Originally Posted by
BCR
... In no sane world can Cantor get outflanked from the right.
I don't come here for discussions of politics or religion. Since I'm a resident of the 7th District, I do know something about this little primary election. What you hear in the national media might not be accurate.
Dave Brat (born in Detroit, BTW) is a college professor. He has been involved with state politics, as he worked with my district's member of the state senate. He serves on the (Democrat) Governor's Advisory Board of Economists. His campaign has been described as running to the right of Cantor, but that is misleading. While he did accuse Cantor as being for amnesty on immigration, Brat has some libertarian tendencies. He wrote, "The political Right likes to champion individual rights and individual liberty, but it has also worked to enforce morality in relation to abortion, gambling, and homosexuality." I have many friends and neighbors who know well. He is Roman Catholic. (I am not, if you're wondering.) The media touted him as "Tea Party-backed", but he got no donations and little support from national groups and the local Tea Party groups aren't exactly heavyweights.
I voted for Eric Cantor four times, more than any other politician. I did live in Pittsburgh for 8 years, so I missed a few elections. I don't know him personally. He was an early adopter of technology and used an email newsletter in the 90's. He has represented me well over the years. His rise in party leadership seems to correspond with dissatisfaction among his constituents. Some of the high-level political machinations are easily construed as compromise and moderation. His election percentage has gone down for the past 4 elections from 75% in 2004 to 58% in 2012. I heard many people complain that Cantor no longer shows interest in personal correspondence, town halls, etc. I couldn't argue that he did seem to change.
Cantor's campaign came down hard on Brat immediately. They labeled Brat as a liberal college professor. Randolph-Macon College is NOT UC Berkeley, in just about every way. Brat's service on the Governor's board was painted as "working with that liberal Tim Kaine." Cantor would not back down on these points, although they were fairly transparent. Cantor did go on local radio to discuss the campaign, but he would not agree to a debate. The Cantor campaign mail and phone calls were disturbing, unwavering and seemingly unending. I think this outraged and encouraged Brat's supporters.
National media comment that Cantor lost due to voter turnout, although voting was up about 40%. Someone even said rain kept people away. (Thunderstorms were scattered, if at all.) Some claim that Cantor's stance on immigration was a major issue, and one attack that Brat did mount. But that is oversimplifying. I think it is more likely that most people saw Cantor as a Republican leader, and they wanted a representative again. It almost seems like people went to send Cantor a message, thinking that the everyone else would keep him in; most of everyone else stayed home.
My wife was inspired to vote based on Cantor's negative campaign. After we walked out of the voting precinct, she asked me how I voted. I said I didn't want to talk about it. I've never felt bad after voting for the winner before. I could not vote for Cantor this time... it was the lies. Voting out an incumbent and leader opens up quite a can of worms. I think Democrats are more likely to spend money against Brat compared to Cantor. I'm not happy.
Cliffs:
- Tea Party-backed candidate... not exactly
- send a good man to Washington, get back a politician
- Party Leadership vs. District Representation
- Campaign of hubris and lies
- <sigh>
SSL.
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