Eric Cantor just lost his primary.

[Keukasmallies]

That's a great start. Let's get rid of all the incumbents.

 

Let me have an "Amen" to that. Send "same old, same old" to the sidelines; if you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got!!

[Nanker]

Let's see if he takes it like a man and doesn't go the independent route.

This is a big slap in the face to the establishment. They'd be better served by listening to the new voices of the party than sticking with the good ol' boys/girls who are increasingly out-of-step with their constituencies.

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

Politics aside, what is most amazing about all of this is that the Republican and Democrat candidates for this Virginia election are both teachers at the same small college:

 

Dave Brat

 

Jack Trammell

 

Think about it - Randolph Macon College only has 1200 students -that's only half the size of Medaille College!

 

It should make for some fun faculty meetings this fall!

[Dorkington]

Wonder how much the fact that it was an open primary had to do with this. Could be the democrats saw the eventual winner as the more beatable target...

[Magox]

Conventional wisdom says it was because of his stance on immigration. Some from the right, specially coming from talk radio mis characterized his position as blanket amnesty, which of course was patently false. Then there is the counter to this narrative, that it wasn't about his stance with immigration and it had to do with him being seen as out of touch with his constituents. The backers of this narrative cite Lindsey Graham's victory in a much more conservative state than Cantor's district and polls such as this one that were conducted in Cantor's district as proof that it wasn't.

 

About 72 percent of registered voters in Cantor’s district polled on Tuesday said they either “strongly” or “somewhat” support immigration reform that would secure the borders, block employers from hiring those here illegally, and allow undocumented residents without criminal backgrounds to gain legal status – three key tenets of an overhaul, according to a poll by the left-leaning firm Public Policy Polling and commissioned by the liberal advocacy group Americans United for Change.

Looking just at Republicans in Cantor’s district, the poll found that 70 percent of GOP registered voters would support such a plan, while 27 percent would oppose.

 

 

Read more: http://www.politico....l#ixzz34KdWUCpD

 

 

So which is it?

 

Both. Even though most people in his district support some sort of reform of the immigration system, which is backed up in all polls, the ones who could support such a law aren't nearly as fervent and likely to vote on this particular issue as those that oppose it. That distinct and clear minority that oppose these principles, bottom line showed up to voice their opposition. Those that could support it, didn't.

 

And to lump in Graham as proof that immigration wasn't such a big issue, really isn't giving a fair depiction of what could have transpired, mainly because Graham ran against six opponents, there was no singular alternative for him to face, whereas Cantor had a clear opponent, which crystallized the choice.

 

But make no mistake, Cantor's lack of likability, questions of sincerity and being out of touch with his constituents played a huge role as well.

 

Meanwhile, Cantor was deeply unpopular in his district, the PPP poll found. About 63 percent of those surveyed in his district said they did not approve of the job Cantor has been doing, with 30 percent of registered voters approving. Among Republicans, 43 percent approved of Cantor’s job performance, while 49 percent disapproved, the survey found.

 

I was reading that Cantor spent over $168k on steakhouses during his campaign, that's almost as much as Brat was able to raise. On the day of the election, Cantor was holding a fundraiser in DC. Things like this.

 

Also as a side note, I know some tea party folks are wanting to claim victory here, they didn't win. They never stepped in and helped out with money etc. There were no politicians that I know of that endorsed Brat. As a matter of fact, if you hear Brat speak, he even basically acknowledges he isn't so much a tea party candidate. He comes across as very reasonable, he seems to be focused on the economy, and he'll most likely win the district very easily. However, if you do want to give some credit for this victory, you can give it to the talk radio spinsters.

 

Someone like myself, and I know I'm in the minority on this board or any place where conservatives are willing to take the time to post their thoughts, but I find it to be hugely disappointing for getting some sort of meaningful reform on Immigration. And contrary to some of your views, in my view it's a net negative for the economy and the electoral landscape moving forward.

 

I guess we'll see Obama do some sort of unilateral action within the next few weeks. And why not? Politically speaking, the country will side with him, those that will oppose it, already fervently oppose him, so no skin off his back there, and he'll gain even more popularity amongst Latino's while taking the focus off his dismal failures and incompetence.

 

For him, it's a no-brainer. Win-Win

Edited June 11, 2014 by Magox

[John Adams]

The right doesn't have the balls to do immigration reform and it's one of the reasons the presidency keeps slipping away from them.

