Free Republic

Five Virginia House Republicans and one Democrat Monday voted against the $700 billion financial bailout measure. The five Virginia Republicans voting ‘no’ were Reps. J. Randy Forbes, Thelma Drake, Virgil Goode, Bob Goodlatte and Rob Wittman. The Democrat was Rep. Robert C. Scott, 3rd, who said it was “a bad deal for the American people.” Three Virginia House Republicans and two Democrats voted for the bailout. The bill failed 205 to 228. It would have authorized the federal government to buy a host of bad, mortgage-backed assets from Wall Street firms. The bill included an insurance plan called for by...

Cantor Hedges On Whether House GOP Will Accept Deal (The Politico) Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is still hedging his bets on whether House Republicans will back the bailout bill. Cantor, who has led House conservatives in drafting alternative principles on the bailout, said he wasn't sure there was a deal since he hasn't seen a bill. "We are not ready to say that a deal is done," Cantor said on CNN's Late Edition. At this point, it sounds like House Republicans are still looking for a way to oppose the plan, even though House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) was a...

Held my tongue long enough - but I am ANGRY. I have seen a bazillon Dems paraded in news conferences and interviews over the past 24-30 hours - and I watch Fox. I've seen Gregg haphazardly by himself this morning, basically somewhat supporting the Dem premise that the Senate Dems and Repubs and the House Dems...Kinda balking on what, if anything, the Repubs in the House thought... He waltzed back out a few hours with McConnell a few hours later and was a little more gaurded with his poo-pooing of the House, but he *should* have said he misunderstood the...

The single-biggest mistake in the Paulson bank-rescue-plan marketing effort has been the failure to explain clearly how taxpayers are going to recoup $700 billion used to buy toxic assets at auction in order to unfreeze the banking system. In other words, folks don’t understand how taxpayers will be paid back, and may actually make profits, which will enable the new government debt to be erased after the Treasury bank-rescue is completed. Here’s the key point: Any loan package bought by the Treasury will be 100 percent taxpayer owned. Period. Let’s walk through this hypothetical for a moment. Through a market-driven...

The single-biggest mistake in the Paulson bank-rescue-plan marketing effort has been the failure to explain clearly how taxpayers are going to recoup $700 billion used to buy toxic assets at auction in order to unfreeze the banking system. In other words, folks don’t understand how taxpayers will be paid back, and may actually make profits, which will enable the new government debt to be erased after the Treasury bank-rescue is completed. Here’s the key point: Any loan package bought by the Treasury will be 100 percent taxpayer owned. Period. Let’s walk through this hypothetical for a moment. Through a market-driven...

House Republicans say they have significant leverage on the revamped bailout package, claiming that Democrats will scramble for votes unless they make changes to it. Republicans in the lower chamber are balking at the bailout package, saying that Democrats will be solely responsible for the ramifications of what they see as a flawed compromise. Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) are leading an effort by House Republicans to circulate the set of principles to their colleagues and like-minded Democrats, according to a senior Republican. ..... The GOP’s “economic rescue principles” advocate adopting a mortgage insurance approach to solve...

House Republicans, who've been swamped with your phone calls demanding that they reject President George Bush's historically huge $700 billion bailout of Wall Street and bad mortgage bankers, have come up with another idea:

House Republicans say that Senate leaders spoke too soon when they said a deal had been reached on a Wall Street bailout package. In addition, a key Republican lawmaker stated that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wants to explore new ideas, like loaning money to financial institutions or insuring the companies, rather than buying their toxic debt.Earlier Thursday, senators and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said they had a tentative agreement, though they’re still negotiating a bankruptcy provision. They said the deal was ready to be taken to the Bush administration. Not so fast, responded House Minority Leader...

