Posted on 05/12/2014 11:44:41 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
On Saturday, Tea Party activists ousted a top ally of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) from a key Virginia chairmanship in Cantor's own district, underscoring discontent Cantor is facing from conservative activists at home.
Conservatives mobilized against Linwood Cobb – the powerful, incumbent 7th district GOP Chair who was working with Cantor's top establishment consultants and political action committees to take power away from grassroots delegates – to elect Fred Gruber to the chairmanship.
The victory was surprising because Cantor's district, in the state capital of Richmond, is home to much of the GOP establishment machinery that wards off such insurgencies. Patrick McSweeney, a former Chair of the Republican Party of Virginia who helped organize the efforts along with others like Jamie Radtke and Russ Moulton, told Breitbart News that in a "contentious" convention, Tea Party conservatives "were joined by other disaffected people in the District in showing their disgust with the heavy-handed way the Cantor machine had been attempting to control the Party."
The District Chair plays an important role in deciding whether Republican candidates in Virginia will be nominated in primaries or at conventions. Since nominating conventions favor conservatives, Virginia's Republican establishment, led in part by Cantor, has been trying to control who is seated as a delegate to the conventions.
Although early iterations succeeded, the plan now appears to be backfiring, energizing the base instead on Saturday much to the chagrin of moderate former Lieutenant Gov. Bill Bolling, who said in a statement that he was "extremely disappointed" to hear of the results.
“Clearly, there is a battle taking place for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. We are seeing this battle play out all across our state...
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
“Rumors of the tea party’s untimely demise are greatly exaggerated.”
And will be even more so after the polls close in Nebraska tomorrow!
When can Cantor be removed?
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If he loses to Brat, he’s gone since Brat would then be the Repub candidate in Nov. There is no Dem opposition in Nov. last I heard.
Jim, The battle isn’t over, it’s just starting. Someone needs to tell the GOPe that even if it takes ten years, they are going to have to go. The Tea Party is getting better and smarter about fielding candidates and in handling the GOPe and their minions. Just hope I live long enough to see the completion of the coming transformation.
His primary is just a few weeks away and his opponent, David Brat, has a very real chance of winning.
Anyone have info on the VA TEA party?
Explain to me how a guy with $45K at the end of the last reporting peroid is going to beat someone with $2 million in the bank. Brat may be a good candidate and more conserviative, but he does not have a chance in hell of winning.
Cantor will only have a Libertairan opponent as the dem did not file to be on the ballot by the deadline. He is apparently still going after TEA party folks suggesting that supporters photograph their license plates and have the copsrun the plates.
Va. DMV to investigate possible illegal activity by Dem. Mike Dickinson
April 29, 2014
On Monday, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles said on Twitter it will be “looking into” possible illegal activity by Mike Dickinson, the Democrat who wants the House seat currently held by Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., despite not being on the ballot.
On Sunday, Dickinson urged his followers to violate Virginia law and call police to harass members of the Tea Party. He also posted pictures of license plates he said belonged to members of the Tea Party and asked supporters to violate DMV rules to “expose” the private information of people with whom he disagrees. Dickinson’s actions would also appear to violate federal law.
Later, he posted a tweet indicating that a police officer ran the plate of a man who had the history of the U.S. flag on the tailgate of his truck
Just curious, what result in Nebraska would be evidence of Tea Party strength? The gubernatorial frontrunners—Ricketts and Bruning—are establishment figures, although they’re fairly conservative and probably have their share of Tea Party support. And in the U.S. Senate race, don’t all three Republicans claim Tea Party support?
I guess that if Terry loses to his challenger that it would be indisputedly a Tea Party victory, although one that we may regret in November unless he raises lots of money.
absolutely.
the country clubbers look down their nose at the "tea party" the same way they hated the "moral majority" years back.
“Just curious, what result in Nebraska would be evidence of Tea Party strength?”
