GOP’s rising star runs into a rough patch

[babylonsister]

:nopity:

GOP’s rising star runs into a rough patch
By Molly K. Hooper
Posted: 03/24/09 08:23 PM


A rising star in the Republican Party has dimmed over the past week.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), a politically shrewd up-and-comer in the GOP, has broken with his party on two high-profile issues. And the defections on last week’s AIG bonus tax bill and the Obama administration’s troubled assets plan have exasperated some members in the GOP conference.

The grumbling started when Cantor unexpectedly voted with Democrats last week on a measure to recoup the bonuses of AIG executives. Many Republicans called the bill unconstitutional, with more than half of the GOP conference rejecting it. Cantor, who has been labeled “Mr. No” by some Democrats, was one of only two Republican leadership officials who voted for the bill. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) was the other.

“All the unconstitutional stuff aside, if you don’t believe in raising taxes, why would you vote to raise taxes?” House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter (Texas) said.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) added that supporting the retroactive tax cut “sets a terrible precedent, just terrible.”

But Cantor voted for that retroactive tax, saying that he didn’t want to “reward failure,” meaning the AIG officials would keep their bonuses if the legislation hadn’t passed.

Yet Cantor’s vote last Thursday now looks even worse to some of his GOP colleagues. AIG employees are vowing to give their bonuses back and Democratic leaders say their bill — even if it’s not passed — accomplished its mission. The legislation appears to be dead.

more...

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gops-rising-star-runs-into-a-rough-patch-2009-03-24.html

[WI_DEM]

1. How come we don't hear about Cantor's wife and her bank doing well in the stimulus

it sort of just has been swept under the rug.

[rocktivity]

2. Here's the rest of the DU "Cry Me A River" String Quartet!

:nopity::nopity::nopity:
rocktivity

[arcadian]

3. I'm wondering when they are going to run Cantor.

2012? 2016? How old is he?