If pre-convention polls are to be believed, John McCain enters the convention poised to pull in a greater percentage of the Jewish vote than any Republican candidate in the past two decades. There are many possible explanations — his long record on Israel, his image as an independent political moderate, lingering concerns about Barack Obama — but one factor is certainly the ties that his campaign has cultivated with important Jewish Republicans and moderates alike. The Forward takes a look at the Republicans who have helped McCain make it to the spotlight in Minneapolis, and who hope to take him...

Three news items: 1) John McCain has picked a running mate and may announce/leak the choice tonight. 2) McCain has admitted he is computer "illiterate." Both of which make it unlikely that he will be much swayed by ... 3) "The Directors" of the conservative site Red State have endorsed Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.) as the best choice for VP. Why Cantor? "While a young man, Cantor has served in federal office twice as long as Barack Obama -- and was a member of leadership when Obama was still in Springfield. In that short time, he has established himself as...

The Fayetteville Observer reads a few tea leaves in the veepstakes and suggests that Eric Cantor may become the dark-horse finalist for John McCain’s running-mate. Cantor has not yet appeared on the convention schedule, which would seem strange for such a dynamic member of the House GOP’s leadership. He also represents a Virginia district, which could prove crucial to holding the state for the Republicans in November: Rep. Robin Hayes is predicting that Sen. John McCain will pick Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia as his running mate. “It sure looks like a great possibility to me,” Hayes said Wednesday. “Eric...

OK, SO HE'S only one of five Virginians mentioned as possibilities for a national ticket in this year's presidential election. But it's still a kick for Rep. Eric Cantor to be on John McCain's VP list--at least until Friday. Indeed, his three teenage children "think it's cool," Cantor acknowledged last week during a stop at The Free Lance-Star. A fourth-term congressman from the Richmond area whose district includes Culpeper, Orange and Louisa counties and parts of Spotsylvania and Caroline counties, Cantor would bring undeniable strengths to the ticket. A conservative from a swing state in the South (and the only...

In 1862, when some of Abraham Lincoln's political allies, furious over the losses at Shiloh, demanded the removal of Ulysses S. Grant from the leadership of the Army of the Tennessee, the first Republican President responded with unequivocal fervor. "I can't spare this man," Lincoln said. "He fights." What John McCain requires in a Vice Presidential choice today is an individual who exhibits the best qualities of an intelligent political fighter. He needs a hard worker – a loyal, principled leader – an individual whose reputation is above reproach. And we are convinced that in this case, the right choice...

A Virginian didn’t make it onto the Democratic ticket this year, but there’s still a chance one will land a spot with the Republicans. With presidential candidate John McCain expected to name his choice this weekend, U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor of Henrico County continues to be mentioned as a possible running mate. Cantor is in his fourth House term, representing a district that stretches north and west from the Richmond suburbs and includes much of the state’s Piedmont region. It is a Republican stronghold, with more than 61 percent of its voters backing President Bush in 2004. A Richmond native,...

Noth Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes is predicting that Sen. John McCain will pick Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia as his running mate. “It sure looks like a great possibility to me,” Hayes said. “Eric is a tremendous friend, incredibly bright young man. He has wonderful credentials, and I think would be a very good, complementary candidate to John McCain.” Hayes made his comments during and after a meeting with educators at Jack Britt High School. Rumors about Cantor have been spreading in recent weeks and began to grow stronger on Tuesday, Hayes said. Several media outlets are reporting that Cantor...

Eric Cantor is a relentless and confident debater. He has proven during his interviews with Chris Matthews, Laura Ingraham, and CNN's John Roberts that he can masterfully defend conservative positions without even blinking an eye. He can also effectively attack his opponents when prompted. Cantor would be a thorn in the Obama Campaign's side. In regards to who would do the least amount of damage to the ticket, Pawlenty and Cantor seem to hold an advantage over Romney with little elaboration necessary. Mitt Romney has the reputation of being a flip-flopper. His pro-choice positions of yesteryear are still bothersome to...

