ELECTION ANALYSIS-DOWN GOES CANTOR

The political landscape was rocked yesterday as Virginia Congressman and House GOP Majority Leader lost in the Virginia Republican Primary in the 7th Congressional District to political novice and economic professor, David Brat.  Eric Cantor is the first House Majority Leader to lose in a primary since the Majority Leader was created in 1899.  Eric Cantor was the darling of the GOP  and the Conservative Movement since first elected to Congress in 2000, assuming office in January of 2001.  He moved up steadily through the House Leadership ranks, first becoming Chief Deputy Republican Whip in 2002, then being elected House Minority Whip in 2008.  In the GOP takeover of the House in the 2010 elections, Cantor became the House Majority Leader, becoming the 2nd Highest Ranking House Member behind the Speaker of the House (John Boehner), and was considered the leader of the House GOP.  He has the distinction of being the highest ranking Jewish Member of Congress in history, and is currently the only Jewish Republican in Congress.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA-7th)-Picture Courtesy of the New York Times

As stated above, Leader Cantor, in his capacity as a representative, represents the 7th Congressional District of Virginia.  His district consists of the whole of Culpeper, Goochland, Hanover, Louisa, Madison, Orange, Page, and Rappahannock Counties, with parts of Caroline, Chesterfield, Henrico and Spotsylvania Counties also being represented.  The 7th District is an oddly shaped district, with most of the area being rural, sub-rural, with a few suburban areas.  This district has historically been a Republican/Conservative district, voting for GOP candidates on the state and federal levels, and is heavily favored to stay in Republican hands in the general election in November.  Leader Cantor scored an "80% or Higher" rating from the American Conservative Union, right along far-right Conservatives such as Congressman Louis Goehmert of Texas and Congressman Steven King of Iowa.  He gets a "100%" rating from the National Right to Life.  In 2012, the National Rifle Association said in their endorsement of Leader Cantor, that his “...steadfast leadership and support of the Second Amendment has been instrumental in passing numerous pro-gun and pro-hunting bills in Congress,” and “...as a result, he has earned our support...".  And despite joining the Tea Party Caucus in the House of Representatives, Leader Cantor has supported the attitudes behind the Tea Party, stating in 2010, that the "...Tea Party is born out of this deep-rooted frustration of lack of leadership in Washington and a real anger at the fiscal mismanagement here."  He is the epitome of what a small government/social conservative is supposed to be.  So how did the "Darling of the Republican Party" lose in the GOP primary to an economics professor who never held any political office, and raised only $200,000 to Eric Cantor's $5 Million dollars?  SHORT ANSWER:  He wasn't conservative enough.

As stated before, Leader Cantor comes from a Republican/Conservative District.  It's overwhelmingly white, it's rural in many areas, and the levels of education in the district are less than those of the congressional districts in Northern Virginia (8th, 9th and 10th).  There are also pockets of his district that live well below the poverty line.  In Page County, for example, 15% of the people live under the poverty line, well above the average in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  In Rappahannock County, 11% of the people live under the poverty line, 13% in Madison County, 10% in Louisa County, 11% in Orange County.  These are the people who have a sense of entitlement and believe their country is being taken from them.  That despite the Conservative Movement's mantra of "Personal Responsibility", they often blame government, minorities, gays, liberals, environmentalists for every problem on Earth.  They believe their guns are going to be taken away from the Muslim-Socialist President.  These views and attitudes reflect and embrace an anti-government sentiment that speaks to Culpeper County's motto, "Liberty or Death-Don't Tread On Me".  With all being said, and considering Leader Cantor's stellar conservative record, one question comes up...HOW CONSERVATIVE DO YOU HAVE TO BE?  Conservative "Street Cred" is becoming a litmus test within the GOP, that is causing a significant amount of infighting in the last few years. As a result, establishment Republicans feel the need to identify with the Tea Party, or move further to the political right in order to win re-election.  Moderate Republicans are all but extinct in the Republican Party, and as we see with this election, Establishment Republicans are now being beat by candidates who represent more "intense" views.

In a recent interview with Fox News, David Brat, the Republican nominee and odds-on favorite to win the general election, said that "Our founding was built by people who were political philosophers, and we need to get back to that, away from this kind of cheap political rhetoric of right and left".  (1) The reason why Plato, Aristotle, John Locke, Karl Marx, Edmund Burke, Adam Smith or any other political philosopher ever served in government, is because it is easier to criticize, make grandiose statements and write esoteric treatises about government, than it is to serve.  They lack the set of complex skills that it takes to be an effective politician.  What this country DOESN'T need is philosophers or ideologues.  We need public servants, who will serve their country first and get the job done.  The Tea Party is not about the people they serve, they are about their "cause".  Check the record of any Tea Party Caucus member, and see how many bills they sponsored, how many co-sponsors signed on to the bill, and how many of those bills got to the President's desk for signature.  Not many.  And (2) Mr. Brat speaks to "...cheap political rhetoric of right and left".  Cheap political rhetoric, unfortunately, is what the Tea Party specializes in. They are a party that thrives on divisiveness, not just amongst Democrats, but among members of their own party.  They are political agitators who set a foundation and push forth an agenda that more radical groups have identified with and latched onto.  Look up quotes by Congressman Louis Gohmert, Steven King, Michelle Bachmann, Ted Cruz, etc.  You may agree with some of their views, but do you feel that there views are practical for passing legislation that will benefit this country?  The simple answer is...NO!!!  This is why Congress can't get anything done.  Because you have "amateurs", who are not qualified to be the County Dog Catcher, much less a Member of Congress.  Anybody can be an "ideologue", pontificating about this and that view of government, but only the committed should be public servants?  Anybody can be a "philosopher", but can you be a patriotic pragmatist?  It is analogous to being a professor of military tactics and history at a service academy, and a soldier in the field.  Just because you are a professor of military tactics, does not mean you will be an effective soldier 

This election speaks to a bloc of people who are so fed up, so angry, so desperate, that they will elect any person to represent their interests, even though they already had someone who represented (effectively, I may add) their interests.  But the people of the 7th Congressional District will soon learn that the "grass is not always greener on the other side".

And that's the Marc-Up...MEETING ADJOURNED!!!