 

Cantor lost to a nobody because he was disliked, pure and simple.

 

This is a single loss and I don't expect the electorate to buck the historic trend on voting for incumbents.

[Magox]

The right doesn't have the balls to do immigration reform and it's one of the reasons the presidency keeps slipping away from them.

 

Cantor lost to a nobody because he was disliked, pure and simple.

 

This is a single loss and I don't expect the electorate to buck the historic trend on voting for incumbents.

 

I agree with 83.5% of what you just said.

[B-Man]

The only good thing about Nevada......................the "none of the above" option.

 

we should all have it.

 

 

 

 

Nevada Democrats Chose 'None of These Candidates' in Primary

By Alexander Smith

 

Elections have historically been defined by their winners and losers - but on Tuesday a primary in Nevada returned a disheartening result for all the candidates: nobody won.

 

Voters in the state's Democratic primary for governor were so unimpressed by the eight men on offer that the most popular option on the ballot paper was "none of these candidates," which received 30 percent of the vote, according to figures from The Associated Press.

[PTS]

Hey, Lindsey wins ya'all

 

http://www.postandco...runoff-election

Lindsey Graham is a dinosaur from a dinosaur state. And I say that as South Carolinian. The deep South folks of this state put more emphasis on stupid social issues over fiscal issues.

 

Additionally, he was running against 5 or 6 candidates. There was no unified Tea Party front and it basically made it a cake walk for him.

[keepthefaith]

The right doesn't have the balls to do immigration reform

 

 

What does that mean "immigration reform"? If you ask 10 people you'll get 10 different answers. If you actually study the impact that this huge influx of people is having over so many years and what it means for future population numbers and our ability to employ all these people, what should be done is clear. We need limits on immigrants. It's very tough to send people home that have been here for years but some should go.

 

Politically one party see this as a vote registration program and the other party is afraid that i they don't support citizenship, they will suffer politically. Both are wrong. The Dems for not doing what's best for Americans and the Republican for believing they can get the hispanic vote if they support citizenship.

[Magox]

If you actually study the impact that this huge influx of people is having over so many years and what it means for future population numbers and our ability to employ all these people, what should be done is clear. We need limits on immigrants. It's very tough to send people home that have been here for years but some should go.

 

Except what you just said is, indeed, not true. Virtually just about every study shows that population growth is essential to economic growth. One of the reasons that Japan and Europe are mired in long-term structural anemic growth is due to lack of population growth.

[B-Man]

Back to Cantor.

 

From a constituent;

 

Why We Fired Eric Cantor

 

FTA:

Here’s my favorite Eric Cantor story. At the Republican Convention in 2008, I approached Cantor after an event, introduced myself as a constituent, and told him where I lived. It’s a tiny place, more of a wide spot in the road than an actual town, so this was partly a test to see how well Cantor knew his own district. I turns out that he did recognize the town, and to prove it, he started to tell me about how he had worked on getting us an earmark for a local Civil War battlefield park. An earmark, mind you, just after Republicans had officially renounced earmarks in an attempt to appease small-government types. Cantor suddenly realized this and literally stopped himself in mid-sentence. Then he hastily added: “But we don’t do that any more.”

 

 

That, ladies and gentlemen, was Eric Cantor: the soul of an establishment machine politician, with the “messaging” of the small-government conservatives grafted uneasily on top of it.

 

 

So yes, you can now tear up all those articles pronouncing the death of the Tea Party movement, because this is the essence of what the Tea Party is about: letting the establishment know that they have to do more than offer lip service to a small-government agenda, that we expect them to actually mean it. Or as Dave Brat put it in one of his frenzied post-victory interviews, “the problem with the Republican principles is that nobody follows them.”

[TH3]

What does that mean "immigration reform"? If you ask 10 people you'll get 10 different answers. If you actually study the impact that this huge influx of people is having over so many years and what it means for future population numbers and our ability to employ all these people, what should be done is clear. We need limits on immigrants. It's very tough to send people home that have been here for years but some should go.

 

Politically one party see this as a vote registration program and the other party is afraid that i they don't support citizenship, they will suffer politically. Both are wrong. The Dems for not doing what's best for Americans and the Republican for believing they can get the hispanic vote if they support citizenship.

 

This is such a typical ignorant view - ignorant in the sense that you yourself have no idea what immigration reform is about. NOBODY is talking about opening the borders. We have 10-12 million illegals simply because the laws on the books do not match reality. Under NO PLAN will these people be rounded up and deported.

