GOP House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Goes Down Hard Tonight!!

[beetcoin]

Too early to celebrate. I heard that Cantor is considering to contest the election as a write-in candidate. Considering that the constituency is heavily Republican, he may get the Democrat support. A repetition of the 2010 Alaska senate election? For sure, Cantor has the resources and funds to do the bogus voting and vote rigging.

That could be very risky.

Although GOP is expected (IMO) to gain seats in the house it is generally not good to risk any seats to the other party.

Having two republicans run against each other greatly increases the chances of a Democrat winning the seat.

you know, the funny thing is that republicans get the lower amount of votes, but end up winning more seats due to gerrymandering.

http://library.cqpress.com/elections/document.php?id=rcookltr-1527-84193-2523552

democrats aren't as organized or vicious as republicans, hence them being mocked as pussies.

You obviously don't live in a heavily unionized state or are simply not paying attention.

oh please. i'm talking about the politicians and the wealthy billionaires who pay them to make certain laws. labor unions do buy off politicians too, but not even close to the impact of the koch brothers, roger ailes, rupbert murdoch, and george soros. it makes sense you're from texas though.
 
unions don't have nearly enough money to bribe the politicians too.

[Chef Ramsay]

Too early to celebrate. I heard that Cantor is considering to contest the election as a write-in candidate. Considering that the constituency is heavily Republican, he may get the Democrat support. A repetition of the 2010 Alaska senate election? For sure, Cantor has the resources and funds to do the bogus voting and vote rigging.

That could be very risky.

Although GOP is expected (IMO) to gain seats in the house it is generally not good to risk any seats to the other party.

Having two republicans run against each other greatly increases the chances of a Democrat winning the seat.

you know, the funny thing is that republicans get the lower amount of votes, but end up winning more seats due to gerrymandering.

http://library.cqpress.com/elections/document.php?id=rcookltr-1527-84193-2523552

democrats aren't as organized or vicious as republicans, hence them being mocked as pussies.

You obviously don't live in a heavily unionized state or are simply not paying attention.

oh please. i'm talking about the politicians and the wealthy billionaires who pay them to make certain laws. labor unions do buy off politicians too, but not even close to the impact of the koch brothers, roger ailes, rupbert murdoch, and george soros. it makes sense you're from texas though.
 
unions don't have nearly enough money to bribe the politicians too.

Heavy Hitters: Top All-Time Donors, 1989-2014
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php
^They're the guys that are the known political donation watch dog group. You'll find everything you'll need to form an honest and informed opinion after scanning it. Koch bros are usually associated w/ giving money to tea party or liberty movement candidates, Ailes and Murdoch are typically mainstream establishment donors and Soros is a raging leftist donor. That said, the unions' donations reign supreme. Let's face it whenever any of these unions are given a govt contract to fix roads or whatever a certain percentage of that money (our taxpayer money) is rerouted in the form of union dues back to democratic candidates.

[bryant.coleman]

This is clearly bad news for the Republicans.  Cantor was a major leader and had some intellectual heft (fairly or no) for them.  If he runs as a write in there is a good chance he'll split the Republican vote and allow the Democrat candidate to win.  Bad night for the Republican establishment.

May be there is a chance for this. But if he runs in as a write-in candidate, he will get votes in equal amounts from both the Democrats and the Republicans. RINO politicians tend to get massive support from the Democrat-leaning population, once they are kicked out of the GOP. I have already given the example of Florida 2010.

Remember what happened when the RINO Charlie Crist decided to run as an independent. The GOP lost less than 1% of the votes (50% in 2004 to 49% in 2010), while the Democrats lost a whooping 28% of their vote. Crist got 30% of the vote in total, and a very large majority of those who voted for him were Democrats. 

