Free Republic

You knew Majority Leader Eric Cantor was vulnerable–the press had already reported a non-trivial Anybody But Cantor vote in his district. But I would have settled for his challenger, Dave Brat, getting more than 40%. I was all ready to (legitimately) spin that as a warning shot across Cantor’s bow. Instead, Brat went and actually beat Cantor–decisively, by 10 points, 55% to 45%. He and his campaign manager Zachary Werrell obviously ran a very effective race with minimal resources–against Cantor’s millions. Independent anti-Cantor actors like the We Deserve Better group — and various local conspiracies we don’t even know about...

Former vice presidential candidate discusses the state of the GOP

For years, the White House saw House Majority Leader Eric Cantor as a chief driver of Republicans' staunch opposition to nearly all of President Barack Obama's agenda. Now, Cantor's stunning primary loss seems likely to make politics even more difficult for Obama. Rather than opening a pathway for the president, Cantor's defeat could push Republicans more to the right and harden the House GOP's hostility toward the White House, virtually dooming Obama's efforts to pass a legacy-building immigration bill or other major legislation....

Democratic operatives were just as surprised as everyone else by Eric Cantor’s defeat — but now they’re trying to figure out how to make the most of it. The early thinking: Stay out of the GOP’s way. Virginia’s 7th Congressional District probably isn’t going their way, regardless of the Republican candidate switch. But operatives planning for the midterms believe they can turn Tuesday’s surprising tea party resurgence into something much bigger. They see the attention to the defeat as another cut at the House Republicans as extremists, a new way to highlight congressional dysfunction, a chance to pump more GOP...

Editors at MSNBC.com trimmed down Republican congressional nominee Dave Brat's June 11 phone interview with MSNBC's Chuck Todd in order to paint him as dodging questions from the Daily Rundown host. But a review of the full interview [listen to the mp3 audio here] shows that Brat had already and seemingly quite gladly answered a few policy questions on such hot issues as the minimum wage, immigration reform, and his stance on Wall Street's influence on the business wing of the GOP. "Brat dodges Chuck Todd's questions," blared a teaser headline. "Brat: I just wanted to talk about the victory,"...

“All of the investment banks, up in New York and D.C., they should have gone to jail.”That isn’t a quote from an Occupy Wall Street protester or Senator Elizabeth Warren. That’s a common campaign slogan repeated by Dave Brat, the Virginia college professor who scored one of the biggest political upsets in over a century by defeating Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the Republican primary last night.The national media is buzzing about Brat’s victory, but for all of the wrong reasons.Did the Tea Party swoop in and help Brat, as many in the Democratic Party are suggesting? Actually, the Wall Street...

"Tuesday night, David Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, right outside Richmond, accomplished something stunning: defeating the House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor, something never done before in American history.""Some are trying to pigeonhole Mr. Brat as a Tea Party candidate, but the truth is that, while he appeals to the Tea Party constituency, he is what a bread-and-butter Republican is supposed to be: a believer in free markets, limited government, strong defense, and a morality based in our Judeo-Christian ethos."

Wall Street has many friends in Washington, but House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was a well-placed one who understood how the industry worked and was not afraid to help the financial-services sector, even when he had to take on other members of his own party. Cantor’s loss in Tuesday’s Republican primary puts a big hole in Wall Street’s Washington Rolodex. Since he was first elected to Congress, Cantor, a Virginia Republican, has been Wall Street’s go-to guy on issues big and small. His first committee assignment was on Financial Services Committee where he became steeped in policy matters that affected...

If Jeb Bush was considering a White House run in 2016, he’d better think again. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s stunning loss Tuesday night to underfunded Tea Party candidate David Brat in Virginia has sent shock waves through the Republican Party — including to Jeb Bush, who will now have to reassess whether he even has a shot at the Oval Office. Cantor’s remarkable defeat was a nationwide wake-up call that not only is the Tea Party formidable, but that Republican voters are not happy with the GOP’s 
establishment position on 
amnesty for illegal immigrants and other hot-button issues fracturing...

So Majority Leader Eric Cantor has lost to a Tea Party candidate. Correction, Majority Leader Eric Cantor was crushed by a Tea Party candidate. In some ways, Cantor’s exit is a political tragedy. It shows that flirting with the existential enemies of the Constitution, of liberty, and of core Republican principles can bear a very heavy price. I’m convinced that had Cantor resisted the siren calls of the left on two key issues — immigration and giving Eric Holder renewed power over state elections — he would have won tonight.

