This is a time of great opportunity for conservatives. Americans are beginning to render a verdict on the ’stimulus,’ the economy, and the Obama administration’s approach. The nation continues to shed jobs, and unemployment shows no signs of leveling off any time soon. The American people are growing more and more concerned about the deficit. And the Obama administration seems split on whether another ’stimulus’ is needed, or whether Barack Obama wouldn’t do a single thing differently.
For conservatives, the time is right to tell the American people the truth: the porkulus was always a bad idea. It cannot help economic growth. It should be repealed. And if you want to promote growth and hiring, reduce the tax and regulatory burdens that deter job creation.
Congressman Eric Cantor - hailed by many as one of the party’s rising stars - almost seems to get it. But when it comes right down to it, he can’t even state clear opposition to the porkulus:
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Monday he will request a meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss another stimulus package, but he said it should be paid for by cutting waste from the first one.
“I don’t think there’s any question that our priority over the next month should be this economy,” Cantor told reporters on a conference call. “We stand ready and willing to stand with the president and produce a bill that will generate results….”
“They didn’t misread the economy … What they did is miswrote the stimulus bill and got the prescription wrong. … The first attempt at a stimulus bill did not stimulate the economy.”
Cantor said that he’d like the meeting to focus on how “to go about redirecting some of the moneys authorized in the first round that haven’t worked” to Republican proposals for tax cuts for small businesses.
“Where do we go from here?” Cantor asked, later adding: “We ought not to be cranking up Washington’s spending machine.”
But Cantor doesn’t want to nix all the spending from February’s stimulus. He is trying to get stimulus money for a high-speed rail line from Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Va., a project he said could generate 185,000 jobs in Virginia. Even with his support for the rail line, Cantor said the larger stimulus package was a mistake.
“I don’t see any inconsistency there,” he said.
Is this really so complex?
Either the bill is bad, or it is not. How can Cantor credibly argue against it when he acknowledges there are parts he supports? And even more to the point: why is he endorsing President Obama’s argument? President Obama says the porkulus was justified because it will eventually generate needed jobs; Cantor supports the rail component because it will eventually generate needed jobs.
This is not rocket science.
No one says Eric Cantor cannot believe in high-speed rail. If he favors the project, he can convince the state of Virginia to fund it. It is irresponsible to pretend that Washington’s deficit spending is ‘free money,’ and Congressman Cantor ought to know better.
If Republicans hope to convince the American people that they are better stewards of the economy than Barack Obama, they have to do better than this.
I Agree, But They're Asleep at the Switch.
farstar99 Tuesday, July 7th at 1:33PM EDT (link)The RNC/GOP head structure has let every other opportunity slip by, so what’s different about this one?
No, Implies Pork is King...
itdiehard Tuesday, July 7th at 1:52PM EDT (link)And that is how you get re-elected…
I'm telling you ...
thirteen28 Tuesday, July 7th at 2:31PM EDT (link)… most of the GOP politicians in DC, and most of the associated punditry cares not a whit for anything conservative. They want to replace some D’s with R’s and tweak around the edges, but few of them want to change the status quo any more than that.
Definitely! Cantor should make a clear and simple point...
czs Tuesday, July 7th at 2:32PM EDT (link)Obama was wrong about the stimulus. He said passing it would reduce umemployment to 8.0%, the Congress did pass it, and now umeployment has risen to 9.5%. (This point would be better if translated into the number of persons unemployed). Now Obama wants to double-down on a bad idea, but we have to stop sending good money after bad.
Why can’t we put out simple talking points, without double-talk and without unnecessary hyperbole?
Great diary.
Pork is Pork
DaveWT4 Tuesday, July 7th at 3:10PM EDT (link)I don’t see why my Texas tax dollars should go to pay for a train in Virginia. Sorry Rep Cantor, if you want to build your train get the state legislature to pay for it or seek a partnership with private backers. Why is it that instead of saying no to an unprofitable venture the answer instead is ‘lets get the Feds to pay for it?’
The Philosophy of Liberty:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muHg86Mys7I
Voters like pork in their
TxCon Tuesday, July 7th at 4:00PM EDT (link)district just not yours.
Cantor doesn't have enough fight in him.
alexandriatulips Tuesday, July 7th at 5:02PM EDT (link)Like far too many other GOP politicians, he is not willing to draw stark distinctions, and draw them again and again and not back down.
It's not stimulus
ss396 Tuesday, July 7th at 11:38PM EDT (link)Some of the elements of porkulus are not all bad; there are some good ideas in that mess. But none of it was emergency. It could have all gone through the regular appropriations process. We might not have liked the outcome any better than we like the current ’stimulus’ package, but at least it would have followed the established structures, and would be subject to the normal controls.
Any vote for any part of TARP or Porkulus is a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the capitalist system, is a vote of increased size and scope of government, is a usurpation of local and state controls by a bloated federal behemoth, and is a far-reaching power grab for the sake of a power grab by the feds.
No one who has voted for any of this can rightly call themselves Republican; conversely, if that is what Republicanism is, then I will have no part of it.
If you pay people to sit on their duffs, you cannot be surprised when they do.
Cantor has been a real DISAPPOINTMENT to fiscons...sad really!...nt
JadedByPolitics Wednesday, July 8th at 7:15AM EDT (link)Whoever has his enemy at his mercy &
does not destroy him is his own enemy
Cantor did the exact same thing with TARP
Scope Wednesday, July 8th at 7:59AM EDT (link)He is my Rep, so I have been watching him closely. When the frist TARP vote went down in the House, he rushed out in front of the cameras, and held up the letter Pelosi wrote. He had no problem with TARP, he seemed only to have a problem with the fact that Pelosi made it partisan. He went on to vote for it in the next vote.
As far as the rail line in VA goes, the Republican running for Governor here, McDonnell, will push for drilling off VA coasts for oil and gas. He said that he would use some of the monies gained from the project for Transportation projects, among other things.
It amazes me that anyone considers Cantor a Conservative. For me it’s the same as McCain calling himself a Conservative in the campaign. Fiscally, at least, he is a moderate at best. Wasn’t he also one of the first signed onto the “let’s have a chat” tour? Between the TARP mess and now the 2nd Stimulus positions he has taken, he has proven to me to be a “let’s reach across the aisle” McCainiac.