[Chef Ramsay]

The news coming out is that Cantor is resigning his #2 position in leadership and there will be a new person getting voted in. The fact that this was seen as a referendum on amnesty and key neocons are freaking out about the "direction" of the party means Cantor is likely done. He won't go for a double embarrassment, he'll just get a lobbying spot and make a lot more money. He did his job for the insider establishment, played nice w/ Obama, raised some money and now gets to move on.

[beetcoin]

ha, part of me thinks this whole game is interesting.. and another part of me thinks that it doesn't even matter what happens, we're still all fucked basically the same we were even if cantor weren't unseated.

it's kind of like taking down a drug cartel boss, only to have another one pop up. same bloodshed, same sadistic wacko.

[Chef Ramsay]

^Yeah but when you got the likes of Rep Peter King the neocon freaking out about adding another Paul sympathizer into the House and beating one of their Aces, it's a great thing. Major bragging rights plus it helps similar minded other candidates running in their races and giving them a leg up against establishment candidates.

[Chef Ramsay]

More Facts About The Tea-Party's "Goliath-Slayer" David Brat

Slowly but surely, more is being revealed about Eric Cantor's unknown until now (so unknown that his Wikipedia entry was only two sentences before Tuesday night) nemesis, the anti-big business, anti-Wall Street, anti establishment "Goliath-slayer" David Brat. In addition to our profile from this morning, here is the latest compilation of biographical factoids about the suddenly uber-famous tea party activist, who has written about the role of religion in economic growth. He is also a fan of the pro-capitalist novelist Ayn Rand. Here are some facts about Brat from Reuters.

Cont...http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-11/more-facts-about-tea-partys-goliath-slayer-david-brat
Check the article out, this guy is truly a dream boat. Figured I'd mix in a little lingo from Marty's mom in Back to the Future.

[beetcoin]

^Yeah but when you got the likes of Rep Peter King the neocon freaking out about adding another Paul sympathizer into the House and beating one of their Aces, it's a great thing. Major bragging rights plus it helps similar minded other candidates running in their races and giving them a leg up against establishment candidates.

but how do you feel about the tea party candidates? what if they pull off another fiscal cliff, and are successful the next time? it would cause disaster, but maybe we need something like that to shake shit up. i don't think i could back a tea party candidate though, most of them sound too crazy.

[bryant.coleman]

I don't think i could back a tea party candidate though, most of them sound too crazy.

They definitely don't sound crazy when they talk about big government spending, taxes, and immigration. If there is no tea party, then there will be no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.

[beetcoin]

I don't think i could back a tea party candidate though, most of them sound too crazy.

They definitely don't sound crazy when they talk about big government spending, taxes, and immigration. If there is no tea party, then there will be no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.

they sound crazy when they say crazy shit, as mentioned in the other thread. i don't know how you can defend a "grassroots" party that was funded by the koch brothers.

and apparently cantor had $5 million against his challenger's $100k to spend on the campaign.. funny how having 50x the amount he has doesn't guarantee a win.

[bryant.coleman]

and apparently cantor had $5 million against his challenger's $100k to spend on the campaign.. funny how having 50x the amount he has doesn't guarantee a win.

Nowadays, with the penetration of the social media, having millions of USD in your campaign funds won't guarantee you anything. The grass-roots Republicans were extremely hostile to Cantor, on the issue of immigration. They used social media to spread their message, which Cantor tried to counter-attack by splashing his TV ads 100 times a day in all the major channels.

[Spendulus]

I don't think i could back a tea party candidate though, most of them sound too crazy.

They definitely don't sound crazy when they talk about big government spending, taxes, and immigration. If there is no tea party, then there will be no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.

The fact that they SOUND CRAZY is related to the fact that they want to discuss crazy stuff which is destroying the country.

That is different than them being crazy.  It means Washington D.C. (District of Criminals) is crazy.

[Chef Ramsay]

^Yeah but when you got the likes of Rep Peter King the neocon freaking out about adding another Paul sympathizer into the House and beating one of their Aces, it's a great thing. Major bragging rights plus it helps similar minded other candidates running in their races and giving them a leg up against establishment candidates.

but how do you feel about the tea party candidates? what if they pull off another fiscal cliff, and are successful the next time? it would cause disaster, but maybe we need something like that to shake shit up. i don't think i could back a tea party candidate though, most of them sound too crazy.

