So… Eric Cantor loses to Dave Brat in VA-07.

I’m not going to even remotely pretend that I’m not flabbergasted. I did not see that coming. Fortunately, I also stayed out of the dang primary, as near as I can remember. One thing to be surprised; it’s another to tuck into a big dinner of crow.

A couple of observations. First two:

And the third is that everybody’s going to have an answer on why this happened; but some of those answers are going to be a little bit of a stretch. For example: the Democrats barely have a candidate for this race (they got this guy picked by the local committee and now have to get him established on the ballot), which suggests that shenanigans by the Democrats were, at best, ad hoc. I would have had a state senator or representative prepped and ready to go.

So, basically, it could just simply be that the voters have chosen. Like they’re supposed to, you know, do.

Moe Lane

PS: Needless to say: Dave Brat for VA-07.

23 thoughts on “So… Eric Cantor loses to Dave Brat in VA-07.”

  1. Flabbergasted too.

    Wonder what conclusions the GOPe will draw from this? Jeb? Probably they will simply dismiss this as an anomaly, continue on down the same path and redouble their efforts for amnesty.

    Doubt that Cantor will though.

    1. STOP CALLING MY POLITICAL PARTY NAMES, STEVE IN GREENSBORO. This is my site and I will not be personally insulted like this.

      Last warning.

      1. (quirks eyebrow)
        I take it part of the post was deleted? As there doesn’t seem to be anything in the posted text to generate such heat.

          1. Alrighty then.
            (shrug) I don’t see having institutional power, ready access to large donors, and a slightlier friendly relationship with the press as an insult, much less a slur.
            But it’s obviously a sore spot. I’ll refrain from poking it.

        1. Thank you. For my part, sometimes my temper gets the better of me, so I will try to remember to practice my deep breathing and maintain an even strain.

    1. Hopefully that they’ll break the damn thing up into smaller, specific bills and stop trying for ‘comprehensive’ ‘reform.’

      1. The deity-of-your-choice damned illegal immigration issue has been around since well before Reagan, hell the Eisenhower administration signed off on Operation Wetback in 1954.
        .
        I mention that because it could have been broken up into bills for over half a century now, and .. it hasn’t been. Gotta ask why.
        .
        The trouble with breaking it up is getting consensus on enough of the pieces, and .. I doubt they *can* get consensus on anything beyond “build the fence!” at this point.
        .
        Between “advisers” whose “advice” is rooted in the experiences of Cuban-Americans (and therefore *does not apply* to Mexican-Americans or Guatemalan-Americans or Brazilian-Americans…) and an oligarchical business community who want cheap labor, the only way to pass this is to wrap the {effluent} in a fence-shaped tortilla and deep-fry it, and pass the whole {feces}-chimichanga at once.
        .
        I would like to think Cantor going down would scare the {effluent} out of Boehner, but .. he seems determined to do his fiscal masters’ bidding.
        .
        Mew

    2. They’ll keep trying until they get it. Losses like this won’t stop Congress.

    1. It’s only mostly dead*.
      There’s still the lame duck session coming up. Various powerful portions of both political parties will only stop pushing for it with the heat death of the Universe. And the risk of Obama continuing to ignore the law.
      .
      .
      *Classical reference.

  2. Well, this one wasn’t even on my radar. Dave Brat seems like a decent enough guy, though. Come payday, I’ll look at chipping in a few bucks to support him.

    On a not-unrelated note, I am sad to say that it looks like I won’t be visiting Ace of Spades for the foreseeable future.

  3. So now the anti-Tea Party Beltway GOP elites have a mess on their hands. They can’t really support Brat, can they? But would they openly support the Dem candidate? Yup, Boehner and McConnell must be scratching their chins at the moment.

    1. The gutless D.C. wing of the GOP would appear to be caught in a cleft stick of their own making.
      .
      Mew
      .
      .
      .
      * classical reference, by the way.

  4. And I’m definitely in the “flabbergasted” camp. I guess the human trafficking the government’s been engaging in came at a bad time.

  5. 2b.) Pro-Cantor people: Now that Cantor has lost, ALSO help Dave Brat win. Party loyalty is a two way street. We really shouldn’t need to say this.

  6. As a resident of VA02, my congressional district was the first victim of Eric Cantor political machinations of trying to suppress/disenfranchise the grassroots of the party. It was called “slating.” His “young guns” went in a number of districts trying to ensure an Establishment takeover. This caused major firestorms and backlash, waking up the people. Cantor became a household name in more than just his VA07 district.

    Eric Cantor lost because he became a politician instead of a representative and statesman. Dave Brat won because he went around the Establishment directly to the people.

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