I think a big victory by Ben Sasse would show that. Mitch McConnell has singled him out for destruction but Cruz and Palin and the Senate Conservatives fund, etc. have shored him up. If he wins by 14 points as the polls say, that would be huge.
I think if Palin hand’s endorsed Ricketts, then Bruning would be running away with the primary, and if Ricketts wins, so much the better. The Establishment wanted Bruning to be Senator in 2012 and then Palin swung in and endorsed Fisher and she’s now Senator Fisher. Now they want him to be Governor and Palin swung in again.
I’d like see the headline “Establishment candidates Osborn and Bruning lose”
It’s funny that Without a TV or buying newspapers filled with those Ad dollars impacting me, I seem to manage to find out who I want to vote for every election.
If I can figure out who to vote for simply because I care enough to make my vote count for what I believe in, so can everyone else.
;-)
Cruz and Palin have endorsed Ben Sasse, but so has pretty much everyone at National Review, so he’s got quite a bit of establishment support as well. I really like Sasse, and I hope that he wins big.
As for Ricketts, he blew that Senate race a few years ago, and I see him as a rich guy who now wants to be governor. Frankly, I don’t think that Bruning would be so bad as governor, although I was glad that Deb Fischer beat him in the primary (thanks in large part to Palin’s endorsement, as you noted).
If Sasse and Ricketts win, I don’t think that the headlines will be “GOPe takes one in the ha-ha,” because Sasse and Ricketts aren’t exactly Ted Cruz and Rick Scott and Osborn and Bruning aren’t exactly McCollum and Bolling.
New 7th Republican Congressional District Chairman is the head of the Louisa County Tea Party. Within the 7th District I think there about 9 or 10 Tea Party groups.
For more information about the recent 7th Republican Congressional District Convention, see:
2. The Bull Elephant: SEISMIC SHIFT IN THE 7th: What does Cobb’s ouster mean for the GOP? - http://thebullelephant.com/seismic-shift-7th-cobbs-ouster-mean-gop/
3. The Bull Elephant: UPDATE (Audio): Radtke’s nomination speech for Fred Gruber – winner of 7th District GOP today! - http://thebullelephant.com/nomination-speech-fred-gruber-winner-7th-district-gop-today/
4. The Bull Elephant: Cobb Defeated in 7th; Gruber Wins - http://thebullelephant.com/live-coverage-7th-district-convention/
5. Virginia Right: Eric Cantor Suffers Major Defeat in his Own District as Conservative Fred Gruber Defeats Cantor’s Man Cobb - http://www.varight.com/news/eric-cantor-suffers-major-defeat-in-his-own-district-as-conservative-fred-gruber-defeats-cantors-man-cobb/
6. The Blaze: Tea Party Boos, Heckles Eric Cantor in His Home District — and That Wasn’t Even the Worst of It - http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/11/tea-party-boos-heckles-eric-cantor-in-his-home-district-and-that-wasnt-even-the-worst-of-it/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=ShareButtons
7. Top Right News: Conservative Activists Boo Eric Cantor Over Support for Amnesty; Boot His Ally From Virginia GOP - http://toprightnews.com/?p=2988
8. Free Republic: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3154855/posts and http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3154618/posts
9. Washington Post: Cantor faces tea party fury in his back yard - http://m.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/cantor-faces-tea-party-fury-in-his-back-yard/2014/05/10/0f9df00c-d884-11e3-8a78-8fe50322a72c_story.html
10. Communities Digital News: Eric Cantor’s wake-up call at the Virginia Republican District Convention - http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/eric-cantors-wake-up-call-at-the-virginia-republican-district-convention-17299/#XvUZjZH2vqX5JI8d.99