So now we know the Democratic ticket: Obama-Biden. We have been promised John McCain's running mate on Friday the 29th. With Joe Biden as the matchup, who among the plausible candidates should McCain take? And who is helped/hurt by the Biden pick? Personally, I think I would disregard at least some of my own prior checklist and take Eric Cantor. Cantor's young (but not too young), smart, conservative, telegenic, and from an important state that is a must-win for McCain (although Virginia seems less important with the news that Obama has suspended his TV ad campaign there, and there's less...

Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, appearing in Denver with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, says Sen. Barack Obama and his running mate show a lack of judgment. "We’ve got a serious problem of judgment" because of the Democrats’ unwillingness to drill for oil and because of their willingness to engage with Iran, Cantor said. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del. "was the pick" for Obama’s running mate "because of his foreign policy experience," Cantor said. "On Iran, Joe Biden has been wrong. He has pursued a policy of engagement with a terrorist-sponsoring regime." Romney and Cantor, both who have been...

John McCain is set to make his vice presidential announcement within the next three to four days. Names speculated to be on his short list includes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Tom Ridge, Joe Lieberman, and Congressman Eric Cantor. Most pro-life conservatives want Ridge and Lieberman removed from the list because they favor abortion rights. If McCain wants to keep social conservatives content, he'll have to choose either Romney, Pawlenty, or Cantor. McCain has two crucial considerations to make before choosing a running mate. Could that running mate attack his counterparts with the same gusto as Joe Biden? The other consideration...

Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), rumored to be on the shortlist of John McCain’s vice presidential candidates, is conspicuously absent from a complete list of speakers at the Republican National Convention. The list, sent to reporters under the header “Republican National Convention Announces Full Program,” includes the names of all other individuals believed to be on Sen. McCain’s (Ariz.) shortlist. Cantor was asked earlier this month to undergo the formal vetting process by the McCain campaign and served as one of his most vocal supporters in the House of Representatives. Rob Collins, a spokesman for Cantor, did not comment directly on...

First John McCain enlisted the support of the country's only Jewish vice presidential nominee, Joe Lieberman, who ran on the Democratic ticket in 2000. Now he might tap a Jewish vice presidential choice of his own: Eric Cantor. The 45-year-old fourth-term congressman from Virginia has emerged as a serious - if still long-shot - candidate for the VP job in recent days, though the McCain campaign wouldn't confirm reports that Cantor has made the short list. Cantor, the House of Representative's chief deputy minority whip, is known as a rising star in the Republican party with a talent for fund-raising....

The Democratic National Committee has a website set up to attack potential McCain running mates as "The Next Cheney" (if only); if you want to see there are pages dedicated to Bobby Jindal, Mitt Romney, John Thune, Tom Ridge, Tim Pawlenty, Carly Fiorina, Charlie Crist, Fred Smith and Eric Cantor. Lest there be any doubt as to the origins of this site, there's a disclaimer at the bottom of each page: "Paid for by the Democratic National Committee — 430 S. Capitol St. SE, Washington DC 20003." If you go to the page on Congressman Cantor, you will see a...

Though remaining silent over the weekend regarding the possibility of getting the nod for VP, Congressman Eric Cantor took to the national airwaves Sunday afternoon to campaign for presidential candidate John McCain. Cantor, Culpeper’s rep in the U.S. House of Representatives, appeared on CNN’s Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer to offer his take on Sen. McCain’s interview Saturday with evangelist Rick Warren in his California megachurch. The discussion focused on abortion and energy. And while Cantor himself is up for re-election to a fifth term in No-vember, there was no talk about his candidacy — only McCain’s. Cantor, a Richmond...

In a year that has seemed so bleak for Republicans, John McCain not only can upset Barack Obama and win the White House, he can change the voting dynamic of American Jews. With the Democratic and Republican national conventions scheduled over the next three weeks, both presumptive nominees could announce their running mates at any moment. Among a field of imperfect potential options, U.S. Representative Eric Cantor (R – Virginia) may be McCain's best option, and he is a good choice indeed. Several vice-presidential contenders continue to be discussed in McCain's circles, from the obvious (Mitt Romney) to the slightly...

