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Eric Cantor Tries to Stop Stalwart Scott Keadle in NC-8

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  April 27th, 2012 at 10:40 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

This has been a tough week for conservatives in Washington.  Republicans in both houses are caving on the postal bailout, highway bill, appropriations, Ex-Im Bank, Violence Against Women Act, and the student loan bailout.  It’s not going to get easier when they come back from recess in May.  This is why we need game-changers like Scott Keadle in Congress.  Keadle is running in NC-8, the seat currently held by born-again blue dog Larry Kissell.

As I search out conservative candidates throughout the country on behalf of the Madison Project PAC, I’m struck by how few candidates truly grasp the problems at hand within the Republican conference.  Sure – they all talk about repealing Obamacare, a balanced budget, and out-of- control spending.  But it is some of the aforementioned issues that separate the real supporters of free-markets from those who merely offer a pale-pastel contrast from the Democrats.

I’ve spent a lot of time with Scott Keadle, and have come to realize that he is one of the biggest super stars of this election cycle.  This is a guy who will get it right on every issue.  And he truly understands the problems inherent with our current leadership.  Perforce, it comes as no surprise that Eric Cantor and his “Young Guns” are taking their show on the road to NC-8.  This, from Hotline:

The super PAC affiliated with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., has made its first independent expenditure in support of a Republican challenger, according to FEC filings. And it comes in a race where another powerful conservative outside group has lined up on the other side.

The YG Action Fund, which is run by ex-Cantor aides, has spent $22,750 on a mailer supporting Richard Hudson for the Republican nomination in North Carolina’s 8th District, currently held by Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell. The GOP race also includes Scott Keadle, a dentist and former county official who is one of six House candidates who received endorsements from the Club for Growth this cycle.

Hudson is a longtime Hill aide who served as chief of staff to Texas GOP Reps. Mike Conaway and John Carter and Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.

There is a reason why this is Cantor’s first independent expenditure on behalf of a Republican challenger.  Keadle will never beat to the drum of leadership.  Richard Hudson is a creature of Washington with his robust ties to GOP establishment leaders.

People often ask me where they could get the best value for their political contributions.  There are a few good stars this cycle, but if I were forced to pick the best individual to support, it would be Dr. Scott Keadle.  If you don’t believe me, just ask leadership.

The primary will be held on May 8, but there will be a runoff if no candidate receives 40% of the vote.  Let’s help end it on May 8.

Cross-posted from The Madison Project

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COMMENTS

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  • Teapartier

    Fair weather brand of conservatism. I have to admit he had fooled me up until recently. Thank goodness for Redstate and it’s ilk for bringing stories like this to our attention. It has made me realize that I need to pay even more attention to people who are supposedly on our side because they will be the first to try and pull a fast one on us.

    • conservativerock5

      He has a dual citizenship with Israel. Now, I love Israel but it is simply dangerous for high ranking federal officials to have loyalties to other countries in terms of dual citizenship.

      • acat

        without implying he’s disloyal…

        Mew

    • celador2

      Eric Canor meddles too much in primaries and as a leader he should save his money for the general election. His choices are a red flag and need be taken seriously by tea party thinking voters or anyone who is serious about ennumerated duties in constitution and debt.

      Cantor assumes he will continue to be Majority Leader, of that I have no duobt. He knows how to whip.

      Every two years the House starts afresh and elects the Speaker and House- caucus leadership.

      But Cantor as Leader need not be inevitable anymore than any form of tranny is inevitable. He could use a primary challenge in his CD. And of course when he runs for Majoirty leader there should be a challenger that forces Members to put it on the line.

      Cel

      • Scope

        of a primary challenger for Cantor to bed. Consider him to be the equivalent of the CA delta smelt. Every local GOP group in his district, as well as the Governor have circled around him to protect him. He is the VA R messiah. He will be in DC as long as he desires.

        No, he doesn’t need to remain in any leadership position, but that will depend on how many conservatives are sent to Washington that will put him on the back of the bus.

        • acat

          if Cantor were no longer in the leadership and no longer able to direct pork (not just monetarily speaking) to VA?

          I’m reminded that Dan Rostenkowski, who may as well have been the Ways and Means committee, lost re-election after Gingrich & Co. booted the Dems (and Rosty) to minority status…

          Mew

          • ffc99

            lost his re-election bid in 1994 because he’d been indicted for mail fraud earlier that summer…

          • ffc99

            Rosty’s district promptly switched back to the D’s in the next election. The Democrat who won that election…Rod Blagojevich.

          • jimmyg

            As the Chairman of Ways and Means he drew the ire of senor citizens in his district in the late 80′s as a result of proposed legislation moving through his committee regarding social security. His popularity in his district dropped, and the indictment did him in.

          • acat

            Rosty would never have lost over mail fraud in a prior or subsequent year… too good at bringing home the bacon.

