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Don't Count Out Cantor

Submitted by Rob Bluey on Tue, 08/19/2008 - 22:02
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Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was instrumental on Aug. 1 from the start of the #dontgo revolt on the House floor. But since then, he hasn't been back to Washington, opting instead to focus on work in his district. He's also doing two things that almost certainly enhance his profile as a potential VP for John McCain: raising money for Republicans and appearing on TV as a surrogate for the GOP nominee.

Nonetheless, Cantor's name has been left out of recent news stories or relegated to darkhorse status. Aside from an excellent Washington Times piece by Ben Domenech making the case for Cantor, it would appear his 15 minutes of fame have faded after a flurry of news stories several weeks ago.

That could change over the next week as he heads to Denver for the GOP's messaging operation to counter the Democratic National Convention. Just as they did four years ago in Boston, Republicans will bring some of the party's most recognizable faces and rising stars for news briefings each day.

Cantor's absence from Washington didn't strike me as unusual until today when I heard Minority Leader John Boehner was headed back to Capitol Hill for the Republican revolt, which enters its 14th day tomorrow. It'll mark the second time Boehner has come back. Other members of the Republican leadership team -- Whip Roy Blunt, Conference Chairman Adam Putnam, Policy Chairman Thaddeus McCotter and NRCC Chairman Tom Cole -- have also returned.

From what I was able to gather, it's not that Cantor doesn't want to come back. He simply doesn't have the time given his jam-packed schedule and stumping for McCain. "Eric's not the kind of guy who lets the grass grow under his feet," a source told me today.

There's no question about that. Cantor has collected more than 34,000 signatures on his Call Congress Back petition, which launched simultaneously with the #dontgo protest on the floor. He has consistently kept pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi in TV interviews. And he was the McCain campaign's official representative on Aug. 4 conference call about Barack Obama's energy plan.

Am I reading too much into this? Perhaps. But that's what makes VP speculation so fun.

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Comments

Not From Where I Sit

Submitted by texicali on Tue, 08/19/2008 - 23:44.

Cantor is my choice for VP....he's off the media radar for now and doing many good things to further the GOP brand and help John's campaign all at the same time....what intrigues me in thinking outside the box is IF Cantor is the VP pick and John is elected you'll have 2 very smart and capable former legislators who know how to move legislation through Congress....that's not a bad position to be in either

Cantor is also obviously a leader

Submitted by Big Ben 4 liberty on Wed, 08/20/2008 - 09:08.

Which mans that if something did hapen to McCain, the man could easily step into the Office of POTUS.  He is a genuine conservative who will definitely appeal to his base and could swing a lot of Jewish voters (who are clustered in the swing states) as well as shoring up Virginia.

He would definitely be an "outside the box" candidate that could show voters that he is definitely not your typical GOP establishment candidate.   Moreover he is a  young, fresh face that would appeal to those who we'e "looking for change" but have already been burned out on the Obamanation and its uncritical coverage by the liberal media establishment.

Moreover, I believe he would be more than ready for media's rectal exam once he was announced as the pick.  Consider this was George HW Bush's strategy when he picked then Senator Dan Quayle 20 years agop.  While Quayle wasn't ready for it and ended up maing some gaffes that becoming fodder for a lot of hack stand-up comedians back then, I don't believe Cantor would be similarly vunerable.