The Talk Shows Sunday, August 17th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; former Gov. Tom Ridge, R-Pa.; Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; White House press secretary Dana Perino.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Govs. Bobby Jindal, R-La., and Tim Kaine, D-Va.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn. THIS WEEK (ABC): Defense Secretary Robert Gates; former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass.; former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.LATE EDITION (CNN) : Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Reps. Eric...

"Jack Abramoff liked Eric Cantor so much that he named a tuna-based stacker sandwich after him," said Jared Leopold, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Virginia. "Now Cantor wants to have his sandwich and eat it, too. He wants to do favors for lobbyists, but deny responsibility." Rob Collins, Cantor's chief of staff, said the Democrats have misfired. In a 2000 GOP primary, Abramoff bankrolled a group that attacked Cantor.

Eric Cantor Hosting Event for Jim Gilmore!     http://jimgilmoreforsenate.com/downloads/GilmoreCantor.pdf

It’s hard to imagine a closer political race than the battle for Virginia’s Electoral College votes. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the race shows Barack Obama with a statistically insignificant one-point advantage over John McCain, 45% to 44%. When “leaners” are factored in, it’s McCain with a statistically insignificant one-point edge, 48% to 47%. The difference between those two results can be found primarily among unaffiliated voters. Without leaners, McCain has a twelve point advantage among those not affiliated with either major party. When leaners are included, McCain’s advantage grows to seventeen points, 54% to 37%. With or...

(IsraelNN.com) Virginia Republican Congressman Eric Cantor, whom Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain is considering naming as his vice-presidential running mate, said in a speech last November that Jerusalem is "Ground Zero in the global battle between tyranny and democracy" and is "Israel's lifeblood." Speaking during a visit to Israel for the "One Jerusalem" event, which protested the Annapolis summit, Cantor said: "Jerusalem is not merely the capital of Israel but the spiritual capital of Jews and Christians everywhere. It's the site of the First and Second Temples, which housed the Holy of Holies, and it's the direction in which...

As he works diligently on behalf of John McCain, Fred Zeidman expects the Arizona senator to break records. “I believe he is going to get unprecedented Jewish support,” said the vice chair of Jewish outreach at the Republican National Committee. “Hopefully, 40 percent.” If Jews do support the presumptive Republican candidate at that level, it would top the 24 percent of the Jewish vote George W. Bush received in 2004, not to mention the 39 percent that Ronald Reagan won in 1980. “Am I happy about this number? No, not necessarily,” said Zeidman, a Houston venture capitalist and former top...

    Please Join Us For Jim Gilmore's Working Families Tour III On August 20th and 21st, 2008   Day 1......August 20   City Location and Time Colonial Heights Meet & Greet - 9:30 am Swift Creek Mill Theatre / 17401 Jeff Davis Hwy Richmond Meet & Greet - 12:30 pm Rare Olde Times /10602 Patterson Ave Spotsylvania Meet & Greet - 5:30 pm Bailey’s Pub & Grille / 1861 Carl D. Silver Pkwy   Day 2......August 21   City Location and Time Tappahannock Meet & Greet - 12:00 pm Lowery’s / 528 Church Lane Gloucester Reception - 6:00...

John McCain’s vice president may be a Jewish member of the House, a prospect that has sparked excitement, but also debate over the political experience of a relatively young and unknown and young politician. The AP reported that the McCain campaign has asked Rep. Eric Cantor, a 45-year-old fourth term representative from Virginia, for personal documents, indicating him as a possible running-mate. A representative from Cantor’s office refused to comment, but that has not stopped the intense speculation about the possibility, especially within the Jewish community. Suzanne Kurtz, a spokesperson for the Republican Jewish Coalition, said Cantor would be a...

