Eric Cantor lost his seat

[RandallFlagg]

He lost to an extremist -- or at least talks like one.


How in the world did Cantor paint his opponent, Dave Brat, as a liberal? -- Because he's a college professor?

.....And here come the Nazis. Cantor lost to an "extremist". T WO words for you, Adolph.... FUCK YOU.

 

[Lakhota]

Immigrants aren't lowering anyone's wages - corporations are through out-sourcing and union busting.

 

[Jroc]

Some observations from Ezra Klein on Eric Cantor's loss:

Eric Cantor's shocking defeat at the hands of David Brat is that rarest of things in American politics: a genuine earthquake. And like with real earthquakes, the damage will be much greater because so few were prepared. A few provisional thoughts:

The Republican Party's core problem isn't the extremism of its members but the weakness of its leadership. Tonight, the Republican Party's problem got much, much worse.
"Republicans" are not the same as "Republican primary voters." In 2012, Eric Cantor won the general election with more than 220,000 votes. With 90 percent of precincts reporting, Brant is winning with about 33,000 votes. It's possible and even likely that the vast majority of Republicans in Virginia's 7th District liked Cantor just fine. But primaries only count the people who come out to vote.
Immigration reform is dead and Hillary Clinton's presidential hopes are so, so alive.
Mere weeks ago the press was writing the Tea Party's obituary. Tonight, the Tea Party claimed its single biggest scalp. This speaks to the weird way the Tea Party exerts powers.
The power of the Tea Party has never been the number of Republicans it defeated in primaries. The overwhelming majority of Republican incumbents running for reelection win their primaries without trouble. Rather, it's been the prominence of the Republicans the Tea Party defeated that give the movement its sway. Dick Lugar, Mike Castle, and Bob Bennett. They were institutions. And Eric Cantor's loss is a literally unprecedented event in American politics. These losses mean no Republican is safe. And that means that as rare as successful Tea Party challenges are, every elected Republicans needs to guard against them.
The Republican Party has a serious data problem. in 2012, Mitt Romney's internal polls were garbage. This year, Eric Cantor's internal polls showed him up by more than 30 points. Something is deeply wrong with the GOP's campaign infrastructure if the party's presidential nominee and the party's House majority leader can't rely on their pollsters.
"A Cantor loss will send a chill down the spine of so many House GOPers contemplating compromise," tweeted my old colleague and friend Zachary Goldfarb. "A disaster for Obama." That seems...wrong. House GOPers weren't seriously contemplating compromise before Cantor's loss and they're not contemplating it after his loss. In terms of legislative achievements, Obama's second term has been done for some time. But in terms of protecting his legislative achievements — and protecting coming executive branch actions like his proposed climate rules — what matters most for Obama is that a Democrat wins the presidency in 2016. Tonight made that a little more likely.
Some on the left are envious of the Tea Party's success at cowing Republicans. "The Left endorsed Cuomo; the Right successfully primaried the sitting House Majority Leader = how the country keeps moving to the right," tweeted Max Berger. Others voiced similar sentiments. But this isn't how the country keeps moving right. This is how the country keeps moving left.
If Republicans hadn't scared Senator Arlen Specter into the Democratic Party and if Democrats hadn't kept Senator Joe Lieberman on their side Obamacare would never have passed. If the Tea Party didn't keep knocking off viable Republicans Mitch McConnell would have been Senate Majority Leader since 2010. If Mitt Romney could have run as the Massachusetts moderate he once was Obama might well have lost in 2012. It's possible Republicans will now lose in Virginia's 7th District. The Tea Party is good at policing purity but they're terrible at winning power.
Of late, there's been a lot of talk about "reform conservatism," a gentler, more inclusive, more wonkish brand of conservatism. Cantor, a founding member of the "Young Guns," was one of reform conservatism's patron saints. His loss suggests reform conservatism doesn't have much of a constituency, even among Republican primary voters. The Republican base, at least in Cantor's district, isn't in the mood for technocratic solutionism. It's still angry, and it still believes that any accommodation is too much accommodation.
John Boehner must be having an emotionally complicated evening.