Tabs at fancy D.C. steakhouses and the high overhead for Eric Cantor’s campaign drew plenty of mockery in the aftermath of his primary loss. But lobbyists and other big donors generally don’t cut $5,000 checks over a barbacoa burrito bowl. Cantor’s campaign and leadership PAC spent about $170,000 at classic D.C. powerhouse restaurants including Bobby Van’s Steakhouse and BLT Steak, according to FEC records. By comparison, his primary opponent Dave Brat spent about $122,000 in his entire campaign. “It’s rare that you would see a fundraiser at a Ruby Tuesday or a Chipotle,” said Lisa Spies, a veteran GOP fundraiser...

Scott Brown's campaign manager has fired off a memo "to interested parties" on what Eric Cantor's primary loss in Virginia means for the U.S. Senate race in New Hampshire. Colin Reed says the Cantor upset by a Tea Party surging candidate "contains worrisome lessons for Senator Jeanne Shaheen." Here are Reed's five points, verbatim, from his memo: 1. Supporting President Obama's Immigration Policies Is A Liability There is a crisis building on the southern border right now, with large numbers of young people seeking to enter the country illegally, encouraged by the pro-amnesty policies of President Obama and Senator Shaheen....

This was crazy! Adding insult to injury, far left amnesty activists stormed Eric Cantor’s election night headquarters after his loss to Dave Brat. Posted by Jim Hoft on Wednesday, June 11, 2014, 8:31 AM This was crazy! Adding insult to injury, far left amnesty activists stormed Eric Cantor’s election night headquarters after his loss to Dave Brat. They raided the wrong headquarters. Cantor lost. This had to hurt. The Washington Post reported: As if the political drama were not powerful enough, chaos erupted at election night headquarters shortly after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor conceded his stunning defeat to tea...

'Sic Semper Tyrannis' relates to the illustration shown of a  revolutionary citizen defeating a ruling class 'tyrant', and means: 'Always THUS to Tyrants' Fitting in the wake of this week's events in the Commonwealth-  and to the proud patriots of Virginia's 7th District I say THANK YOU  for delivering a message on behalf of all of us to today's tyrannical ruling class when the opportunity presented itself... God Bless and thanks again! Hey stoopid, you're next

Brat has called for slashing Social Security, Medicare, and education spending and says "rich" nations don't have to fear climate change. When tea party challenger David Brat sent Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the House majority leader, to the ash heap on Tuesday night, vanquishing the incumbent by more than 10 points in the primary race, the politerati were stunned. Political journalists scrambled to answer a question: who is this guy? The political pros knew that Brat had mounted a campaign largely based on two issues: bashing Cantor on immigration (that is, excoriating the congressman, who was quite hesitant about immigration...

Blackstone Group $65,500 Scoggin Capital Management $40,400 Goldman Sachs $26,600 Altria Group $25,600 Charmer Sunbelt Group $25,000 Oracle Corp $25,000 White & Case $25,000 Verizon Communications $24,600 NorPAC $24,560 (SNIP) BRAT:Baugh Auto Body $5,400 Emory University Hospital $2,600 Magenta Consulting $2,600 McGuire Woods $2,600 Power Monitors $2,600 Covered Cleaning Concepts $2,500 G3 Systems Inc $2,500 HydroTec Inc $2,500 Walker Fitness $2,50

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's (R-VA) campaign spent more money at one posh steakhouse before his shocking Tuesday primary defeat than his opponent Dave Brat spent on his whole campaign. Cantor's campaign spent $124,177 at Bobby Van'S Grill and Steakhouse and $44,460 at Blt Steak for a total of $168,637. According to Open Secrets, Cantor raised $5.4 million while Brat raised $206,663. While Cantor spent nearly all of his haul ($5.1 million), Brat spent $122,793 for his entire campaign, which was less than what Cantor's campaign spent at Bobby Van's alone ($124,177).[continued]

These guys will just be moderates with no leader. There is no need to protest vote against them if Cantor isn't forming some RINO coalition with them. Boehner may look west for a new crew.

If you think Barack Obama has trouble dealing with House Republicans now, you haven't seen anything yetAsked his reaction last night to the stunning primary defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, an Obama administration official offered this: "Who?" That's how quickly the White House has forgotten Cantor, a thorn in the president's side from day one. Don't let the door hit you on... well, you know the rest. As the president famously reminded Cantor, "elections have consequences," a lesson the Virginia Republican surely knows this morning more than any other. But aside from his humiliating defeat — no sitting...

Former Rep. George Nethercutt, who pulled off his own dramatic unlikely Congressional victory 20 years ago unseating Speaker of the House Tom Foley, of Spokane, said Tuesday he could see parallels between his experience and that of David Brat. “It’s a message, as I look at it, to all members of the House: You’ve got to pay attention to what people at home are saying,” Nethercutt said. (SNIP) McMorris Rodgers has three opponents in the August primary: Republican Tom Horne, Democrat Joe Pakootas and Independent Dave Wilson. The two candidates with the most votes will face-off in November.