11. Examiner: Eric Cantor Booed by Republicans at VA 7th District Convention - http://www.examiner.com/article/eric-cantor-booed-by-republicans-at-va-7th-district-convention
12. Richmond Tea Party: Gruber Defeats Cobb in VA 7th District Convention - https://www.richmondteaparty.com/gruber-defeats-cobb-in-va-7th-district-convention/
13. Daily Kos: "Huge loss for Eric Cantor...his top lieutenant Linwood Cobb is toppled" - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/10/1298428/--Huge-loss-for-Eric-Cantor-his-top-lieutenant-Linwood-Cobb-is-toppled#
14. Lynn R. Mitchell: LOUISA TEA PARTY CHAIRMAN WINS 7TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CHAIR — ERIC CANTOR’S DISTRICT - http://lynnrmitchell.wordpress.com/2014/05/10/tea-party-candidate-wins-7th-congressional-district-chair-eric-cantors-district/
15. JHPolitics: Virginia: A Muscle Flex, a Self Inflicted Wound and a Rallying Cry - http://jhpolitics.com/2014/05/virginia-a-muscle-flex-a-self-inflicted-wound-and-a-rallying-cry/
16. BearingDrift: GRUBER’S WIN SHOWS THAT STATUS QUO CONSERVATIVES ARE SITTING ON THE SIDELINES - http://bearingdrift.com/2014/05/10/grubers-win-shows-that-status-quo-conservatives-are-sitting-on-the-sidelines/#comments
17. A Serf’s View: Eric Cantor gets Booed by Republicans at Virginia 7th District - http://libertyserf.kirbyharris.com/2014/05/eric-cantor-gets-booed-by-republicans.html
18. A Serf's View: Fred Gruber wins Virginia 7th District Chairman: Blow to the Eric Cantor Political Machine - http://libertyserf.kirbyharris.com/2014/05/fred-gruber-wins-virginia-7th-district.html
19. The American Maverick: CANTOR ESTABLISHMENT CRUMBLING - http://www.theamericanmaverick.com/2014/05/cantor-establishment-crumbling.html
20. Lynn R. Mitchell: GRUBER WIN IN 7TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT DOESN’T BODE WELL FOR REPUBLICANS - http://lynnrmitchell.wordpress.com/2014/05/11/gruber-win-in-7th-congressional-district-doesnt-bode-well-for-republicans/
21. Fairfax Free Citizen: Tea Party Deals Cantor a Setback in VA-7 Republican Convention - http://fairfaxfreecitizen.com/2014/05/11/tea-party-deals-cantor-setback-va-7-republican-convention/
22. Open Carry: Lynwood Cobb Ousted - 7th District - http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?121915-Lynwood-Cobb-Ousted-7th-District&p=2059595
23. Huffington Post: Eric Cantor Booed, Heckled By Tea Partiers In His Home District - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/11/eric-cantor-heckled_n_5305330.html
24. Before It’s News: Eric Cantor Suffers Major Defeat in his Own District as Conservative Fred Gruber Defeats Cantor’s Man Cobb - http://beforeitsnews.com/tea-party/2014/05/eric-cantor-suffers-major-defeat-in-his-own-district-as-conservative-fred-gruber-defeats-cantors-man-cobb-2527164.html
25. Sara for America: Congratulations to Fred Gruber, New 7th District Chairman - http://saraforamerica.com/2014/05/10/congratulations-to-fred-gruber-new-7th-district-chairman/
26. Conservative HQ: TAKEOVER Strategy Defeats Eric Cantor’s Machine In VA-7 - http://www.conservativehq.com/article/17212-takeover-strategy-defeats-eric-cantor%E2%80%99s-machine-va-7
27. RedState: The Watercooler ~ VA Tea Party Rocks Cantor’s World [Amended] - http://www.redstate.com/diary/westcoastpatriette/2014/05/12/watercooler-va-tea-party-rocks-cantors-world/
28. American Thinker: Conservatives defeat Cantor's choice to lead GOP his home district - http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/05/conservatives_defeat_cantors_choice_to_lead_gop_his_home_district.html
29. msnbc: Cantor booed, heckled by Virginia GOP activists - http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/cantor-booed-heckled-virginia-gop
I would guess as voters become more proactive, money will have less influence on votes.
Well. I hope last night answered your questions about how a guy like Brat could possibly win. Any other questions?
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