Cantor won't join House Tea Party Caucus

http://www.politico.com ^ | July 20, 2010 | Jake Sherman

[Maelstorm]

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is taking a pass on the House Tea Party Caucus.

The second-ranking House Republican told POLITICO on Tuesday that he's not joining the group started by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) because he sees it as more of an organic, grass-roots movement rather than a Washington entity.

Cantor praised Bachmann for providing “another avenue for people to have their voices heard" but said he thinks the tea party is better left outside Washington.

“I met with several of groups that operated under that moniker in Virginia; they’re not all uniform,” Cantor said in his third-floor Capitol office. “That’s part of the beauty of the tea party movement; it’s organic. And it’s certainly not Washington. So I think it’s better left with the people.”

House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana is the highest-ranking and only GOP leader to join the caucus thus far. Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) also declined to join the Tea Party Caucus.

The group's first meeting is Wednesday morning.

The tea party of late has been plagued with its own problems, such as allegations of racism and anti-Semitism. Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, said he doesn’t condone billboards like the one in Iowa that compared President Barack Obama to Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin.

“I think that certainly those in your profession, not you but some, who certainly want to portray individuals in the tea party as extreme or fringe, but if you look, anecdotally through my experience having met with several, if you look at the public polling about who is involved with the tea party, it’s not,” Cantor said. “The tea party is born out of this deep-rooted frustration of lack of leadership in Washington and two a real anger at the fiscal mismanagement here.”

[Maelstorm]

I've not had a good feeling where Cantor is concerned for a while. He has come up with some good ideas but he has made it clear he is not a "Tea Party" Republican. I believe they think they will just go back to the same old status quo prior to Obama or will go with a compassionate conservatism 2.0. I'm glad Michelle established this caucus. It really helps to differentiate and identity the Republicans who aren't really keen on returning to smaller constitution based governance.

[pollywog]

The " Tea Party Movement is better left out of Washington"???? The TEA PARTY movement is COMING to Washington to CHANGE Washington from the inside out!!!

Sorry Cantor!

[J Edgar]

I must plead ignorance on Cantor.
Can anyone post a quick summary of Cantor’s voting and position record over he last 2 years?

[baiamonte]

Well, so much for Cantor. Just when you think we have a leader in the GOP, they turn out to be another “gutless wonder”.

[J Edgar]

... Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) also declined to join the Tea Party Caucus ...

Who could be surprised?

[hoosierboy]

Cantor is a pussy!!!

[Maelstorm]

He is generally a conservative that can be counted on but he was all on board the compassionate conservative train and was trying to push a retreat along with Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney on their “Listening Tour”. I like him but I just don’t trust him. He sends more and more mixed signals as time progresses.

[azishot]

So, he prefers the hard cement of D.C. as opposed to the grass roots of the people. Got it.

[ansel12]

Cantor seems to be a Mitt man, and he definitely is anti-Palin.

[J Edgar]

“He is generally a conservative that can be counted on but he was all on board the compassionate conservative train and was trying to push a retreat along with Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney on their “Listening Tour”. I like him but I just don’t trust him. He sends more and more mixed signals as time progresses.”

Thanks for the info.
Men of principle don’t change over time, but wolves in sheep’s clothing do.
Cantor is showing his true colors now at the showdown time. IMHO

[J Edgar]

“He is generally a conservative that can be counted on but he was all on board the compassionate conservative train and was trying to push a retreat along with Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney on their “Listening Tour”. I like him but I just don’t trust him. He sends more and more mixed signals as time progresses.”

Thanks for the info.
Men of principle don’t change over time, but wolves in sheep’s clothing do.
Cantor is showing his true colors now at the showdown time. IMHO

[ansel12]

“Cantor, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney start GOP listening tour in Arlington”

[MinuteGal]

Cantor is not a pussy, nor is Boehner. I love Rep. Bachmann, but this Tea Party caucus is a BAD idea.