Some Tea Party people do come off a little out of sorts when they go down the rabbit hole and bring too much abortion or religious mumbo jumbo into the public sphere which allows the mainstream news to bombard them with demagoguery and make them look stupid. Americans are ready to curtail ridiculous spending imo but don't come off looking like some puritan and destroy your credibility. That said, I'd back a Tea Party oriented candidate any day over the establishment and likely incumbent. As long as we keep picking these insiders off here and there, other politicians will see the writing on the wall and assimilate to what the base wants. Key point, the leadership's lieutenant just got slayed and now the establishment and their Chamber of Commerce backers have balked any further talk of ramming through this phony immigration reform that was merely a front for not sealing the border yet giving citizenship to foreigners which would sink the GOP forever. It's like the republican establishment is telling us how it is: they aren't conservative in the least and actually agree more w/ the liberal democrats than w/ their base so they were offering the dems the opportunity of a lifetime to get more voters so the GOP wouldn't even be a factor anymore. I firmly believe some sort of Divine Providence was in play on this one. No joke.

[bryant.coleman]

Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) is likley to be elected as the next GOP House Majority Leader. Michele Bachmann is also a possibility, but right now it looks like she is lacking enough support.

[beetcoin]

Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) is likley to be elected as the next GOP House Majority Leader. Michele Bachmann is also a possibility, but right now it looks like she is lacking enough support.

michelle bachman doesn't seem to be popular at all. in 2012 she barely won the race for the house seat in minnesota, even though she had a record-breaking $20 million vs. something like $1 against her competitor. all the crazy shit she has said and done in the past has caught up to her. she may be the craziest republican candidate to date.

[tvbcof]

Cenk did a pretty good analysis about this and made a convincing case that the 'immigration reform' excuse for Cantor's ass-whoopin does NOT hold a lot of water.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vkIm7EZcxs

I'd say that there is little light between Brat and Warren on their (current and stated) attitudes about how money and politics work in our current system, and THAT is why both are successful.  And more importantly, why those who can make a convincing argument that they hold the same attitudes will be successful going forward.

I don't see much mention of the parallels between the Cantor and Lieberman experiences and comparing the two.  If Cantor tries to stick around through some mechanism (and especially if he succeeds which is likely) then I don't think it will be possible to avoid comparing him to Lieberman.  Lieberman was already a pretty loathsome creature in the eyes of progressives before he lost the primary, but his true colors really went on display in a major way when he served as an Independent.

As for Brat, when I look down his list of policy positions I personally am against almost every frickin one of them.  But as long as he means what he says and executes on it in terms of fighting crony capitalism, I'm delighted to see him in the federal govt.  Seems to me that 'tea party' folks at least as prone than anyone to get sucked in to the game.  OTOH, I know nothing about Amash positions other than that he is on the right side of the domestic spying issue and fighting the good fight.  Even if he is wrong on everything else, his activities in this one area are worth it to me.

It is a VERY positive trend that the plebs on both sides are really getting fed up with money in politics.  Both sides need to be on the lookout for astroturf which, I suspect, will be the main way that the establishment will respond to this threat.

[beetcoin]

^ yeah, i'm hoping there are some people in washington who are fed up with money in politics. there is absolutely no reason why a presidential hopeful has to start their campaign literally 2 years before the damn elections.. that just means they have to make more promises to the large corporations.

another reason why i hate republicans: they are largely responsible for this new era of injecting money into politics. see "citizens united."

i think campaign finance reform + stopping the gerrymandering would go a long way in fixing our problems.. but they have too much of a stronghold at this point. and i'm sure there are people here who would be against it, but i kinda wish that the presidential campaigns were federally funded, and each candidate gets the same amount of money so we have a level playing field. it would probably do a lot to help the middle class, since we wouldn't have presidential hopefuls selling themselves to wallstreet, bankers, and large corporations.

