This Week’s Podcast: House Minority Whip Eric Cantor

Of course Cantor disagrees with himself over the stimulus.
If Obama fixes the economy with it, the 100% Repub rejection of it will BE THE END OF HIS JOB.

Cantor: “It is that we know the path back to how to get the economy back on track.”
Wow, I’m getting flashbacks to the debates last year. (McCain: “I KNOW how to get bin Laden”… Really, Mac? Care to share with the rest of the class?)

Well if the KNOW so much why did they lose this last election and Congress two years previous?

“If Obama fixes the economy”
He’ll fix it, all right. Just not the way you think.

“Do Republican’s believe they are running a shadow government?
K-N-O-W (Keep Negative Obama’s Washington)”
Perhaps they believe that, as elected officials, they ARE part of the government.
Obama’s Washington? What is he, king?
Remember when Obama called in a group of Democrats and Republicans for a conference, and Cantor pressed him to use Republican ideas? Remember Obama’s response? “I won.”
That’s true, Obama won the presidential election. But as a member of Congress, it’s equally true that Cantor won *his* election.
Our system of government is not a single-person rule.

Well, the American people voted in November for a Democratic President, Democratic House and Democratic Senate. Rightly or wrongly, that’s what they voted for. So it shouldn’t be surprising that Obama and the Democrats in Congress believe that gives them a mandate to pursue Democratic ideals and policies.
Bipartisanship is fine and dandy and I see nothing wrong with incorporating some ideas from the minority party if it seems like those ideas will work. But, by the same token, Republicans like Cantor can’t expect that all or most of their policies and ideas will necessarily be adopted by the President or the Congress. That’s what being in the minority means. They can vote “no” against Democratic bills if they wish but they have no standing to throw temper tantrums and rant against “partisanship”.
Elections have consequences.

“Elected representatives can vote, but they cannot voice their views?”
Of course they can voice their views. We do still have a 1st amendment. I didn’t say they could not voice their views. I said they have no standing to rail against partisanship, especially when it seems their definition of “bipartisanship” is that Obama should adopt Republican policies. That’s not what the American people voted for and the minority party has no standing to throw temper tantrums about that fact.

PD You demonstrate the problem with Acronyms. The conversation of the subject gets subverted to the absurd. It doesn’t matter that I was the idiot perpetuating the ill advised Acronym. You took it far beyond the subject of bipartisanship. That is the problem, bipartisanship and how they come to that problem solving convergence.

“It is that we know the path back to how to get the economy back on track.”
.
Why do I hear Pete Seeger’s “The Big Muddy” running through my head?

What do they mean get the economy back on track? It was some of the stupid GOP ideas that helped to create this mess in the first place.Why would we want them to have anything to do with straigtening out the economy when their failed policies over the years have never worked.

“If only Jon Stewart did this interview…”
I’ve come to say that a lot while watching the media at work. Sad, isn’t it? A showman on Comedy Central gets to the crux of the matter and calls out hypocrisy and talking points better than any “journalist”.

Lisa,
You hit the nail on the head. They are criticizing Obama but what solutions have they presented? None. I agree about your Jon Stewart comment as well.

A showman on Comedy Central parrots Obama’s talking points but Cramer has been positive and funny while Obama’s fear-mongering rhetoric downed the DJIA.
Now Obama is attempting a positive dialogue with strings attached! :(
What will Jon say now? :)
Obama is the dumbest so called “brilliant” guy ever! :)

Jwench says: Yes it’s one big conspiracy against the Republicans. Who told you that Rush? Hannitty?
It isn’t necessary to listen to Rush or Hannity – just listen to the robotic, obfuscating, out of touch, arrogant Obama and figure it out for yourself! :)

aware2u,
OK, point me to the Republican plan. Remember, I’m not talking about vague, disconnected “ideas” thrown out. I’m talking about a comprehensive budget plan that addresses how each of those “ideas” would affect the deficit, etc.
Obama’s full 10-year budget is freely available online for download. Point me to the Republican plan.

Goodness–now even the estimable David Broder appears to have become a right-winger:
“Meantime, on the main challenge — the economy — the criticism has begun to infect the mainstream media as well as the conservative wing. I was struck last week to read heartfelt pleas to Obama from my Post colleague David Ignatius and David Brooks of the New York Times to get his priorities straight and concentrate on the crucial task of rescuing banking, credit, housing and jobs.
“These are people who deeply admire and respect Obama and wish him nothing but success. But, like some thoughtful congressional Democrats with whom I have spoken, they worry that he has bitten off more than he can chew.”
The stench of flop-sweat is palpable in the nation’s capital.

“If the Democrats had not stonewalled the Republican proposals to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2003 and 2005, this financial crisis would never have occurred. We can thank Barney Frank and Chuck Schumer for that.”
Yeah right. That would have stopped the Republicans from letting the SEC deregulate the banking industry so that Bear Sterns and Lehman Bros could leverage themselves right out of business and almost topple AIG -which is what really triggered this financial crisis.

Cantor’s endless stream of platitudes was pretty hard to listen to.

Great podcast, Jake! Just one question, though: isn’t the newly-discovered (or would “unearthed” be the better word?) Repub position on fiscal responsibility much like the twelfth-hour conversion of a ne’er-do-well reprobate who’s just learned that he has incurable cirrhosis of the liver after eight years of bingeing?

Blame the Republicans, or blame the Democrats. It’s all the same. America has been spending money it doesn’t have since WW2. It seems the question is simple, and very basic. Are American’s willing to live within their means? Ever? – so far, the answer has been no, and it’s been that way regardless which party is in power. We have created an economy that is pure fiction, pushing the perceived value of everything so high that nobody can afford their own American dream – the bubble had to burst – and it did so independent of party politics.

Political gibberish on the sacred Ipod…back in the day you could listen to your favorite tunes on one…oh, the good old days.

I guess what you hear depends on the ears you listen with. I find Cantor a solid, intelligent, committed Republican leader. This whole “they just say NO” business quite tiresome. Cantor is, after all, in the out party. He is in the minority. So there are practical limits to the role he can play in shaping policy and I think he is doing an excellent job in trying to make an impact within those boundaries.
I keep seeing posts suggesting the Republicans must put up their own comprehensive budget, which makes no sense at all. Did the Democrats put together an alternative budget when Bush was in power, or Reagan? No. The budget comes from the administrative branch, and then is revised and reshaped by the legislature. The republicans can make proposals for how it should be shaped, and they will do that.
Cantor makes positive statements on how to move forward, but you do not listen because they reflect his own views rather than those of President Obama. When many of you say you want the Republicans to work in a bipartisan manner, you actually mean you want them to acquiesce to everything that the president wants, even if it goes against their own philosophy of government and their own principles.
And Flash, repeated a lie does not magically make it true. Pelosi did NOT offer to allow real Republican input into writing the stimulus bill, only to be rejected. I defy you to provide some proof for this statement you keep making, contrary to all evidence.

Look for the Republicans to dig themselves into a deeper hole by being a party of No! Cantor sounds clueless on the Sunday morning talk shows. Millions of Americans have lost homes and jobs and Republicans like Cantor with sound bites without solutions aren’t helping.

We know what the Republican budget will be. More tax cuts for the rich and much less spending. No money for infrastructure. No money for unemployment benefits. No money for healthcare. No money for education. Oh – but more money for the Pentagon. Starve the government and increase the financial pressure on the middle class. Bust unions. More tax breaks for corporations who send jobs overseas and layoff Americans. No “Buy American” clauses. It’s so ironic how Republicans tout “Country First” but do the exact opposite.