by Jack
One of the most powerful men in Washington, Rep. Eric Cantor has lost his bid for re-election! He invested 5 million dollars in this primary race. He blitzed his message across Virginia and the 7th District that he represents. He was a 7 term incumbent and he was also the number two most powerful Republican in Congress. Cantor became majority leader for the 112th and 113th Congress and he had his sights on eventually becoming Speaker of the House and he lost!
It was a historic defeat because Cantor, an establishment Republican, lost to a virtual unknown! Challenger Dave Brat is a local college professor of economics. He was also outspent 25 to 1, having raised only about $200,000 compared to the over $5.5 million that Cantor dumped into the race. Brat had no big name endorsements and no deep pocket contributors. He was by all accounts an unknown, certainly unknown to the big GOP bosses in Virginia. But, this became a “throw the bums out kind of election” and the people did it! This time they refused to have their vote bought with Cantor’s millions or influenced by the all the big endorsements. They voted for Brat because they don’t like being pushed around and bullied, and they sure didn’t like the direction this country is going.
So who is Dave Brat? Well, we know from his speeches he wants to scale back Washington and move power closer to the people at the State level. He’s a strong supporter of a free market economy and the 10th Amendment. He’s pro-fiscal responsibility and a strong supporter of the Constitution! This made him a Tea Party’s favorite and ultimately it was their numbers that made the difference, not Cantor’s money. This time… the grass roots turned on the party that has been sticking it to them for years and mocking the Tea Party. Brat said on Hannity tonight, “The American people want to take their country back!”
Brat pledges to tell the truth, even when he makes mistakes and this is part of his strong stand for ethics. Brat says principals really matter, even in Washington politics and the voters heard him! They loved what this outsider said and they voted their conscience! It was a fresh, bold message that resonated with the people who have been abused and used too long.
This election upset was shocking to the beltway politicians from both party’s! They’re seeing if it can happen to a powerful guy like Cantor, then none of them are safe. It’s a seismic shift of a grand scale that is guaranteed to upend politics as usual in this town where who you know and how much money you have…determine outcome. We’ve seen this (money and endorsements) happen in race after race, but this time, in this rare exception it didn’t work. The voters are tired of being talking down too, they’ve been bamboozled too many times and being an incumbent doesn’t mean what it once did, results count more! The voters term limited Cantor because he didn’t deliver. Voters were angry about Obama’s proposed immigration reform that has been attracting a flood of young illegals across the Southern border and Cantor’s moderate conditional amnesty approach didn’t fly.
The direction of this nation has been going is terrible, the economics and over regulation have been terrible and people are tired of it! They were sick of record debt, ObamaCare and being invaded by illegal aliens that seem to be able to accessing more of our safety nets than many Americans.
Dave Brat hammered Cantor on immigration reform and caused the first downfall of a House GOP majority leader. Dave Brat, a local college professor, asked for help from the Tea Party at a time when other GOP leaders elsewhere have made a habit of putting down Tea Party people and their candidates, which makes this upset all the more stunning. But, in the end it was conservative voters who were fed up with the status quo that knocked Cantor out of power.
“It was a stunning, unimaginable, impossible defeat.” – Stuart Rothenberg
The election of Dave Brat has brought hope back to millions of disillusioned Americans in both party’s and empowered the conservative grass roots efforts across the country. Change can happen and we can put the train back on the track if we have enough like minds.
Works for me. The GOP taint dead yet.
Off topic — Revealed: Asian slave labour producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour
No doubt the USA first, Walmart second, and Costco third are guilty of this practice, not the Thailand fishing industry for engaging in trade with the US or UK (relatively favorable and free) with Thailand.
Home farmed or wild shrimp for me.
I loved it. The republican elitists better wake up.
For me, what Dave Brat said, as well as his calm manner, that also resonated with me, was his comment “he ran based on the founding fathers purpose of philosophical ideals”, which will of course put him at odds against current divisive partisan politics. but it is an energizing spark of motivation, albeit a small one, but shows me the true American spirit is surviving.
