoop, Cantor was able to protect the financiers’ carried-interest loophole (which Obama sought to close as part of the deal) at the same very time as he was serving as the champion of the Tea Party insurgents.

    Now, Cantor’s game is up. Many, such as my colleague John Judis and the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza, have already noted the right-wing populism in the rhetoric of Dave Brat, the economics professor who upset Cantor in Tuesday’s primary. But what is particularly significant about Brat’s victory is that he deployed this populism against the very man who had perfected the art of faking it. “All the investment banks in New York and D.C.—those guys should have gone to jail,” Brat said at one Tea Party rally last month. “Instead of going to jail, they went on Eric’s Rolodex, and they are sending him big checks.” Liberals have for some time now been decrying Cantor’s hypocrisy in posing as the tribune of the common man, but here was a fellow Republican calling it out (without, it should be noted, the assistance of any of the self-appointed Tea Party organizations that have been so willing to make common cause with their anti-Obama allies on Wall Street). Yes, some conservatives have for the past few years been making noise about “crony capitalism,” but somehow their examples of this scourge most often tended to be Democratic-inflected rackets, such as the failed solar energy company Solyndra, rather than Republican-tinted ones such as, say, the private lenders who were making a killing acting as taxpayer-subsidized middle-men in the student loan market.
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    This is why we should be grateful for Dave Brat, beyond the schadenfreude of seeing a widely disliked congressional leader brought low. Yes, Brat’s win will add new kindling to the Tea Party cause just as some were declaring it burned out, thus further reducing the odds of legislative progress in areas such as immigration reform. But his win has, at least momentarily, also brought some clarity and integrity to the insurgency. Here was anti-Wall Street populism in its pure form: aimed, for once, at the right target.
    For anyone here who is not from the US, this is actually kind of a big deal to us Americans, because this is (IIRC) the firs time in the history of US politics where a sitting house majority leader was defeated in the primary election and forced to step down.

  2. #2

    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    If you look at polling in the district on the day before/of election you'll find interesting numbers. On my phone so no links, but a mostly republican poll supported immigration reform by as much as 75% by the fairly liberal senate policy, 65% by what the House is pretending to do, and is only panned when doing nothing(Virginia is interesting, thus forcing Canor to be amusing thus meaning Brat gets Fox talking heads on his side but that's not what killed him, what killed him follows). Which is interesing when considering Brat's one topic campaign on immigration being a problem. Until you see that Cantor had an approval/disapproval of 30/60 in his own district.

    Brat won his primary by not being Eric Cantor and has actually since started stumbling over the actual interviews regarding the general election and it remains to be seen if he actually goes anywhere but down.
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  3. #3

    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    1. Didn't see it coming,though to be honest, wasn't really looking nor really cared.

    2. In the interviews I've seen, he seemed oversmug. One comment post primary was that he lost touch with his base.

    3. His committee positions allowed him classified information on the actual and projected damage of sequestration on military operations, which may have compromised him by making him more willing to compromise.

    4. As someone else pointed out, it was a Frankensteinian tragedy, the creature he helped create and nurtured came back to kill him.
    Eats, shoots, and leaves.

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    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    shocking perhaps to the Elites in Washington, looks like the Tea Party is still a force to be reckoned with

  5. #5

    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Quote Originally Posted by Exarch View Post
    shocking perhaps to the Elites in Washington, looks like the Tea Party is still a force to be reckoned with
    Among the Republicans, perhaps. Speaking from home in Texas, it is becoming the TP capital of the country. BUT....the more the TP rears up, ie, the more right the Repubs become, the more they move from the middle, where most of the voters reside in the bell shaped curve. And in general elections then, the more the Repubs are taken over by the TP, the less likely they are to win general elections.
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    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Quote Originally Posted by Exarch View Post
    shocking perhaps to the Elites in Washington, looks like the Tea Party is still a force to be reckoned with
    Only in republican primaries
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    But if the cause be not good, the king himself hath a heavy reckoning to make, when all those legs and arms and heads, chopped off in battle, shall join together at the latter day and cry all 'We died at such a place; some swearing, some crying for surgeon, some upon their wives left poor behind them, some upon the debts they owe, some upon their children rawly left.

    Hyperides of Athens: We know, replied he, that Antipater is good, but we (the Demos of Athens) have no need of a master at present, even a good one.

  7. #7

    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    All this shows is how racism is the supreme issue for the Republican base. Cantor was a champion of conservative causes and responsible really for much of the tea party/right wing/obstructionist success in the house, his downfall was his tacit support for being soft on immigration, presumably by not deporting all Spanish speakers to Mexico.

