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Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Eric Cantor, the second-ranking Republican in the U.S. House, said his party needs to be inclusive and criticized some comments by talk-show host Rush Limbaugh as inappropriate. “The Republican Party in its roots is a party of inclusion and we ought to be promoting that and making sure that voices are heard,” Cantor, of Virginia, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing today.

GOP leaders have been loathe to criticize Rush Limbaugh -- but House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is taking issue with Limbaugh's claim that President Obama's push for health care was comparable to Hitler's stranglehold on Germany. Cantor, the highest-ranking Jewish Republican elected official in the country, told Bloomberg News that his party needs to be more inclusive to regain power. “The Republican Party in its roots is a party of inclusion and we ought to be promoting that and making sure that voices are heard,” Cantor, of Virginia, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is defending his decision to endorse a liberal Republican candidate in the special election for New York's 23rd Congressional District even though she is a Margaret Sanger Award winner and supporter of same-sex "marriage." New York Republican congressional candidate DeDe Scozzafava not only has the backing of Planned Parenthood and The Daily Kos, but her campaign has also received financial endorsements from the Republican National Committee and Republican leaders such as House Minority Leader John Boehner, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Gingrich recently said Scozzafava's election could be the...

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor is criticizing the White House’s strategy of targeting Fox News as “not the American way.” “When you have the White House focusing on one news outlet, it is a little strange. We believe in free press and freedom of speech in this country,” Cantor said Thursday night during an interview with Fox News’s Greta Van Susteren. “Why would the White House choose to go after its critics instead of trying to bring people together?” the Virginia Republican asked. “After all, this president ran on trying to unite this country, trying to bridge the differences so...

Under fire for its management of a wave of problems, the Obama administration has reached into its bag of tricks and pulled out a new bogeyman: Fox News. Given the seriousness of the challenges our nation faces, the administration’s ploy to delegitimize Fox is nothing more than a distraction. On Sunday, the White House communications director charged that Fox is not a real “news network.” Why? Because the White House says so. The administration repeatedly accuses Fox of lies and has urged the rest of the media not to treat it like a news organization. The White House is so...

The Family Research Council is blasting House Republican leaders who have endorsed a GOP congressional candidate in New York who supports abortion, same-sex "marriage," and President Obama's economic "stimulus" program. Dede Scozzafava (R-New York)The November 3 special election in New York's 23rd Congressional District features Republican abortion and same-sex marriage advocate Dede Scozzafava, Democrat Bill Owens, and Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. Hoffman has won endorsements from former Republican presidential candidates Gary Bauer and Fred Thompson, as well as from conservative groups like the Club for Growth, Concerned Women for America, and the Family Research Council. Meanwhile, The Hill reports...

examiner.com — for several years now they have been asking Representative Eric Cantor (R - VA) . . . to hold their annual Roundup at a venue which respects gun rights . . . But the Republicans have steadfastly refused . . . Said Gunst to other rally planners, "we consider ourselves a freedom friendly mall, and at this point we have the Roundup surrounded."

President Obama has cut off communication with Republican leaders, going more than four months without hosting the bipartisan congressional leadership at the White House to discuss his health care proposal, the No. 2 Republican in the House said Wednesday. Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican, told The Washington Times that health care reform has been an "utter disaster" for Mr. Obama and predicted if he pushes through a public option as part of a final bill, Republicans will win back at least one chamber of Congress in the 2010 elections. Mr. Cantor said Mr. Obama initially asked for Republican help...

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor thinks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “is in another world” if she believes raucous anti-health-reform demonstrations could lead to violence — and he says he hasn’t personally witnessed racist comments during a summer of passionate town hall demonstrations. The Virginia Republican, speaking to POLITICO on a day when President Barack Obama was meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in New York, expressed a dim view of the White House’s Middle East policy, saying Obama doesn’t seem to be a “true friend” of the Jewish state. Cantor, who hasn’t met with senior administration officials for months, also...

Anyone who thought that "values voters" were still licking their wounds after the Republican Party received a drubbing at the polls might have found the atmosphere in Washington's plush Omni Shoreham Hotel rather surprising. An audience of 2,000 Christian conservatives gathered to listen to their political and media icons, condemn the Obama administation's alleged socialist agenda and plot the downfall of the Democrats at the 2010 mid-term elections. The mood was angry and defiant at the annual "Values Voters Summit", which kicked off with a rousing call to arms from Republican Congressman Mike Pence, from Indiana, a man some see...