What others truthfully see in dubious incumbent candidates will always be a mystery to me, other than the entitlements they refuse to be weaned off of I suspect, but it is refreshing to see my model for our country reactivated, if only by one person. Currently!
It is a start
I think it’s outstanding that this man accomplished the impossible by being with, spending time and energy with the people. He spent time meeting people personally and communicating with them rather than fundraising. This takes a lot of time and effort but it pays off in terms of loyal, energized support and plenty of word of mouth advertising, the most successful way to achieve good results.
Overall Cantor wasn’t a rino Republican; his voting record was conservative.
His problem: He forgot that he represents the people of his district; he failed to stay engaged with them. He took on that entitlement, establishment mantle that people find offensive these days.
I also love the fact that money didn’t win the day. People need to realize they have power…that their voices are a strong force that can trump big donors.
This is so cool. It’s unlikely that the GOP will see the White House again in my lifetime.
Happy, happy, happy days!
And … and! … they have open primaries in Virginia, so you can’t tell who voted for whom … but! … the demographic split for Virginia is 39-36. That’s close. There is a lovely chance that, in November, the voters in that district go: “maybe … maybe we better not.”
And the Dem gets the seat!
Oh, Happy, Happy, Happy Days!
Off Topic: What the Southern Poverty Law Center has been up to lately —
http://www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org/the_southern_poverty_law_center_stands_up_for_hamas_daniel_greenfield
Please save Libby’s comment from today. In my opinion it doesn’t matter if Cantor held the seat or if a democrat were to win it, same damn thing. The republican party needs to be cleaned out and it should start here. Bratt taking Cantor out is the best option.
Oh, Toby. Cantor was the very last word in weasel, and I’m very pleased. Professor Brat has not made a very good impression so far, but we’re cutting him some slack, as he didn’t really believe he’d get to be a Congressperson. It is pretty cool.
Still, we will be expecting something like coherent policy statements shortly. If he can keep all the “prayerfulnesses” and “God’s plans” out of it … he’s got a decent shot.
Re the minimum wage, there can’t be any more of this:
“Um, I don’t have a well-crafted response on that one,” he said. “You can’t make up wage rates. I would love for everyone in sub-Saharan Africa, for example, children of God, to make $100 an hour,” Brat added, noting that such a proposal was impossible.”
And I have to ask you, after you’ve “cleaned out” the GOP, how do you hope, ever, to win a national election?
It’s good to see a crony capitalist-corporatist, bankster bailout, new world order puppet get taken down.
The usual nut jobs ramble and slur and mock and pretend glee. I think Ann Coulter’s analysis is likely the most accurate —
http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2014-06-11.html
Wish Virginia’s race had been before Kentucky’s. Maybe the voters in Kentucky would have grown a pair to vote McConnell out too.
Warning: If you’re not sitting down you’ll need to before watching this video.
Chris Matthews Defends Tea Party: ‘They’re As American As Any Liberal Is’:
Don’t look now, but there may be pigs flying around outside your window.
On the June 11 episode of Ronan Farrow Daily, Hardball host Chris Matthews defended conservative Republican congressional nominee David Brat – who surprised all of Washington with his unexpected defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) – and the Tea Party movement against fellow liberals who are “looking down our noses at the Tea Party.”
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/laura-flint/2014/06/11/chris-matthews-defends-tea-party-theyre-american-any-liberal#ixzz34SOcx4j7
Reagan got it right again.
Reagan Warned Of The Dangers Of Liberalism, And He Couldn’t Have Been More Eerily Prophetic:
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/147628-flashback-reagans-definitions-libertarianism-conservatism-liberalism-still-resonate-today/
Love Trey Gowdy. He gives me hope for America’s future. Hope we get more like him.
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/147628-flashback-reagans-definitions-libertarianism-conservatism-liberalism-still-resonate-today/