            Mew

          • acat

            would losing his leadership position weaken Cantor enough for Virginians to consider a replacement?

            Mew

          • acat

            to turn themselves into Carol Moseley Braun or Mel Reynolds….

            (Illinois, specifically Cook County, elects the *strangest* people!)

            Mew

          • ffc99

            you suggested that Rosty lost because he’d been booted to the minority party after the Republican takeover. I pointed out that he actually lost in the wave election of 94.

          • ffc99

            And the primary reason Rosty lost in the general election in 1994 (when the Democrats were still in the majority) was because he had been indicted for mail fraud (obviously other factors contributed, but had he not been indicted he would have been reelected). Accordingly, I’m not sure why one would bring him up when discussing the potential for defeating Eric Cantor in a Republican primary.

          • acat

            it helps to look at what has worked and what hasn’t when removing other power brokers.

            Mew

          • ffc99

            it was a felony indictment that led to his demise (not the loss of the Ways and Means chairmanship). Unless you have some inside info re the US Attorney in Richmond and a potential indictment of Eric Cantor, I’d suggest that your comparison to Rosty is completely unhelpful.

          • acat

            Rosty would have been indicted regardless.

            Given all the dirt from Capitol Hill that we don’t hear about until someone retires and writes a tell-all, I have no doubt that what did Rosty in wasn’t the mail fraud itself… it was the loss of power in previous years.

            The mail fraud was what we saw, and then only because Rosty could no longer have it quashed, but given how long the house post office scandal went on and how long it was kept quiet … it’s more indicative of the loss of power over time.

            And no, I have no idea whether there’s skeletons in Cantor’s closet.

            Mew

          • ffc99

            indicted regardless of what, acat? At the time he was indicted he was still the powerful chairman of the Ways & Means Cmte.

          • ffc99

            do you have that Rosty loss any power in the years prior to his indictment? I think you’ll struggle to find much.

            Back to the original point, I can give you a better example of what might happen to a Republican politician who has his leadership position taken away from him. The 4th ranking Republican in the House in the late 90′s lost that gig for a variety of reasons (after holding that position for 4 years). Since then this particular gentleman hasn’t faced any serious primary opposition (and he represents a conservative district much like Cantor’s) and has managed to work himself into a pretty nice gig. He’s now the Speaker of the House.

          • Scope

            As long as he has an R after his name, he is safe. Even the Democrats can’t find a decent challenger to run against him. He and his wife are like a giant squid, they have their tentacles reaching deeply into many things such as media boards, bank boards, and state government worker pension fund positions. Eric stays in line, and expects those he supports to do the same. See Robert Hurt.

      • poillini

        His district isn’t that safe! If the Tea Party stays home he gets two years on the bench. Too bad the same conditions don’t exist for Boehner and McCarthy.

        • Scope

          and it doesn’t matter what the Tea Party does, he has no primary challengers.

  • ardendulou

    Conservative Kristi Risk is seeing tricky tricks from the RINO Larry Buschon right now. The establishment sees conservatives rising in Indiana and is trying to stop it. It is happening in IN-5 and IN-6 as well.

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    Every little bit helps, doesn’t it?

  • Castor

    His name is Vernon Robinson .It?s been said about him, “Jesse Helms is back and he?s black.”. An Air Force Academy graduate and son of a Tuskegee Airman, Vernon is a lifelong solid conservative and worthy of consideration by 8th district voters.

    • davidsongirl

      without digging deep into the facts. There is cause for concern. Here’s a sample: http://pundithouse.com/2012/04/robinson-not-fit-for-office/

    • Christine

      Ought to be interesting. He runs for SOME office, it seems, every cycle, and he loses every single time. I haven’t heard of a thing the guy has ever won. He’s lost in seriously red districts, in years when the GOP has done well.

      I haven’t read the link, but I’m in NC and have been in/near his district. My understanding is that he often opens his mouth and lets unacceptable things come out. Shame, because I have known him to also say some pretty smart stuff.

      • davidsongirl

        He is a very scary candidate and unfortunately, he has quite a few people snookered right now since he’s running in a different district again.

  • rabun1016

    I think it is important to find good young candidates, but nothing about this guy stands out in terms of family and achievement. I did note that when I tried to copy his position paper, so I didn’t have to read it online, it was not printable. That sometimes is a gimmick used by consults who write content for candidates so it cannot be stolen by other consultants. For content, his positions are all the predictable pablum, same as what we see from every candidate including Hudson. I do like to see a candidate who has some record of building coalitions and getting things done even against tough odds.
    I am not saying he won’t be fine, but there is nothing in his record of achievement that stands out to me.

    • Castor

      You?ll like him.

      • davidsongirl

        There are huge red flags on this campaign.

    • davidsongirl

      http://clubforgrowth.org/endorsedcandidates/?id=1044

    • daveevad

      …one of the most vocal conservatives in the House, constitute being a “Washington insider”?