The House voted Thursday to deny federal money to the community-organizing group Acorn after a video emerged in which employees of the group gave advice to two conservative activists posing as a prostitute and a pimp who said they wanted buy a house in Baltimore and start a brothel. Republicans added the prohibition to a Democratic bill on college lending by a bipartisan vote of 345-75, showing that Acorn, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, was increasingly seen by Democrats as a political liability. “Acorn has violated serious federal laws, and today the House voted to ensure that...

During his speech before a joint session of Congress last week, President Obama addressed voter skepticism about his health-care overhaul. The fact remains that tens of millions of Americans are still concerned about his plan and its ultimate impact on the cost, quality and accessibility of health services nationwide. President Obama’s biggest problem is that the widespread concern over his $1 trillion reform plan is real, organic, and legitimate. Now that we’ve had a week to digest the president’s remarks, let’s pull back the facade, open up House bill H.R. 3200, and take a look at five reasons why the...

Here is video of Sean Hannity talking with GOP Rep. Eric Cantor about President Obama's Health Care Speech to a Joint Session of Congress. Cantor said he was "taken aback by the partisan nature of the speech." He said Obama was throwing up a smokescreen with the attacks on opponents of his attempt to bring Government Health Care. He also said Obama overstated the idea that the economy is "back from the brink." Cantor said again he was "aghast" at the "hyperbole" used by Obama in the speech. In contrast to that, Cantor said "we need some adult leadership." ....

Four independent groups are launching more than $1 million in attack ads Tuesday targeting five House Republicans who voted against energy legislation in June, spokespeople for the groups said. The ads from the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, MoveOn and Americans United for Change, will target Reps. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.), Denny Rehberg (R- Mont.), Roy Blunt (R- Mo.) and two Virginia Republicans, Frank Wolf and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor. The ad casts the members as siding with “big oil and energy interests” and against “the jobs we really need” because they voted against the legislation that would...

Here is video of GOP Rep. Eric Cantor on CNBC yesterday where he talked about Health Care Reform, and a Job Fair he organized for constituents in the Richmond, Virginia area. Cantor said a return to "confidence" on the part of the private sector will be the real key to recovery. Cantor said it's not the Stimulus dollars flowing from Washington that will lead to recovery. It's the strength of small businesses that will drive recovery. Eric Cantor also said the American People have let their will be known through Town Hall Meetings, and they do not want a Government...

The Democrats just can’t get their talking points right on Eric Cantor (R-VA). It was only last year when Cantor’s name was mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential pick that the Democrats wanted everyone to know he’s a Jew. They didn’t mention the religion of any of the other potential candidates. Now, however, they are accusing Eric Cantor, who is Jewish, of fostering Nazism in the United States. Hari Sevugan of the Democratic National Committee sent out an email earlier today with this: It’s disgusting that rather than condemning this hate filled symbolism and mob activity, the highest echelons of...

JERUSALEM – The Obama administration's policy on Israel is misguided, puts too much emphasis on the issue of settlements and ignores the bigger threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, a U.S. delegation of Republican congressmen visiting Israel said Thursday. Led by minority whip Eric Cantor from Virginia, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, the delegation of 25 Republicans say their weeklong mission to Israel is designed to show solidarity with the Jewish state and promote Mideast peace. A group of Democratic congressmen are expected to visit next week. Cantor said that instead of focusing on issues such as Israeli settlement activity...

Republican House of Representatives Whip Eric Cantor (Virginia) said Thursday that U.S. President Barack Obama should be focusing on the Iranian threat instead of trying to impose a freeze on building for Jews in eastern Jerusalem. “I do not know what is driving the focus on settlements, but one of the messages we are delivering is that “priorities should be focused on the existential threat that Iran” poses to Israel as well as to the United States," he said. "Eastern Jerusalem should not take precedence. I do not support engaging with a terrorist regime [Iran], and the U.S. must do...

As relations between Washington and Jerusalem veer onto unusually rocky terrain, two separate delegations of Congressional Democrats and Republicans will visit Israel in the next couple of weeks bearing a crucial message to the Israeli people: Congress' commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship remains steadfast. America stands with Israel for both moral and strategic reasons. Israel is not only a democratic ally and our only true friend in the Middle East; it is also a vital pillar of U.S. national security strategy. When it is strong - its borders secure, its people free from the threat of Iran and its terrorist...

