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House Republicans say they have significant leverage on the revamped bailout package, claiming that Democrats will scramble for votes unless they make changes to it. Republicans in the lower chamber are balking at the bailout package, saying that Democrats will be solely responsible for the ramifications of what they see as a flawed compromise. Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) are leading an effort by House Republicans to circulate the set of principles to their colleagues and like-minded Democrats, according to a senior Republican. ..... The GOP’s “economic rescue principles” advocate adopting a mortgage insurance approach to solve...

House Republicans, who've been swamped with your phone calls demanding that they reject President George Bush's historically huge $700 billion bailout of Wall Street and bad mortgage bankers, have come up with another idea:

House Republicans say that Senate leaders spoke too soon when they said a deal had been reached on a Wall Street bailout package. In addition, a key Republican lawmaker stated that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wants to explore new ideas, like loaning money to financial institutions or insuring the companies, rather than buying their toxic debt.Earlier Thursday, senators and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said they had a tentative agreement, though they’re still negotiating a bankruptcy provision. They said the deal was ready to be taken to the Bush administration. Not so fast, responded House Minority Leader...

If pre-convention polls are to be believed, John McCain enters the convention poised to pull in a greater percentage of the Jewish vote than any Republican candidate in the past two decades. There are many possible explanations — his long record on Israel, his image as an independent political moderate, lingering concerns about Barack Obama — but one factor is certainly the ties that his campaign has cultivated with important Jewish Republicans and moderates alike. The Forward takes a look at the Republicans who have helped McCain make it to the spotlight in Minneapolis, and who hope to take him...

Three news items: 1) John McCain has picked a running mate and may announce/leak the choice tonight. 2) McCain has admitted he is computer "illiterate." Both of which make it unlikely that he will be much swayed by ... 3) "The Directors" of the conservative site Red State have endorsed Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.) as the best choice for VP. Why Cantor? "While a young man, Cantor has served in federal office twice as long as Barack Obama -- and was a member of leadership when Obama was still in Springfield. In that short time, he has established himself as...

The Fayetteville Observer reads a few tea leaves in the veepstakes and suggests that Eric Cantor may become the dark-horse finalist for John McCain’s running-mate. Cantor has not yet appeared on the convention schedule, which would seem strange for such a dynamic member of the House GOP’s leadership. He also represents a Virginia district, which could prove crucial to holding the state for the Republicans in November: Rep. Robin Hayes is predicting that Sen. John McCain will pick Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia as his running mate. “It sure looks like a great possibility to me,” Hayes said Wednesday. “Eric...

OK, SO HE'S only one of five Virginians mentioned as possibilities for a national ticket in this year's presidential election. But it's still a kick for Rep. Eric Cantor to be on John McCain's VP list--at least until Friday. Indeed, his three teenage children "think it's cool," Cantor acknowledged last week during a stop at The Free Lance-Star. A fourth-term congressman from the Richmond area whose district includes Culpeper, Orange and Louisa counties and parts of Spotsylvania and Caroline counties, Cantor would bring undeniable strengths to the ticket. A conservative from a swing state in the South (and the only...

In 1862, when some of Abraham Lincoln's political allies, furious over the losses at Shiloh, demanded the removal of Ulysses S. Grant from the leadership of the Army of the Tennessee, the first Republican President responded with unequivocal fervor. "I can't spare this man," Lincoln said. "He fights." What John McCain requires in a Vice Presidential choice today is an individual who exhibits the best qualities of an intelligent political fighter. He needs a hard worker – a loyal, principled leader – an individual whose reputation is above reproach. And we are convinced that in this case, the right choice...

A Virginian didn’t make it onto the Democratic ticket this year, but there’s still a chance one will land a spot with the Republicans. With presidential candidate John McCain expected to name his choice this weekend, U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor of Henrico County continues to be mentioned as a possible running mate. Cantor is in his fourth House term, representing a district that stretches north and west from the Richmond suburbs and includes much of the state’s Piedmont region. It is a Republican stronghold, with more than 61 percent of its voters backing President Bush in 2004. A Richmond native,...

Noth Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes is predicting that Sen. John McCain will pick Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia as his running mate. “It sure looks like a great possibility to me,” Hayes said. “Eric is a tremendous friend, incredibly bright young man. He has wonderful credentials, and I think would be a very good, complementary candidate to John McCain.” Hayes made his comments during and after a meeting with educators at Jack Britt High School. Rumors about Cantor have been spreading in recent weeks and began to grow stronger on Tuesday, Hayes said. Several media outlets are reporting that Cantor...