11 political lessons from Eric Cantor?s loss - Vox

Nice liberal opinion piece. Cantor forgot why he was there and he paid for it... Back door crony deals with Obama isn't going to work...Seal the boarder

 

[Geaux4it]

 

[Missourian]

Ann Coulter on Fox News defending Establishment Republicans.

Really? I was watching FOX for the last 1.5 hours, and I didn't hear her on the phone defending the establishment. She was happy about Brat's win, just like Laura was.

Their crediting Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham and others for the defeat of Eric Cantor.
[MENTION=11800]Missourian[/MENTION]

What I understood her to say was she supported Brat based on Cantor's backing of amnesty, NOT because she opposes the establishment...and that she supported both McConnell and Romney.

Hannity on now...ordinarily I'd turn it off, but Brat is on now, Coulter and Levin, so I might listen, because it is possible I misunderstood Coulter's position.

 

[Sarah G]

Ann Coulter on Fox News defending Establishment Republicans.

Really? I was watching FOX for the last 1.5 hours, and I didn't hear her on the phone defending the establishment. She was happy about Brat's win, just like Laura was.

Their crediting Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham and others for the defeat of Eric Cantor.
[MENTION=11800]Missourian[/MENTION]

Those two old cows jumping out in front of the parade as usual. Next we'll hear Palin taking credit.

 

[Seawytch]

I will be very interested to see how big a part the Open Primary system played...

 

[Lakhota]

I believe Cantor is the only Jewish Republican in Congress, compared to about 21 Jewish Democrats.

 

[Missourian]

Some observations from Ezra Klein on Eric Cantor's loss:

Eric Cantor's shocking defeat at the hands of David Brat is that rarest of things in American politics: a genuine earthquake. And like with real earthquakes, the damage will be much greater because so few were prepared. A few provisional thoughts:

The Republican Party's core problem isn't the extremism of its members but the weakness of its leadership. Tonight, the Republican Party's problem got much, much worse.
"Republicans" are not the same as "Republican primary voters." In 2012, Eric Cantor won the general election with more than 220,000 votes. With 90 percent of precincts reporting, Brant is winning with about 33,000 votes. It's possible and even likely that the vast majority of Republicans in Virginia's 7th District liked Cantor just fine. But primaries only count the people who come out to vote.
Immigration reform is dead and Hillary Clinton's presidential hopes are so, so alive.
Mere weeks ago the press was writing the Tea Party's obituary. Tonight, the Tea Party claimed its single biggest scalp. This speaks to the weird way the Tea Party exerts powers.
The power of the Tea Party has never been the number of Republicans it defeated in primaries. The overwhelming majority of Republican incumbents running for reelection win their primaries without trouble. Rather, it's been the prominence of the Republicans the Tea Party defeated that give the movement its sway. Dick Lugar, Mike Castle, and Bob Bennett. They were institutions. And Eric Cantor's loss is a literally unprecedented event in American politics. These losses mean no Republican is safe. And that means that as rare as successful Tea Party challenges are, every elected Republicans needs to guard against them.
The Republican Party has a serious data problem. in 2012, Mitt Romney's internal polls were garbage. This year, Eric Cantor's internal polls showed him up by more than 30 points. Something is deeply wrong with the GOP's campaign infrastructure if the party's presidential nominee and the party's House majority leader can't rely on their pollsters.
"A Cantor loss will send a chill down the spine of so many House GOPers contemplating compromise," tweeted my old colleague and friend Zachary Goldfarb. "A disaster for Obama." That seems...wrong. House GOPers weren't seriously contemplating compromise before Cantor's loss and they're not contemplating it after his loss. In terms of legislative achievements, Obama's second term has been done for some time. But in terms of protecting his legislative achievements — and protecting coming executive branch actions like his proposed climate rules — what matters most for Obama is that a Democrat wins the presidency in 2016. Tonight made that a little more likely.
Some on the left are envious of the Tea Party's success at cowing Republicans. "The Left endorsed Cuomo; the Right successfully primaried the sitting House Majority Leader = how the country keeps moving to the right," tweeted Max Berger. Others voiced similar sentiments. But this isn't how the country keeps moving right. This is how the country keeps moving left.
If Republicans hadn't scared Senator Arlen Specter into the Democratic Party and if Democrats hadn't kept Senator Joe Lieberman on their side Obamacare would never have passed. If the Tea Party didn't keep knocking off viable Republicans Mitch McConnell would have been Senate Majority Leader since 2010. If Mitt Romney could have run as the Massachusetts moderate he once was Obama might well have lost in 2012. It's possible Republicans will now lose in Virginia's 7th District. The Tea Party is good at policing purity but they're terrible at winning power.
Of late, there's been a lot of talk about "reform conservatism," a gentler, more inclusive, more wonkish brand of conservatism. Cantor, a founding member of the "Young Guns," was one of reform conservatism's patron saints. His loss suggests reform conservatism doesn't have much of a constituency, even among Republican primary voters. The Republican base, at least in Cantor's district, isn't in the mood for technocratic solutionism. It's still angry, and it still believes that any accommodation is too much accommodation.
John Boehner must be having an emotionally complicated evening.