A delegation of 25 US congressmen began a six-day trip to Israel on Monday in the largest ever Republican mission to visit the Jewish state, the US embassy said. They held talks with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who told them Israel was willing to immediately resume direct talks with Syria, but ruled out returning the Golan Heights which were captured in 1967 and annexed in 1981. "Whatever the case, the Golan must remain under Israeli control in any agreement with Syria," Lieberman said in a statement. Syria insists that it be given back the strategic plateau. Turkey last year brokered...

Though American Jews make up around 2 percent of the population, they have always enjoyed ample representation in Congress, where they account for around 8 percent of legislators. Only one of them is a Republican, but Rep. Eric Cantor, who will visit Israel this month, says Jews belong in the Republican Party. "I'm a firm believer there is a big place for the American Jewish Community in the Republican Party," says Cantor, 46, a Virginian seen as one of his party's great promises. He says he decided to head the delegation of congressmen to visit Israel this month to counteract...

"Republican-affiliated political action committees appear to be out-raising their Democratic counterparts by a nearly two-to-one margin, according to the latest campaign finance reports. A CQ MoneyLine analysis of PACs tied to lawmakers and candidates found that Republicans had raised more than $10 million during the first half of the year compared to the $5.5 million for Democrats" "The Republican PACs also hold an edge in cash on hand, with $6.8 million compared to the Democrats $5.2 million." 1. Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC — $1,924,375. 2. The conservative Democratic Blue Dog PAC — $1,106,887. 3. Every Republican Is Crucial,...

WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- The woman leading the movement challenging President Barack Obama's U.S. birth says she's made some high-profile Republican friends on her Facebook page. Among those who asked to be her friend? Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, and Reps. Mary Bono Mack of California and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Politico reported. "I am in total disbelief and greatly honored," Orly Taitz, a Russian-born dentist-lawyer in Orange County, Calif., wrote on her blog Monday after Cantor appeared as one of her Facebook friends. "To me it means that the leadership...

Orly Taitz, the California attorney-dentist leading the charge of the so-called birthers movement, is boasting on her blog that she’s made some high-profile “friends” on Facebook: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor and GOP Reps. Mary Bono Mack and Cynthia Lummis. “I am in total disbelief and greatly honored,” Taitz wrote on her blog today after Cantor appeared as one of her Facebook "friends." “To me it means that the leadership of the Republican party understands the importance of the issues and legal cases I brought forward. I hope more congressmen and senators join and...

The air seemed to go out of the ObamaCare balloon Thursday. He was greeted by scathing reviews of his mediocre press conference the night before. Then the House Energy and Commerce Committee for the third time canceled its mark-up on the health care bill, a sure sign the votes just weren’t there. A Thursday conference with the Republican House leadership suggested renewed confidence on the GOP side. Rep. Roy Blunt, who had been charged with assembling a health care solutions group, proclaimed: “As the president has gotten less specific, we have been more specific.” Minority Leader John Boehner then emphasized...

The American health care model is about choice. At its core, it's about families having the ability to consult with their doctor and choose for themselves the quality health care that best meets their need. This is what dis tinguishes us and makes our system -- however imperfect -- stronger than those of nations such as Canada and Great Britain. American families do not want their health decisions made by someone in the basement of the Health and Human Services building hundreds of miles away from their family member's bedside. They don't want to wait for weeks -- or even...

Joe Biden wants to make a big splash by campaigning in Eric Cantor’s district to rebuild support for Porkulus, despite its utter failure to stop the massive bleeding of jobs in the US. Apparently, Cantor’s Republican reply to Barack Obama’s weekly radio address stung the White House a little more than first thought. However, if the Washington Post has Biden’s speech correct, Obama may want to send him to a state funeral overseas for a while instead:

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said that Republicans would work with President Obama on a second stimulus bill, as long as it's like the tax cut-heavy package the GOP proposed earlier. Cantor told reporters Monday that Obama made a mistake by pushing through a $787 billion stimulus bill in February that had too much government spending. With the economy still scuffling and unemployment approaching 10 percent, Cantor said that Republicans could back new stimulus legislation that focuses on help for small businesses. "We stand ready and willing to work with the president to produce a bill that will actually...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) on Thursday joined a growing chorus of Republicans unhappy about President Barack Obama's decision not to appear as if the United States is interfering with Iran's elections. Protesters have staged massive rallies since the Islamic nation's June 12 polls, disputing the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "The human tragedy continues in Iran," Cantor said in a statement. "Around the world, people are inspired by the courage of the Iranian people fighting for free elections, using new media tools like Twitter to ensure their voices are heard by all of us....

