A missed opportunity
Eric Cantor, who represents the 7th U. S. Congressional District, which includes all of Goochland County, was the featured guest at a Republican rally held at the Orapax Plantation Hunting Preserve, just west of Courthouse Village on Saturday, October 16.
Sadly, only about 50 people took advantage of perfect autumn weather to interact with Cantor.
His visit to Goochland in the waning days of the current midterm election campaign was a big deal. As Republican whip, Cantor, a frequent guest on news commentary shows, is in the center of congressional action.
Should the predictions of a GOP landslide in November come true, Cantor will be a very powerful man indeed and it could be a long time before he returns.
Why come to Goochland? He is in no danger of losing the county to his two opponents, though some supporters find his refusal to debate them a troubling indication of arrogance. He brought no press entourage.
Cantor’s demeanor was cordial and inclusive. He spoke to everyone who wanted his ear, listened and responded appropriately as an elected official should. He seemed to enjoy a few minutes in the sunshine a bit off the beaten path.
Perhaps this visit to a hunting preserve where guns are welcome, unlike the site of the local Republican Round Up a few weeks ago, was designed to reassure the NRA that Cantor does indeed revere and support Second Amendment rights. While several attendees sported side arms and cheerfully distributed blaze orange stickers proclaiming “guns save lives” guns got little notice.
The main concern of the day was jobs, getting the economy rolling and the impact of policies and programs of the Obama administration on the country’s future.
Cantor contended that this election is about work and the need to put plans and common sense policies in place to get things going again. With an unemployment rate hovering near double digits for the past 17 months, it makes no sense to attack the U. S. Chamber of Commerce or put the crippling energy taxes of “cap and trade” in place, he said.
In response to a question about regulatory agencies circumventing congressional oversight, Cantor said that Congress is able to “deny, delay and defund” those regulations.
Cantor admitted that pork filled earmarks that grow on pending legislation like barnacles on the hull of a ship must be eliminated across the board. He also admitted that many of his fellow legislators are addicted to earmarks and their elimination will be difficult.
He urged everyone there to vote and get ten other like- minded citizens to do the same. He was cautiously optimistic, putting his faith only in the November 2 poll.
“This could be a banner year for the Republican Party,” Cantor observed. “Lord knows we need it.”
Several people at the rally, who also attended the Virginia Tea Party Convention, listened attentively and a bit skeptically to Cantor’s remarks.
They believe that if Republicans do manage to wrest control of one or both houses of Congress from Democrat control the GOP must act swiftly and decisively to counter Obama policies or it will be destroyed.
1 comment:
Eric TARP Cantor participated in years of a lackluster, do-nothing Republican Congress with little to show for it except bigger government, more spending, fewer personal liberties and record-setting debt. (Homeland Defense + Patriot Act = Healthcare + Cap and Trade, for example). There's no real difference in the parties. Cantor's votes almost always favor large corporations, and seldom favor individuals (even veterans) who could use a hand.
Unfortunately I have no real choice. Voting for the Democrat (Waugh) is not a solution for me. While I honor his social work, much of what these folks do is make people dependent on government, which then grows to support them and looks for more and more people to make dependent in a never ending cycle. I admire their desire to help their fellow man, but making their fellow man dependent or entitled, instead of setting him up on his own two feet is doing him no real service.
The 'Tea Party' candidate, (Bayne), is all about building walls of separation - or so I gathered from his web site. I honor his sense of fiscal responsibility, but he wants to build walls between the US and the rest of the world, and walls of separation are the problem, not the answer. We are not better or superior to anyone else simply because we are Americans.
I found myself in this same situation a couple years ago, so I wrote in a candidate for Rep of the 7th District. I wrote in Brett the Wonder Dog. I offer up my faithful companion as a write-in candidate for the 7th, not so we can send a message to Congress - but so that we can send a message to ourselves. We can let ourselves know that there are more of us out here who realize that we are the problem, not Congress; for it is we the people who keep sending candidates like career politician, Eric TARP Cantor to represent big corporations & special interests, and to rule the rest of us. It's our fault. So let's send ourselves a message by entering your write-in vote for Brett the Wonder Dog!
Sandy said it: "Should the predictions of a GOP landslide in November come true, Cantor will be a very powerful man indeed and it could be a long time before he returns." Yaaa for Cantor and his personal career ambitions. Is this necessarily good for us? I look at the track record. He's every bit as responsible as anyone else in Congress for the fix we are in now - actually that's not true. We're responsible for sending him and other self-interested, career politicians back to DC again and again.
I predict a low turnout for Cantor, although I'm sure he'll win - but I'd love to see Brett the Wonder Dog pull in enough votes to send ourselves a message!
Pat
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