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Posted by on Jun 11, 2014 in Blog, Politics | 5 comments

Just When You Thought the Republican Party Couldn’t Get Any Wackier

 

eric-cantor

 

Hell hath frozen over with today’s reaction to the stunning news out of Virginia.

 

Far be it for me to defend Congressman Eric Cantor.  But what were the voters of that crackpot district in central Virginia thinking when they gave the powerful House Majority Leader the boot in favor of some Tea Bag candidate holding a pitchfork?

In case you missed last night’s breaking news, Dave Brat (yeah, that’s his real name), a little-known candidate backed by the so-called “Tea Party” waxed Rep. Cantor in the congressional mid-term primary.  An incumbent congressman losing a primary election is certainly newsworthy.  A member of the party elite losing in the primary is even bigger news.  But a House Majority Leader getting utterly destroyed at the ballot box in a primary is quite frankly, historically unprecedented.  Especially so for a party that’s expected to gain seats in this year’s mid-terms.

While in power, Rep. Eric Cantor was an obstructionist of the worst kind.  He’s ball and chained to right-wing ideology straight out of the 1950s.  His economic policies basically amount to regurgitation of a quasi-Ronald Reagan third term.  When it comes to accomplishments, Rep. Cantor can basically point to a blank sheet of white paper, and say, “look.”

This news bids well for the Democrats.  While virtually none of the Democratic Party leadership deserves nary a break either for their gross legislative mismanagement and, at best, milquetoast indecisiveness on a progressive agenda, at least the lesser of two evils staves off the crazies from storming the castle on Capitol Hill and turning America into giant serfdom.  Oh wait, we’re already there.  Nevermind.

Back to Dan Brat’s stunning victory in the primary.  What does it say about a party that tosses its highest-ranking official in congress out in his arse because he’s (gulp!) not “conservative enough?”  Hasn’t Rep. Cantor basically stonewalled every bit of legislation over the past four years — from the Affordable Care Act (which he’s tried to appeal 29 times), to immigration reform, to regulating Wall Street, to anything at all proposed by the Obama Administration?  Wasn’t being a rusty wrench in the political machinery, gunking up the system all these years satisfactory enough for the Republicans wolves?  What do they want — blood on the steps?

I guess so.

While tens of millions of Americans are rightfully angry with the direction our nation is headed and justifiably outraged with how Washington has become so dysfunctional, the Tea Party represents the very worst element of the electorate, a bullying band of nitwits (Sharon Angle, Christine O’Donnell) who essentially oppose everything and stand for nothing other than themselves and their masters of oligarchy.

That Republicans seem to have nominated yet another candidate who’s intellectually handcuffed to the stone age, where pragmatism and compromise aren’t even on the table when it comes to the issues, does reveal the depths to which the American conservative movement has sunk.  Rather than moving towards the political center and trying to govern as elected to do, they’ve taken a completely opposite route, with candidates affixing their names to paper pledges against taxes, alliances with gun nuts, jingoistic patriotism, and grotesque interpretations of the Constitution straight out of a pamphlet penned by The John Bitch Society.

Congratulations, Republicans.  Well done.

I was afraid you were finally coming to your senses.  I was fearful you might start nominating moderates who are willing to reach across the aisle to the other side and try to compromise on so many important issues facing this nation.  Instead, you’ve moved even further to the right — hopefully right off a cliff.

Let’s just hope you don’t take the rest of the country down with you.

5 Comments

  1. Was the “John Bitch Society” reference a Freudian slip?

    Otherwise, I agree this development can only help Democrats over the intermediate-to-longer term. Enjoy the upcoming Brat spectacle!

  2. This headline from the LVRJ should cheer you up Nolan:

    Upset of Cantor topples one of Adelson’s closest Capitol Hill allies

  3. Interestingly, a poll taken on the day of the election showed that over 60% of the district was dissatisfied with the job Cantor was doing. I am not so sure his stance on immigration was his undoing. He forgot the basic premise of politics which is all politics is local. He seemed to have ignored his district. The beat goes on.

  4. The Tea Party is taking over….and I love it! It’s about time we take the trash out of Washington. Can’t wait until November!

  5. This is the beginning of the “people’s bipartisanship. Watch out as this spill over to every elected official. Get things done or your out.

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