 

Immigration reform is about dealing with the reality of this - but the TP and Laura Ingraham bang the drum and people - ignorantly - fall in line behind a policy that is detached from reality.

[Hazed and Amuzed]

What does that mean "immigration reform"? If you ask 10 people you'll get 10 different answers. If you actually study the impact that this huge influx of people is having over so many years and what it means for future population numbers and our ability to employ all these people, what should be done is clear. We need limits on immigrants. It's very tough to send people home that have been here for years but some should go.

 

Politically one party see this as a vote registration program and the other party is afraid that i they don't support citizenship, they will suffer politically. Both are wrong. The Dems for not doing what's best for Americans and the Republican for believing they can get the hispanic vote if they support citizenship.

 

So basically BOTH parties not doing whats best for Americans. Weird.

[4merper4mer]

This is such a typical ignorant view - ignorant in the sense that you yourself have no idea what immigration reform is about. NOBODY is talking about opening the borders. We have 10-12 million illegals simply because the laws on the books do not match reality. Under NO PLAN will these people be rounded up and deported.

 

Immigration reform is about dealing with the reality of this - but the TP and Laura Ingraham bang the drum and people - ignorantly - fall in line behind a policy that is detached from reality.

 

What is the point of talking about opening the borders when you can just go ahead and do it? Obama is a man of action.

[B-Man]

ROGER KIMBALL: Eric Cantor and the Conventional Wisdom.

 

 

From where I sit, the response of “responsible leaders,” i.e., representatives of the convention wisdom, has been mostly confined to what they used to call in the wild West a circling of the wagons. Demonize the bastards. Ostracize ’em. Talk incessantly about “fringe candidates” and “extremists” who cannot win (

except they just did

), who will upset the status quo, which by an extraordinary coincidence just happens to benefit those registering their “shock,” their having been “stunned,” “staggered,” not to say “utterly dismayed.”

 

Both parties have been assiduous in demonizing the Tea Party. And they’ve been quite effective in convincing themselves that it was yesterday’s news, that the upsets of 2010 were an anomaly, that business-as-usual (represented by us mature politicians who are already in office) had once again achieved the upper hand. Order, in short, had been restored.

 

Except that unexpected things like David Brat’s victory, like UKIP’s victory in the European election, keep happening. . . .

Which brings me to the other aspect of the Cantor Conundrum, the Brat Braining: the contention that, in addition to being “staggering,” “stunning,” etc., it is also of vast importance. Is it? In the sense that it (like the European elections of a fortnight ago) bespeaks a profound unease among the electorate with politics (and, nota bene pollsters: politicians) as usual, I’d say, yes, it is important.

 

We’ve been told that the “tea party” is a spent force.

The trouble is, the millions of ordinary people who are disgusted with Washington, who fear and loath the the rise of the imperial state with its vast armory of regulation and surveillance, not to mention its untouchable self-enriching nomenklatura — those millions haven’t gotten the memo. They don’t know that their interests and desires are de trop, even though their masters in Washington have done everything possible to reinforce that idea.

 

 

 

 

.

Edited June 11, 2014 by B-Man

[DC Tom]

Immigration reform is about dealing with the reality of this

 

That's why it never gets addressed. No one wants to deal with the reality of it.

[B-Man]

LOL......................Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Cantor race: "I think it's fair to say no one knows what happened there."

 

 

.

[Nanker]

That's why it never gets addressed. No one wants to deal with the reality of it.

With all due respect, I fixed that for you us.

[keepthefaith]

This is such a typical ignorant view - ignorant in the sense that you yourself have no idea what immigration reform is about. NOBODY is talking about opening the borders. We have 10-12 million illegals simply because the laws on the books do not match reality. Under NO PLAN will these people be rounded up and deported.

 

Immigration reform is about dealing with the reality of this - but the TP and Laura Ingraham bang the drum and people - ignorantly - fall in line behind a policy that is detached from reality.

 

That is truly an embarrassing response.

 

Except what you just said is, indeed, not true. Virtually just about every study shows that population growth is essential to economic growth. One of the reasons that Japan and Europe are mired in long-term structural anemic growth is due to lack of population growth.

 

Population growth at a reasonable rate and assuming people are productive, yes. NumbersUSA has done a bunch of studies on this tracking immigration figures throughout US history and those studies show that there is a "right number". We're well above that in recent years. If I can find the info I'll post it later.