[Chef Ramsay]

As for Brat, when I look down his list of policy positions I personally am against almost every frickin one of them.  But as long as he means what he says and executes on it in terms of fighting crony capitalism, I'm delighted to see him in the federal govt.  Seems to me that 'tea party' folks at least as prone than anyone to get sucked in to the game.  OTOH, I know nothing about Amash positions other than that he is on the right side of the domestic spying issue and fighting the good fight.  Even if he is wrong on everything else, his activities in this one area are worth it to me.

Dude, here's Brat's Issues section

Issues

Obamacare
Obamacare has proven to be an economically disastrous law and an unconstitutional power grab by our Federal Government. The government cannot and should not be permitted to run and regulate nearly 20% of our nation’s economy. We must restore the relationship between doctor and patient. We must restore the relationship between price and service in medicine or we will continue on the Road to Serfdom. I support a plan to defund the law and replace it with free-market solutions that lower costs, improve quality, and increase access to care.

Fiscal Responsibility
Our national debt has skyrocketed, reaching over $17 trillion dollars.  What our leaders in Washington fail to mention is the $127 Trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities (see U.S. Debt Clock). This lack of leadership on both sides of the aisle threatens our nation’s stability and long term growth and forces an undue burden on our children and grandchildren. We must balance the federal budget by reducing spending.  I will support a balanced budget amendment which will force Congress to reign in the out of control federal spending and to restore confidence in the American economy.

Immigration
When addressing the issue of immigration, we must start by securing our border.  An open border is both a national security threat and an economic threat that our country cannot ignore. I reject any proposal that grants amnesty and undermines the fundamental rule of law. Adding millions of workers to the labor market will force wages to fall and jobs to be lost. I support proposals that will secure our border, enforce our current laws, and restore an orderly and fair process to allow law abiding individuals to work towards becoming citizens of this great nation.

Term Limits
I am a strong proponent of term limits for members of Congress. Career politicians and special moneyed interests have corrupted our democratic system.  I pledge to support and submit legislation that enforces term limits. Ideally, Congressional term limits would be for 12 years total, across both The House and The Senate. Thus, I pledge to term limit myself to 12 years in Congress.

2nd Amendment
I will oppose any efforts to undermine or limit the Constitutional right to bear arms.

I am a strong supporter of gun rights. The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution for a reason - it provides the people with the ultimate guarantee of sovereignty. I will oppose any back door attempts to confiscate guns or create a national gun registry. All too frequently the knee jerk reaction to tragedies by the media and chattering class is to move to restrict our rights. In Congress, I will be a steady and firm supporter of our 2nd amendment rights at all times - not just when it is convenient. Our founding documents make it clear that our inalienable rights come from God and that the job of the government is to ensure and protect those God given rights. I intend to keep it that way.

Education
As an economist and educator for eighteen years, I understand the value of a good education. This is why I oppose top down approaches by the Federal Government such as Common Core and No Child Left Behind. I will support efforts to place Virginia’s teachers, parents, and local officials, who best understand the needs of the community, in control of our education system.

National Security/Foreign Policy
Ronald Reagan said it best: “Peace through strength.” A strong military is essential to the success of our nation.  We must secure our borders, support the Armed Forces, both at home and abroad, and maintain a strong national defense in order to secure our country’s future.  In addition, I support a full investigation into the Benghazi attacks.

Federal Reserve
I support a full audit of the Federal Reserve System.

Energy
I support a broad-spectrum energy approach that relies on the free market.  The private sector must be set free to invest in natural gas, wind, solar, oil, nuclear, and other forms of energy as we move forward.  Ending our reliance on foreign oil and moving toward energy independence is vital to the future welfare of America.