Eric Cantor is a relentless and confident debater. He has proven during his interviews with Chris Matthews, Laura Ingraham, and CNN's John Roberts that he can masterfully defend conservative positions without even blinking an eye. He can also effectively attack his opponents when prompted. Cantor would be a thorn in the Obama Campaign's side. In regards to who would do the least amount of damage to the ticket, Pawlenty and Cantor seem to hold an advantage over Romney with little elaboration necessary. Mitt Romney has the reputation of being a flip-flopper. His pro-choice positions of yesteryear are still bothersome to...

So now we know the Democratic ticket: Obama-Biden. We have been promised John McCain's running mate on Friday the 29th. With Joe Biden as the matchup, who among the plausible candidates should McCain take? And who is helped/hurt by the Biden pick? Personally, I think I would disregard at least some of my own prior checklist and take Eric Cantor. Cantor's young (but not too young), smart, conservative, telegenic, and from an important state that is a must-win for McCain (although Virginia seems less important with the news that Obama has suspended his TV ad campaign there, and there's less...

Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, appearing in Denver with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, says Sen. Barack Obama and his running mate show a lack of judgment. "We’ve got a serious problem of judgment" because of the Democrats’ unwillingness to drill for oil and because of their willingness to engage with Iran, Cantor said. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del. "was the pick" for Obama’s running mate "because of his foreign policy experience," Cantor said. "On Iran, Joe Biden has been wrong. He has pursued a policy of engagement with a terrorist-sponsoring regime." Romney and Cantor, both who have been...

John McCain is set to make his vice presidential announcement within the next three to four days. Names speculated to be on his short list includes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Tom Ridge, Joe Lieberman, and Congressman Eric Cantor. Most pro-life conservatives want Ridge and Lieberman removed from the list because they favor abortion rights. If McCain wants to keep social conservatives content, he'll have to choose either Romney, Pawlenty, or Cantor. McCain has two crucial considerations to make before choosing a running mate. Could that running mate attack his counterparts with the same gusto as Joe Biden? The other consideration...

Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), rumored to be on the shortlist of John McCain’s vice presidential candidates, is conspicuously absent from a complete list of speakers at the Republican National Convention. The list, sent to reporters under the header “Republican National Convention Announces Full Program,” includes the names of all other individuals believed to be on Sen. McCain’s (Ariz.) shortlist. Cantor was asked earlier this month to undergo the formal vetting process by the McCain campaign and served as one of his most vocal supporters in the House of Representatives. Rob Collins, a spokesman for Cantor, did not comment directly on...

First John McCain enlisted the support of the country's only Jewish vice presidential nominee, Joe Lieberman, who ran on the Democratic ticket in 2000. Now he might tap a Jewish vice presidential choice of his own: Eric Cantor. The 45-year-old fourth-term congressman from Virginia has emerged as a serious - if still long-shot - candidate for the VP job in recent days, though the McCain campaign wouldn't confirm reports that Cantor has made the short list. Cantor, the House of Representative's chief deputy minority whip, is known as a rising star in the Republican party with a talent for fund-raising....

The Democratic National Committee has a website set up to attack potential McCain running mates as "The Next Cheney" (if only); if you want to see there are pages dedicated to Bobby Jindal, Mitt Romney, John Thune, Tom Ridge, Tim Pawlenty, Carly Fiorina, Charlie Crist, Fred Smith and Eric Cantor. Lest there be any doubt as to the origins of this site, there's a disclaimer at the bottom of each page: "Paid for by the Democratic National Committee — 430 S. Capitol St. SE, Washington DC 20003." If you go to the page on Congressman Cantor, you will see a...

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...

In a year that has seemed so bleak for Republicans, John McCain not only can upset Barack Obama and win the White House, he can change the voting dynamic of American Jews. With the Democratic and Republican national conventions scheduled over the next three weeks, both presumptive nominees could announce their running mates at any moment. Among a field of imperfect potential options, U.S. Representative Eric Cantor (R – Virginia) may be McCain's best option, and he is a good choice indeed. Several vice-presidential contenders continue to be discussed in McCain's circles, from the obvious (Mitt Romney) to the slightly...

The Talk Shows Sunday, August 17th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; former Gov. Tom Ridge, R-Pa.; Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; White House press secretary Dana Perino.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Govs. Bobby Jindal, R-La., and Tim Kaine, D-Va.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn. THIS WEEK (ABC): Defense Secretary Robert Gates; former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass.; former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.LATE EDITION (CNN) : Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Reps. Eric...