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama was fond of saying things like this. In the interview, for example, he argued that his proposals on health care and the economy, which call for a stronger government role and more regulation, were really about what works.

A proposed restructuring favors the claims of the United Auto Workers union "over the rights and claims of the company's diverse group of bondholders, who collectively hold $7 billion more in General Motors debt than the UAW's health trust and are equal members of the creditor class," the lawmakers said. "Bondholders must have a seat at the table during negotiations in how the company would be restructured," said the letter to Geithner from Representatives Jeb Hensarling, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence and Pete Sessions. "We are extremely concerned that in the name of restructuring General Motors, the Presidential Task Force on...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- House Republicans have used a rare Congressional procedure to force a potential probe of documents the Obama administration released calling pro-life people "right-wing extremists." The move forces a Congressional panel to vote on a resolution calling for an investigation. The Obama administration is under fire for two different documents that have placed the majority of Americans who are pro-life in a bad light. The first, a security document sent to police and sheriffs' offices nationwide, including people "who oppose abortion" in a list of groups and people who may be likely to engage in terrorism. The...

Culpeper’s Congressman Eric Cantor, Chief Minority Whip in the U.S. House, will join other Republicans today in D.C. in decrying the potential for relocating Guantanamo Bay detainees to prisons in the United States. President Barack Obama, on his second day in office, signed an executive order ordering the terrorist detention center in Cuba closed within a year. The White House has not announced where the 250 prisoners will be transferred. But a couple weeks after Obama made the decision to close Guantanamo, Cantor issued a statement objecting to possible “ramifications” of the announcement. “Do Not Move Known Terrorists to Virginia,”...

Rep. Eric Cantor and Gov. Mitt Romney appeared on CNN "State of The Union". Both express concern over the "federalist" view of allowing individual state's to decide their own laws regarding same-sex marriage. Obviously, most conservatives are against same-sex marriage. Yet the two make the case that decisions on marriage in any given state do, in fact, have "federal implications". What happens with the tax code (joint filing), spousal benefits from employer health-care, status as next-of-kin for hospital visits and medical decisions where one partner is too ill to be competent; joint insurance policies for home, auto and health; and...

(CNN) – House Minority Whip Eric Cantor and former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said in an interview airing on CNN's State of the Union Sunday morning that the GOP wasn't directly responsible for much of the party's electoral misfortune in 2008. "I frankly believe that much of what happened in the last election revolved around the fact that the economy fell apart at the time we were, if you will, holding the hot potato. Republicans and Democrats have been playing this game, passing the hot the potato, spending money like there was no tomorrow," Romney told John King. "And...

The Talk Shows Sunday, May 3, 2009 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano; Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; acting CDC Director Richard Besser; Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and John Ensign, R-Nev.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sebelius; Napolitano; Besser; Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa FACE THE NATION (CBS): Specter; Besser; Sebelius; Napolitano.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Sebelius; Napolitano; Besser.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Leahy; House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va.; Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa.; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; Napolitano; Sebelius;...

(CNN) — House Minority Whip Eric Cantor tells CNN's John King that the GOP still has a lot to learn from President Obama. "President Obama is a great communicator. We understand that," he said in an interview that aired on CNN's State of the Union Sunday. "He's also been very adept at adopting the technology of today to access the youth vote and the younger population of this country. That's the future, and I believe we've got a lot to learn. The Republican Party can't keep doing things the way it always has in terms of technology." Cantor, along with...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that it's time for the Republican Party to give up its "nostalgia" for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election. "You can't beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it, and we have to be respectful and mindful of that," Mr. Bush said. The former president's brother, often mentioned as a potential candidate in 2012, said President Obama's message of hope and change during the 2008...

Former governors Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush joined Congressman Eric Cantor to talk health care, the economy and national security at the first town hall meeting for the National Council for a New America on Saturday. But the group steered clear of abortion and same-sex marriage -- wedge issues that have led to the defection of moderates and independents. "Listening to people can make a difference. We've got ideas on how we can help people get health insurance, how we can improve our schools, how we can make our economy strong today as well as down the road, how we...