I'm not going into why as it was playing out on a long thread yesterday.

The concensus is that it IS a bad idea.

Title of the thread is "Tea Party Caucus is a Grave Mistake".

I can't believe that some freepers have no idea what has made the Tea Party movement so successful to date.

Leni

[J Edgar]

I smell RINO Body Oder.

[dila813]

I know that Michelle’s motives are pure, but some of the others working with her may be more interested in co opting the Tea Party for their own designs.

If that Cantor’s concern on elevating one Tea Party Group over another and creating division, I can respect that.

If his concern that the Tea Party will set the agenda if the GOP takes power again, He should quit now.

[Borax Queen]

Cantor is showing his true colors now at the showdown time. IMHO

Yup to this and some of the other comments. Once again I was fooled, watching him on C-SPAN and thinking we had someone who could save us....

And as far as the billboard, stay out of it, Cantor. Don't want to join the caucus, then don't comment on the billboard. BO IS a combination of Stalin/Hitler and we're all about to go down unless things change fast.

[historyrepeatz]

And I doubt he’s ever seen one.

[Borax Queen]

Ewwwww!

I hadn’t thought about that, is he BO’s BF?

[historyrepeatz]

BACHMANN/RYAN 2012

[historyrepeatz]

Possibly.. Along with Crist and Dodd. Frist was one also.. Care to add to the list, anyone?

[cc2k]

J Edgar wrote:

I must plead ignorance on Cantor. Can anyone post a quick summary of Cantor’s voting and position record over he last 2 years?

He seems like a solid conservative on the surface, but deep down, he's a closet RINO.

Follow his money. His "Leadership PAC" was a big contributor to Scozzafava last year ($5,000), also supported Trey Grayson against Rand Paul, again a $5,000 contribution.

And he's one of Sheriff Rich Nugent's supporters down in Florida's 5th district.

Party matters more to him than principles. It shows in some of his votes, and it shows a lot in his contributions to candidates.

---

I stand with Jason Sager in Florida's 5th Congressional District.

[klva]

I think it was Cantor that went to a Britney Spears concert while the Dems were trying to push something terrible through last year. And he wasn’t taking his daughter or anything like that. He actually admitted this! This is who we have representing the GOP!! God help this country!!!

[Theodore R.]

Forget Eric Cantor. We need the old entertainer Eddie Cantor, was that his name?

[J Edgar]

Thanks for this important information.

Death to RINOs (politically speaking, of course)

Cantor is now on my RINO kill list!

[J Edgar]

Mike Pence of Indiana is now on my Must Support list.

[wardaddy]

I used to really like him

his bris musta gotten more than just the foreskin

[Gene Eric]

Looks like Cantor picked the wrong day of the week to make that point...

C’mon folks - we were just bitch’n about Congressional entanglement in the affairs of the Tea Party.

[Paradox]

because he sees it as more of an organic, grass-roots movement rather than a Washington entity.

I TOTALLY agree with him. The Tea Party movement should be non-partisan. If you are a Libertarian or even a Democrat who is afraid of excessive government intrusion into our lives and spending, then you can be a part of it. I know Bachman only means the best, but I think the "Tea Party" as we know it, should be of the People, not the Congress.

[Republic_of_Secession.]

Good point. The tea party movement should remain as independent as possible from politicians.

[mojitojoe]

I agree, there’s something about Cantor in the past year that just doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t trust him, I think he’s a phony and I don’t like him at all anymore.

[stilloftyhenight]

I agree, Leni. The very power of the tea party is that it is the anger and voting power of everyday Americans without a leader. I like Bachmann, but I’m always wary when someone tries to take control and claim a leadership position. It’s a very bad idea, imho.

[org.whodat]

The jerk cantor made his rino position clear when he pushed the bailout, that he now claims he did not do, and his wife received money from the bailout. The SOS needs to be voted out of office.