Link Only http://rawstory.com/news/2008/DNC_targets_longshot_VP_possibility_as_0811.html

Recent speculation about Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate has featured Virginia's 7th District Rep. Eric Cantor. Cantor -- a rising star in the Republican Party -- would bring to the GOP ticket youth, conservative credentials, formidable political skills, and a base of support in a battle ground state. Yet Cantor's limited experience may be a liability for the campaign, and it is not clear how Cantor would help McCain deal with the major challenges he would face if elected president. Presidential candidates typically choose running mates who complement themselves, as Bill Clinton did with Al Gore in 1992,...

A key evangelical leader with influence on American politics emphasized this past week the importance of Republican John McCain’s vice presidential pick on the decision of values voters this fall. Presumptive presidential candidate McCain’s running mate selection is the “most important” decision of the campaign, said Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission to CBS News. If McCain picks a pro-choice running mate, Land said, it will only confirm the mistrust of evangelicals toward the candidate that some have criticized as being too liberal. “[H]e has no room for error, no margin for doubt,” noted...

The vice presidential buzz in recent days has been all about a possible selection by Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama of Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh as his running mate. But the real vice presidential courtship may be developing on the Republican side. John McCain is reportedly getting very serious -- indeed, there is some talk that the Republican candidate's staff is already at the vetting stage -- about Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor. It is true that Cantor is a virtual unknown nationally. But Cantor, the Republican chief deputy whip in the House, is one of the rising stars of the...

CBSNews.com: So, Tom Ridge, who's been discussed. You think … Richard Land: That would be a catastrophe. CBSNews.com: Who’s on the list of people mentioned for VP that you think would most excite Southern Baptists and other members of the conservative faith community? Richard Land: Probably Governor Palin of Alaska, because she's a person of strong faith. She just had her fifth child, a Downs Syndrome child. And there's a wonderful quote that she gave about her baby, and the fact that she would never, ever consider having an abortion just because her child had Downs Syndrome. She's strongly pro-life....

While a new poll revealed has that John McCain remains the clear choice among Israelis for the White House, the presumptive Republican candidate for president was last weekend reported to be looking at a leading Jewish politician as a possible running mate as he attempts to maximise support across America. Eric Cantor, the chief deputy minority whip in the House of Representatives - where he is currently the sole Jewish Republican - is said to feature on a shortlist which also includes former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. The 45-year-old, who would be the country’s first vice-president if he join the...

While Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, again refused Wednesday to address speculation that he might be John McCain’s running mate, he gave a speech that could be interpreted as an audition for the job. Speaking to the Greater Richmond Chamber at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Cantor proposed a “middle-class bill of rights” to ease voters’ concerns about the slumping economy. Cantor, who is Jewish, also talked about his family’s humble immigrant roots. A representative of the chamber introduced Cantor as “our rock star.” “My kids would be amused,” he said. Cantor said his father’s mother came to Richmond as an...

Eric Cantor is being vetted by John McCain for the vice presidential slot. Congressman Cantor may very well be the best possible Republican to run with McCain -- for several different reasons. First, Cantor is very conservative. Virginia, a conservative state, has eleven congressmen. Only one of those eleven has a higher lifetime rating by the American Conservative Union than Eric Cantor. No one, anywhere, was more conservative than Cantor in the last year of congressional ratings, 2007: Congressman Cantor had a perfect one hundred percent rating by the ACU. McCain needs a conservative to enthuse the Republican base and...

The veepstakes period of the presidential campaign is always a good opportunity for Americans to learn about lower-profile officials in different parts of the country: Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota today, for instance, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. And then there’s Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia. Huh? The drumbeat for Mr. Cantor, a Republican from the Richmond area, has been slowly building

Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, refused this morning to address speculation that he may be on John McCain's short list of possible vice presidential running mates. "I'm not going to talk about it," Cantor said after addressing a breakfast meeting of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and Henrico Business Council at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. <======== cut ============> The Chamber was mindful of the speculation about Cantor, who was introduced this morning as "a rock star."