    No different from what is going on in Europe, when your economic and foreign policies all fail just reset back to good old xenophobia an issue that always wins, at least with a certain segment of the population.

    Though they will probably win some seats this midterm due to apathy among democrats, but hopefully the rest of the Republicans will embrace this "lesson" so they once again have no hope in 2016 when a greater proportion of the population votes.

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    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Looks like the 7th district is going to be electing a democrat this year.

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    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Quote Originally Posted by Mikelus Trento View Post
    Among the Republicans, perhaps. Speaking from home in Texas, it is becoming the TP capital of the country. BUT....the more the TP rears up, ie, the more right the Repubs become, the more they move from the middle, where most of the voters reside in the bell shaped curve. And in general elections then, the more the Repubs are taken over by the TP, the less likely they are to win general elections.
    It wouldn't be surprising if Bush was the last Republican president.
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    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    It is interesting considering the ridiculousness of corporate backing in US elections, I do wonder, however, does this Bratt guy, and other tea party people really wish for the virtual deconstruction of the federal government? Or is it only some things but they are fine with the military budget for example?
    Last night, the complaints of the fans kept me awake and I had a terrible vision. I saw, the end of our franchise, countless bugs and bad reviews! Total War, GONE. Why would CA release such an unfinished game? They put effort into their work. They have released successful Total War titles aplenty! Their products are shipped to all corners of the world...and yet now I fear, I cannot help it. Total War is the envy of lesser gamers but CA, tell terrible lies to their fanbase, Rome II was bugged and unfinished SO THEY LIE. But Sega, they are the masters of falsehood. DLC will come, I am sure of it, so I will buy no more Total War games, and I think the forums, will be empty tonight.


  11. #11

    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    They're reactionaries, which works on the short term, but demographic changes will overwhelm them in the long term.
    Eats, shoots, and leaves.

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    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Actually, the TP could do well if it gets its collective head together. Not in terms of elected representatives, but in terms of actual work to be done. IF it gets its head together. However...
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  13. #13

    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    We know where their heads are; of course, they are still in the dark.
    Eats, shoots, and leaves.

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    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Too funny. I live in Chesterfield County in Virginia. All of the racists Tea this and populists tea that blah blah typical lefty BS all over, but no mention of Virginia's open primary elections? Cantor was the incumbent and was unpopular and yet the turnout was up by 30% and somehow everyone thinks the guy with NO BACKING from the national tea parties was able to cause that to happen with $230,000? Just like the national media, the tea party organizations, the Democrats and everyone with some sort of an agenda, just ignore the elephant in the room.

    I saw just as many "adios" to Cantor from Democrats on my FB as I did from Constitutional Republicans and others of varying ideological beliefs. Just like my Republican Dad voted in 2008 for Hillary during the Democratic Primary to keep her and Obama at one another throats for as long as possible, Democrats were able to weigh in and threw out Cantor because they simply hate him.

    Analyze til you turn blue. There was a reason the turnout was so ridiculously high and it wasn't because of a Tea Party that doesn't even exist (I love hearing about that boogeyman...oooo....scary). The Democrats absolutely HATE Cantor and the others of the House leadership who have rather effectively stymied much of the radical socialist agenda of the President and his regime of lawless anti-Americans who seek to do nothing more than fundamentally transform America into something Michelle Obama can be proud of and that Barrack will find more similar to that Soviet Union that he once wrote wasn't the bad guy in the Cold War. Hate explains the unpredicted loss by Cantor. I have noticed the predictions here of a the Democrats taking the seat in November, but did you know there was even a Democratic ticket until the day of the Republican Primary. The Democrats were not going to run against Cantor because they didn't believe he could be beaten. But hate did beat him.

    I don't know much about Brat, but he has articulated a reasonable and rational explanation of what he believes and anyone who says his positions are neither reasonable nor rational are just ideologues who are too drunk on their own beliefs to be objective or tolerant of any other views. It is completely tenable to disagree with his solutions, but they are nevertheless reasonable and rational. His main argument was that cantor turned his back on conservative principles and that did resonate with local Republicans who were among the tea parties organized as protests to Obama and the Democratic corruption associated especially with Obamacare and the increased taxes that were supposedly made up by Obama's "enemies". But "Tea Party backed" is a joke. Never mind that there is no such thing as The Tea Party, but just how poor do you think the people who formed neighborhood parties in 2010 are? He raised less than $300,000 and you really believe that is the support of a some nefarious national syndicate that is the harbinger of all the racism, homophobia and false scandal accusations known to man. How do some people even get dressed to believe all that nonsense could connect?