11 political lessons from Eric Cantor?s loss - Vox

Two nuggets of truth to be gleaned from this..."No Republican is safe."

"The left endorses Cuomo, the right successfully primaries their Majority Leader = the country moves right."

 

[Rocko]

Didn't follow this election so I know nothing about David Brat. I really liked cantor. I'm shocked right now.

 

[Nyvin]

I believe Cantor is the only Jewish Republican in Congress, compared to about 21 Jewish Democrats.

Including the disproportionately large number in the Senate it's actually 32 Democrat Jews in congress currently.

...to 1 GOP Jew who will be leaving at the end of this year.

 

[bripat9643]

Who does Brat put first - America or himself?

What an asshole question. Who does Obama put first, America or Mexico?

 

[HenryBHough]

Who does Brat put first - America or himself?

What an asshole question. Who does Obama put first, America or Mexico?

Or Kenya.

 

[bripat9643]

LIbs are happy because he was the point-guy for a lot of the more unpopular stuff the GOP tried to do.

And Cons are happy because he pushed immigration reform, which will probably doom immigration reform.

No great love for Cantor, but I can't see this as a good thing.

See it as an interesting thing as the TPM is not yet dead along with the GOP civil war.

depends how many more are killed in attacks against police...

That just goes to show that there is no bar so low that some libturd won't slither under it.

 

[bripat9643]

Sad to see the little weasel lose to a TeaTard

I thought having TEA party candidates was your fondest dream.

 

[Meister]

I'm sure we'll be hearing more about Brat's teabagger baggage. I like to hear an educated man sound like a neanderthal.

He's an economics professor. Try again.

I know, sparky. That's my point.

Being a liberal nut as you are, I can see why you would equate economics with Neanderthal.

 

[bripat9643]

WOW! But his district is pretty solidly repub. But with a TP loon spouting off at the mouth....who knows?

What has he said that's "looney?"

 

[bripat9643]

lol, the most arrogant shit in the GOP gets the surprise of his life.

Paul Ryan is in the bathroom now, with the door shut and the water running. I don't need to go into anymore detail than that.

It would be nice if Cantor was the first of many but, as we've seen here, there are quite a lot of people who want to vote for those who promise to keep them poor.

Not to mention the gerrymandering, vote theft, vote buying ...

No, they don't want to vote for Democrats.

 

[Peach]

He lost to an extremist -- or at least talks like one.


How in the world did Cantor paint his opponent, Dave Brat, as a liberal? -- Because he's a college professor?

Pointy headed liberal has new meaning; both candidates for Cantor's seat are college professors. AT THE SAME COLLEGE.

 

[AvgGuyIA]

Just announced on TV -

His seat is in play now!

Whooooo Hooooo!

in a republican district?