      • davidsongirl

        Most of us did not like that very much.

  • elon

    … and since Hudson -and his wife- are long-time Congressional staffers, Keadle looks even better. However, I’d need to know more before going all in for him. Keadle’s Plan for America is great – as far as it goes, but it is mostly limited to spending, regulations, taxes, and energy. I looked on his site for details about his views about foreign policy, Israel, abortion, and marriage vs. special rights for homosexuals. I didn’t find anything on these -and several other – important issues. I’m looking for evidence that he is a full spectrum conservative, versus being more of a libertarian.

    • davesinsanantonio

      nt

  • elon

    Some claim Keadle doesn’t live in the district, too. Is that so?

    • streiff

      because living in your district isn’t a universal requirement.

      • http://redmeatconservative.blogspot.com/ Daniel Horowitz

        You don’t have to live in the district. Remember that the boundaries have kept changing, especially this year due to the gerrymander. He’s lived in parts of the district for a number of years, and currently lives right near it. It’s not like he’s from 300 miles away. The other major candidates dont live there either. He’s open about it and nobody cares.

        • krish

          Daniel, you forgot to mention that Romney supports these positions too!

          In fact, WSJ (can you believe that!) called him out on his flip flop since he supported the interest increase for student loans (few months ago) & now he has the same position as Obama! In fact, WSJ called him the Etch a Sketch in their editiorial & also took the republicans to task!

          Thank God for Tea Partyers- are alive & well in Indiana & Utah….hope they become active in Ohio (Boehner), Virigina (Cantor),Kentucky (McConnell) & get these guys out of there as quickly as possible! Romney, Boehner & McConnell…I see no significant difference between these guys & Democrats..republicans are the bigger hypocrites than dems.

          • davesinsanantonio

            unless you actually claim some kind of morality. The libs have none!

            At least Romney will be right part of the time. Obummer is wrong on every issue!!!

          • daveevad

            before we can change the leadership.

          • rightlane1111
      • elon

        Regarding residency: I was just concerned that it may affect the voting in the general election, if his opponent lived in the district. I didn’t know the residency status of his opponents – so it sounds like a non-issue. I still would like to see more info on a broader range of issues.

        • http://redmeatconservative.blogspot.com/ Daniel Horowitz

          is on his website http://www.keadle.com/site/wp-content/uploads/Keadle-Plan-for-America.pdf

    • davidsongirl

      Dr John Whitley lives in Robeson County, most of which was recently drawn into the 8th District. Hudson moved to Cabarrus County in October 2011 and started a business. Robinson moved to Concord in October 2011, as well, in order to run in the 8th, but left his family back in Forsyth County.

      • davidsongirl

        From Larry Kissell’s district map, that does not appear to be inside the district either, but possibly just outside. The maps have been redrawn and there is some ambiguity.

  • Dave_A

    In the end, they will always support the guy they think can win.

    Period.

    Nothing else will matter to them.

    • funwithknives

      us all a little sumthin’ about that topic…….

  • gmhunt

    Canter is the biggest disappointment to the Constitutional Conservatives in the House………I used to wish he could replace Boehner, not anymore…..they are both RINO’s but the Tea Party people that helped elect Canter should start a re-call election for Nov.

    • acat

      Every politician has a sell-by date. Some get to D.C. and sell out right away, some wait a couple terms, but eventually the rot gets ‘em all.

      (DeMint being the exception that highlights the existence of the rule)

      The Founding Fathers understood human nature, they were far more contemplative than our modern media-addled citizenry, and understood that the legislature should, like a compost heap, be turned over periodically.

      Mew

  • littletboca

    Eric Canter has a lot of powerful people behind him and they certainly aren’t the kind you’d make welcome at your table. Canter isn’t one of us – connected to the Rothschild Zionist

    • acat

      You mentioned Rothschild …

      Mew

  • ihateliberals

    This quote fits Cantor, Boehner, McConnell, McCain, Karl Rove and a host of so called Conservative Republicans: “People may doubt what you say, but they will always believe what you do.”. These people side with the Democrats 60% of the time at least. (Heritage Action Scorecard) Karl Rove for example is directly responsible for harry Reid still being in the Senate. Rove’s campaign against the Tea Party allowed Reid to be re-elected in Nevada. With Republicans like this the Democrats don’t need liberals in congress. Another example is John Boehner. he preached conservatism in his OH-8 district to get re-elected and then to become Speaker of the House. He wanted $100 billion in budget reductions for the 2011 budget. After months of back-and-forth he went behind closed doors, which he said he wouldn’t do, and negotiated $33 billion in cuts. Funny the Democrats hd been wanting only $30 billion from the beginning. Whose side was Boehner on?

    • powertothepeople

      Damn, my whole world just went to hell. I hope Santa and the Easter Bunny are real………………?

      • fishgod3

        The tooth fairy and the gremlins from WW2

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