[Maelstorm]

I am beginning to agree. I met him once and he was nice enough. I really was impressed that he was helping Jim Gilmore out but I don’t know what happened to him. After the bailout mess and the Obama election he is just different.

[maggief]

I’m shocked!

FLASHBACK:

http://republicanwhip.house.gov/newsroom/2009/04/national-council-for-a-new-america-formed.html

Our National Panel of Experts:

Governor Haley Barbour
Governor Jeb Bush
Governor Bobby Jindal
Senator John McCain
Governor Mitt Romney

(snip)

Sincerely,

John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, John Carter, Pete Sessions, David Dreier, Kevin McCarthy, Roy Blunt

Mitch McConnell, Jon Kyl, Lamar Alexander, John Ensign, John Cornyn, John Thune, Kay Bailey Hutchison

//

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/republican-party/gingrich-to-be-a-public-face-of-cantors-effort-to-remake-gop/

Gingrich Joins Cantor’s Effort To Remake GOP

[org.whodat]

http://www.mgwashington.com/index.php/news/article/virginians-in-house-split-on-bailout/1810/

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

RINO is all you need to know.His ilk are the main problem with the republican party.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

That should tell everyone just what he is and what he is not.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

You’re so funny.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

OUCH!LOL

[Yehuda]

“The tea party of late has been plagued with its own problems, such as allegations of racism and anti-Semitism. Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, said he doesn’t condone billboards like the one in Iowa that compared President Barack Obama to Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin.”

Ah, did I miss something? Where’s the allegations of “anti-semitism”?

Or are they saying the bill boards are anti-semitic because...what, are these nimwits now claiming Øbowmao is JEWISH?

[grey_whiskers]

The tea party of late has been plagued with its own problems, such as allegations of racism and anti-Semitism.

Go felch a camel, Jake. Your Journolist-wannabee talking points are ineffectual.

Cheers!

[J Edgar]

“RINO is all you need to know.His ilk are the main problem with the republican party.”

Amen, Amen I say to you.
Kill all RINOs (politically speaking, of course).

[byteback]

Boehner doesn’t join any caucus because he’s the leader and doesn’t take sides. I can see why Cantor as whip won’t join either. Is he a member of any other caucus? It does make sense for Leadership to remain open to the ideas of all members.

[Nooseman]

The tea party message is more effective when it comes from regular citizens,not politicians.Thats what i got from cantor in the article.

[Outlaw Woman]

LOL!

[dixiechick2000]

Bumping all of your thoughts!

The reason the TEA Party is successful is because it’s not of Washington, D.C.

It truly is grassroots...and that is where it should remain.

[Brugmansian]

The Tea Party movement should be non-partisan.

Yes...same as the Progressive Caucus is. Greens, Socialists, Communists, Independents and Democrats are welcomed into that caucus. It has been very effective. Took decades but now it runs the government.

A Tea Party caucus can use the same MO.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

The tea party message is more effective when it comes from regular citizens,not politicians.Thats what i got from cantor in the article.

I know little about Eric Cantor, but I agree with this. The Tea Party was created by fed-up private citizens, not by GOP politicians. I don't want to see the GOP trying to turn the Tea Party into their tame mailing-list arm, as guys like Trent Lott clearly want. An independent Tea Party is a force that can keep the GOP's feet to the fire when it comes time to repeal ObamaCare and undo the damage done to the US economy.

If anything, I want to see the Tea Party become a realistic third-party small-government and fiscal responsibility alternative to the GOP, drawing in people like Ryan and Bachmann and leaving the establishment pork-meisters and social-planners of the GOP to join their pals in the Democratic Party.

[Recovering_Democrat]

I think I agree w/Cantor on this issue.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Cantor scored a perfect 100% for 2009 from the ACU. And his lifetime rating is 96.67%, putting him in the top 20 most conservative members of the House who have served for more than 1 year.

Those on this thread calling him a sellout or no backbone really haven't a clue who he is. He's a staunch conservative through-and-through.