Posted on 08/20/2008 12:02:50 PM PDT by MeanWestTexan
Though remaining silent over the weekend regarding the possibility of getting the nod for VP, Congressman Eric Cantor took to the national airwaves Sunday afternoon to campaign for presidential candidate John McCain.
Cantor, Culpeper’s rep in the U.S. House of Representatives, appeared on CNN’s Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer to offer his take on Sen. McCain’s interview Saturday with evangelist Rick Warren in his California megachurch.
The discussion focused on abortion and energy. And while Cantor himself is up for re-election to a fifth term in No-vember, there was no talk about his candidacy — only McCain’s.
Cantor, a Richmond Republican and the only Jewish Republican in the House, is chairman of the 2008 Victory Jewish Coalition, leading outreach in the Jewish community on behalf of McCain and the Republican National Committee.
In recent months, Cantor’s name has emerged among McCain’s list of possible running mates, but Cantor has declined further comment on the issue even to the Associated Press.
Still, Cantor has been working overtime drumming up support for McCain, a decorated Vietnam veteran from Arizona.
In the CNN interview Sunday, Cantor attempted to clarify McCain’s position on abortion after Blitzer played seemingly divergent clips from the senator.
In a television clip from Saturday, McCain told Pastor Warren he believed babies are entitled to human rights “at the moment of conception.”
“I will be a pro-life president and my administration will have pro-life policies,” McCain said at the church gathering.
Blitzer then mentioned that McCain, earlier in the week, said he would not “rule out” former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, a pro-choice Democrat, as a vice presidential running mate.
“What is it, as far as abortion rights are concerned — would he be as he said (to Warren) or is he open to bringing in someone like Tom Ridge who supports abortion rights?” Blitzer asked.
Cantor replied, “I think we take John McCain for his word and his record. As he indicated (to Warren), he has been a pro-life individual for his entire professional career so I don’t think we ought to take anything other than the fact that this is going to be a pro-life administration and we will see the institution and continuation of the same record and the same policies that John McCain has stood for throughout his career in Washington.”
Cantor said he did not take McCain’s willingness to consider Ridge for VP as an endorsement of his pro-choice beliefs.
“What I heard is that John McCain thinks highly of individuals such as Tom Ridge who happens not to be pro-life. But in my opinion, of course this is John McCain’s choice to make, we ought to have a pro-life vice president and again I am confident that John McCain is going to continue to stand for the policies he has stood for all along which is pro-life policies.”
On the hot-button issue of energy, Blitzer, citing a recent New York Times column, challenged McCain’s apparent failure to show up “for the crucial vote on July 30 when the renewable energy bill was defeated for the eighth time.” In fact, Blitzer went on, reading from the editorial, “He has missed all eight votes in the last year which effectively counts as a no vote each time.”
“As far as clean energy is concerned, how can Sen. McCain insist he’s in favor of clean energy when he’s missed eight consecutive votes?” Blitzer asked.
Cantor did not address McCain’s attendance record.
Instead, he said, “I think if you are looking in the context of his election and the leadership he has provided he is the only candidate who has put out a comprehensive energy plan, frankly, that will bring down gas prices.”
That’s what Americans are most concerned about right now, said Cantor, a vocal supporter of drilling for oil off of Virginia’s coast.
“That’s where families are feeling the pain at the pump every time they pull into the gas station and pay $60 or $70 to fill up,” he told Blitzer. “We need to make sure that an energy plan is in place starting with offshore drilling, starting with bringing down gas prices and then making sure that we institute a compre-hensive plan to reduce our reliance on foreign oil.”
Cantor said it is “ludicrous” for America to be spending $700 billion a year on foreign oil; 60 percent of that goes to the Middle East and Africa, he added, “unstable regimes that frankly don’t like us a lot.”
McCain will lead in that direction, he said.
“You know, for a long time, Washington has just been inactive. There’s been no action as far as solutions that’s come out of Congress,” said Cantor, first elected to Congress eight years ago. “John McCain has shown consistently that he can work with others across the aisle to make things happen.”
Cantor Ping List.
(Sorry for the inactivity; Mrs. MWT is pregnant with No. 5!)
Inactivity doesn't cause that...
Mazzal tov!
Toda!
It doesn’t? All this time.
Congrats!
I guess you’ve had better things to do.
Congrats to You and Yours!
You callin Mrs. MWT a thing? LOL at my own stupid joke.
So your excuse is that Mrs MWT was getting pregnant????
Too much information, dude.
:>)
I think you are correct.....
“Gotta be Cantor...”
I sure hope so. He is what the MSN types fear the most...a very articulate and likeable conservative. Outside of FR I haven’t seen his name floated as a possibility.
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