(snip) On the subject of education, one attendee declared that “people learn more from listening to Rush Limbaugh than they do in high school or college.” And while the leaders said they're willing to embrace the thoughts of the concerned voters, a group of conservative activists who were protesting in the parking lot complained that they were not allowed through the doors. “We’re demonstrating against the fact that this organization set up by RINOs [Republicans in Name Only] have taken immigration off the agenda,” said Michael McLaughlin, a member of the American Council for Immigration Reform, a group seeking to...

Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, has helped start an organization that he says will assist in developing policy to confront problems facing the U.S. In a conference call with reporters yesterday, Cantor said the National Council for a New America will solicit ideas across party boundaries from a wide spectrum of national leaders. The founding members are all Republicans, as are the 14 current House and Senate members. Cantor was joined on the call yesterday by Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee in 2008, who is listed as one of the group's "national panel of experts." Cantor and McCain...

Reeling congressional Republicans today launched a new effort days after their latest setback -- the defection of Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, putting Democrats within reach of potentially being able to push legislation through the Senate without a single Republican vote. House GOP Whip Eric Cantor announced that the National Council for a New America will hold its first event on Saturday with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who ran last year and could run again in 2012; Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, another possible 2012 contender; former Governor Jeb Bush, the former president's brother; and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, a...

This week CRP posted new 2010 fundraising profiles for members of Congress, including the total that each lawmaker has raised and spent in the 1st Quarter of 2009. Who's raising the most? Who's already spent the most? With nearly all of the records now in from the Federal Election Commission (with the exception of some senators who aren't up for re-election until at least 2012 and have more time to raise money), we offer a few of our observations: Among members of the House of Representatives, Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) have so far raised the...

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said ahead of a meeting at the White House Thursday that Obama and Republicans ... ... on Capitol Hill have gotten off on the wrong foot. "The first 100 days have not been the best days for bipartisanship," Cantor said during an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "We've got some very serious issues, and I do think now that we can come together," he said. "We can do better." Cantor added that he wants to tell the president later today that "we want to work with you."

There aren’t any sex scenes or vampires, and it won’t help you lose weight. But House Republicans are tearing through the pages of Amity Shlaes’ “The Forgotten Man” like soccer moms before book club night. Shlaes’ 2007 take on the Great Depression questions the success of the New Deal and takes issue with the value of government intervention in a major economic crisis — red meat for a party hungry for empirical evidence that the Democrats’ spending plans won’t end the current recession. “There aren’t many books that take a negative look at the New Deal,” explained Republican policy aide...

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Republican National Chairman Michael Steele says Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is one of the GOP's current standard bearers. Steele and Palin were in Evansville, Ind., to attend the Vanderburgh County Right to Life fundraising dinner Thursday night. Organizers say the dinner has drawn an overflow crowd of 3,000 people. Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, has not ruled out a presidential run in 2012. Steele says it's too early to talk about 2012. His list of the party's current leaders, however, also includes former governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani of New York,...

Now that congressional candidates have filed their first-quarter Federal Election Commission fundraising reports, a clearer picture of the 2010 election cycle is developing. The following is POLITICO’s list of the top 10 insights gleaned from the first round of fundraising — and what they reveal about the 2010 landscape.

He's young, charismatic and conservative. The Heritage Foundation, a prominent conservative think tank in Washington, has anointed this rising GOP star "the leader of the future of the conservative movement." No, it's not Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty or House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia. The man supposedly tasked with carrying the hopes and ambitions of an entire political party is Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

APRIL 3, 2009 Obama's Attack Machine By KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL The thing about fear is that you can see it. For an insight as to what the left today fears most, witness its attempted political assassination of Eric Cantor. The 45-year-old Virginia congressman came to Washington in 2001, and by last year had been unanimously elected Republican Whip, under Minority Leader John Boehner. In recent months, Mr. Cantor has helped unify the GOP against much of President Barack Obama's agenda, in particular his blowout $787 billion stimulus, and yesterday, his blowout $3.6 trillion budget. He's also one of the GOP's...

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is firing back at his critics, calling recent attacks on him and his family “laughable,” and warning that he isn’t shy about engaging in bare-knuckle combat with Democrats.