    It seems the Democrat opponent is also a professor at the same small university in Ashland, just North of Richmond. It is funny though because I have heard nothing about what that Democrat believes, just like everyone else, and yet some of you have already shown your support for him and predicted his victory in November. I guess no matter what, most everyone will learn about Randolph Macon College (or I guess it is a University now)?

    Anyway, bottom line is that the only theory supported by any evidence is that it was the Democratic Party's hate that gave Cantor the boot. Otherwise, feel free to explain what you know about here that we didn't see on the day of the election. I will give Wolf Blitzer credit for at least kicking that ball around a bit and have been disappointed that I haven't seen anyone on Fox pick up that ball and run with it. Too many biases, too much intolerance and too many agendas to see the elephant in the room. It was hate, unadulterated hatred of the Republican leadership by Democrats.
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    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    @Aawulf

    The Democrats absolutely HATE Cantor and the others of the House leadership who have rather effectively stymied much of the radical socialist agenda of the President and his regime of lawless anti-Americans who seek to do nothing more than fundamentally transform America into something Michelle Obama can be proud of
    So this sarcasim right? Becuse for someone who typed so much about supposed democratic hate - yous seem to be doing more than a little yourself.
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  16. #16

    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Quote Originally Posted by conon394 View Post
    @Aawulf



    So this sarcasim right? Becuse for someone who typed so much about supposed democratic hate - yous seem to be doing more than a little yourself.
    I think he honestly thinks Cantor would've won in spite of his approval rating if not for open primaries. Thing is, the far right that typically effect primaries didn't like him either. Not when you have an approval/disapproval of 30/60 from a poll that was only 20% democrats in his district the day of voting.
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  17. #17

    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Everyone said the same thing about the Democratic Party in 2003. That it was on the verge of implosion, no leadership to get behind, division between the progressives and the blue dogs.

    The current administration has more or less guaranteed that the Democrats would likely only win one more election whilest the conservatives regroup to find a strong enough candidate and then it will be back to the typical GOP dominance of the Presidency. It's a shame really, because I'd like this to be an event to break both parties - permanently - into smaller parties.
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    conon394's Avatar hoi polloi
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    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Quote Originally Posted by Future Filmmaker View Post
    Everyone said the same thing about the Democratic Party in 2003. That it was on the verge of implosion, no leadership to get behind, division between the progressives and the blue dogs.

    The current administration has more or less guaranteed that the Democrats would likely only win one more election whilest the conservatives regroup to find a strong enough candidate and then it will be back to the typical GOP dominance of the Presidency. It's a shame really, because I'd like this to be an event to break both parties - permanently - into smaller parties.
    I find that analysis difficult to understand - what do think the democrats have done to limit themselves to only one more win?
    IN PATROCINIVM SVB Dromikaites

    'One day when I fly with my hands - up down the sky, like a bird'

    But if the cause be not good, the king himself hath a heavy reckoning to make, when all those legs and arms and heads, chopped off in battle, shall join together at the latter day and cry all 'We died at such a place; some swearing, some crying for surgeon, some upon their wives left poor behind them, some upon the debts they owe, some upon their children rawly left.

    Hyperides of Athens: We know, replied he, that Antipater is good, but we (the Demos of Athens) have no need of a master at present, even a good one.

  19. #19

    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Quote Originally Posted by conon394 View Post
    @Aawulf



    So this sarcasim right? Becuse for someone who typed so much about supposed democratic hate - yous seem to be doing more than a little yourself.
    "Doing a little more than a little" what? I can only assume that the post reveals an inability to stay focused? Unless you and the Democrats you know just adore Cantor, but even in that alternate reality, you aren't here where the election was held. So let me help and point you back to discussion, which was about how Cantor lost to Brat.
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    Default Re: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia loses to anti-corporatist Dave Brat!

    Quote Originally Posted by Aawulf View Post
    "Doing a little more than a little" what? I can only assume that the post reveals an inability to stay focused? Unless you and the Democrats you know just adore Cantor, but even in that alternate reality, you aren't here where the election was held. So let me help and point you back to discussion, which was about how Cantor lost to Brat.
    I was. The difference between me and you is I use numbers to explain why the initial reaction of the press's first two days of obession about immigration is wrong. As well as why Cantor was beaten by his own party, not appealing to people voting in an open primary, for which Virginia has had for DECADES. You? You're ranting off the cuff.
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