10th Amendment
The federal government has grown far too large. Our Founders envisioned a nation in which the federal government’s powers were explicitly listed and limited. I fully support the Constitution and enforcing the 10th Amendment and getting the government out of the way of economic growth.  I will work to bring power back to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Individual Freedoms
The federal government’s abuse of our freedoms has spun out of control. Whether it is the NSA violating our 4th Amendment Rights by collecting phone records, the IRS violating our 1st Amendment rights by targeting conservative organizations, or President Obama violating our 5th Amendment rights with the indefinite detention of American citizens, our freedoms have been under attack and they must be restored.

Uphold Human Life
Human life is sacred, as proclaimed by our founding documents, and I will always support laws that protect life. Our fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness precede the existence of government and come from God, the Author of Nature. These core constitutional rights have been usurped by the Judicial and Executive Branches and must be returned to the people and their representatives.

There's nothing there that I disagree w/. If we had more of these kinds of republicans in Congress and in the Big House, America would have a very different reputation than it does now. He'll be real tight w/ Amash on damn near every issue. I can't overstate how great of a win this was but now we gotta double down for the General election. Ya can't just be pro-freedom on one good issue to be acceptable or better for America. The message this sent was deafening and embarrassing to those that have been ripping us off for decades all the while campaigning like conservatives. I'm happy some of the people in the GOP are starting to see through this.

[beetcoin]

As for Brat, when I look down his list of policy positions I personally am against almost every frickin one of them.  But as long as he means what he says and executes on it in terms of fighting crony capitalism, I'm delighted to see him in the federal govt.  Seems to me that 'tea party' folks at least as prone than anyone to get sucked in to the game.  OTOH, I know nothing about Amash positions other than that he is on the right side of the domestic spying issue and fighting the good fight.  Even if he is wrong on everything else, his activities in this one area are worth it to me.

Dude, here's Brat's Issues section

Issues

Obamacare
Obamacare has proven to be an economically disastrous law and an unconstitutional power grab by our Federal Government. The government cannot and should not be permitted to run and regulate nearly 20% of our nation’s economy. We must restore the relationship between doctor and patient. We must restore the relationship between price and service in medicine or we will continue on the Road to Serfdom. I support a plan to defund the law and replace it with free-market solutions that lower costs, improve quality, and increase access to care.

Fiscal Responsibility
Our national debt has skyrocketed, reaching over $17 trillion dollars.  What our leaders in Washington fail to mention is the $127 Trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities (see U.S. Debt Clock). This lack of leadership on both sides of the aisle threatens our nation’s stability and long term growth and forces an undue burden on our children and grandchildren. We must balance the federal budget by reducing spending.  I will support a balanced budget amendment which will force Congress to reign in the out of control federal spending and to restore confidence in the American economy.

Immigration
When addressing the issue of immigration, we must start by securing our border.  An open border is both a national security threat and an economic threat that our country cannot ignore. I reject any proposal that grants amnesty and undermines the fundamental rule of law. Adding millions of workers to the labor market will force wages to fall and jobs to be lost. I support proposals that will secure our border, enforce our current laws, and restore an orderly and fair process to allow law abiding individuals to work towards becoming citizens of this great nation.

Term Limits
I am a strong proponent of term limits for members of Congress. Career politicians and special moneyed interests have corrupted our democratic system.  I pledge to support and submit legislation that enforces term limits. Ideally, Congressional term limits would be for 12 years total, across both The House and The Senate. Thus, I pledge to term limit myself to 12 years in Congress.

2nd Amendment
I will oppose any efforts to undermine or limit the Constitutional right to bear arms.

I am a strong supporter of gun rights. The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution for a reason - it provides the people with the ultimate guarantee of sovereignty. I will oppose any back door attempts to confiscate guns or create a national gun registry. All too frequently the knee jerk reaction to tragedies by the media and chattering class is to move to restrict our rights. In Congress, I will be a steady and firm supporter of our 2nd amendment rights at all times - not just when it is convenient. Our founding documents make it clear that our inalienable rights come from God and that the job of the government is to ensure and protect those God given rights. I intend to keep it that way.