Youth, image, campaign skills, and Virginia’s 13 electoral votes are conventional reasons for Sen. McCain to take a strong look at Virginia Representative Eric Cantor for the VEEP stakes. But for all his youth, the Congressman is no Obamian empty suit. During his first two terms in Congress, he attained the high ranking position of Chief Deputy Whip, and has flouted foreign policy credentials as Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare.Rep. Cantor also touts a more solid voting record than the Illinois Senator. During the current Congress Cantor has only missed 88 votes or 5.1...

There are a lot of reasons to support Eric Cantor for VP. There's the usual lines: he raises money, he's young, he's Jewish, etc etc etc. But the real reason I support Eric Cantor is that he fights. The arguments for and against are what they are, but Eric Cantor has been one of the very few members of Congress who has consistently battled the Democrat Congress at every stage and in every capacity he can. He fights the good fight in the trenches, in the House of Representatives where America's Mother-in-Law rules. But more than simply throwing hands, Cantor...

Eric Cantor: He’s Young, He’s Conservative, He’s against Dividing Jerusalem, and John McCain’s Considering Him for VP The news that Rep Eric Cantor (R-VA), the House chief deputy minority whip, has been asked for his family, health, and financial documents by the presumptive Republican Presidential candidate, John McCain, with an eye towards vetting him as a possible running mate, has excited not only some in the Jewish community. Many right-wing Evangelicals, sometimes referred to as the Republican core or base, say the Jewish Mr. Cantor may be the only possible running mate Mr. McCain can choose that will get them...

Rep. Eric I. Cantor's mention as a potential vice presidential running mate for John McCain has put Cantor on the Democratic National Committee's hit list. The DNC yesterday listed Cantor, R-7th and six other Republican vice presidential possibilities on a Web site it titled: "the Next Cheney." "Each has a record of strong support for the Bush-Cheney administration," Brad Woodhouse, a spokesman for the DNC, said in a conference call with reporters. "Each one of these individuals means simply more of the same." Through a spokeswoman, Cantor declined to comment. Democrats think that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney...

Washington, DC (PRWEB) August 6, 2008 -- Congressman Eric Cantor (R Va.) is calling on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to develop "a clear mechanism" to assure that recipients of CPB funding meet the statutory requirement for "strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature." In an August 4 letter to Chair Chris Boskin and the other CPB board members, Rep. Cantor said "I remain concerned" about a 2005 Inspector General' s report that noted the corporation had not carried out its statutory obligation to, in the congressman's words, "impose firm...

House Chief Deputy Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican, is reportedly on John McCain's short list for vice president. Mr. Cantor, 45, would bring a number of strengths to the Republican ticket. If Mr. McCain were to select Mr. Cantor, who has a lifetime American Conservative Union rating of 97 percent, it would send a clear message to the conservative Republican base that has had a difficult, uneasy relationship with Mr. McCain. It also would do so without alienating non-conservatives who might be inclined to support the nominee. There are any number of objections that can be raised to a...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) is the favorite among potential vice presidential candidates for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) . Reports indicate that the young Republican was asked to furnish the McCain campaign with documents for its vetting process. Pundits note that Cantor would add a vibrancy to the 71-year old senator's candidacy, but also say his lack of name recall outside of Virginia and Washington may pose a serious disadvantage for McCain. Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in the House, co-chairs the McCain campaign's Jewish outreach effort. He is also the House chief deputy minority whip and,...

The conservative anti-tax group Club for Growth said Wednesday that Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has evolved into the kind of vice presidential candidate it could get behind if Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) should tap him. The group argued that Cantor has been “consistently strong in several economic policy areas” and, after a start in the “key area” of government spending that was “less strong,” the Club for Growth now thinks that Cantor “ranks among the most pro-growth members in the House.” “Over the past two years, Rep. Cantor has been one of the few Republicans to come to grips with...