Education
As an economist and educator for eighteen years, I understand the value of a good education. This is why I oppose top down approaches by the Federal Government such as Common Core and No Child Left Behind. I will support efforts to place Virginia’s teachers, parents, and local officials, who best understand the needs of the community, in control of our education system.

National Security/Foreign Policy
Ronald Reagan said it best: “Peace through strength.” A strong military is essential to the success of our nation.  We must secure our borders, support the Armed Forces, both at home and abroad, and maintain a strong national defense in order to secure our country’s future.  In addition, I support a full investigation into the Benghazi attacks.

Federal Reserve
I support a full audit of the Federal Reserve System.

Energy
I support a broad-spectrum energy approach that relies on the free market.  The private sector must be set free to invest in natural gas, wind, solar, oil, nuclear, and other forms of energy as we move forward.  Ending our reliance on foreign oil and moving toward energy independence is vital to the future welfare of America.

10th Amendment
The federal government has grown far too large. Our Founders envisioned a nation in which the federal government’s powers were explicitly listed and limited. I fully support the Constitution and enforcing the 10th Amendment and getting the government out of the way of economic growth.  I will work to bring power back to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Individual Freedoms
The federal government’s abuse of our freedoms has spun out of control. Whether it is the NSA violating our 4th Amendment Rights by collecting phone records, the IRS violating our 1st Amendment rights by targeting conservative organizations, or President Obama violating our 5th Amendment rights with the indefinite detention of American citizens, our freedoms have been under attack and they must be restored.

Uphold Human Life
Human life is sacred, as proclaimed by our founding documents, and I will always support laws that protect life. Our fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness precede the existence of government and come from God, the Author of Nature. These core constitutional rights have been usurped by the Judicial and Executive Branches and must be returned to the people and their representatives.

There's nothing there that I disagree w/. If we had more of these kinds of republicans in Congress and in the Big House, America would have a very different reputation than it does now. He'll be real tight w/ Amash on damn near every issue. I can't overstate how great of a win this was but now we gotta double down for the General election. Ya can't just be pro-freedom on one good issue to be acceptable or better for America. The message this sent was deafening and embarrassing to those that have been ripping us off for decades all the while campaigning like conservatives. I'm happy some of the people in the GOP are starting to see through this.

i do think it's promising. he was asked whether he thought a minimum wage increase was a good idea or not, and he made an honest statement: he doesn't know whether it's good or bad.

problem is, he's going to be a minority in the house. he'll have to win public support, or by his next election cycle, he's going to be booted.

[Chef Ramsay]

As for Brat, when I look down his list of policy positions I personally am against almost every frickin one of them.  But as long as he means what he says and executes on it in terms of fighting crony capitalism, I'm delighted to see him in the federal govt.  Seems to me that 'tea party' folks at least as prone than anyone to get sucked in to the game.  OTOH, I know nothing about Amash positions other than that he is on the right side of the domestic spying issue and fighting the good fight.  Even if he is wrong on everything else, his activities in this one area are worth it to me.

Dude, here's Brat's Issues section

Issues

snip

i do think it's promising. he was asked whether he thought a minimum wage increase was a good idea or not, and he made an honest statement: he doesn't know whether it's good or bad.

problem is, he's going to be a minority in the house. he'll have to win public support, or by his next election cycle, he's going to be booted.

An honest statement doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't have an educated opinion a touchy issue lately that he's not going to get into the weeds on. Likely, he's measuring his statements on sideshow issues that the media is tossing out in hopes of demagoguing or giving the democrat a leg up on. The guy is an austrian economics professor so I can guarantee you he ain't for a min wage at all.

Assuming he gets elected in a republican district, he's already made a name for himself and he'll be straight going forward. Remember, he'll always be known as the dragon slayer.