Erick Erickson posted a diary back on June 30, “Eric Cantor and John Boehner Don’t really want to Repeal Obamacare.“  Erick had claimed in that diary that “Our leadership is behaving badly.”  They were clearly playing politics with the Discharge Petition, prepared by Republican Steve King,  that was circulating in the House, in order to bring a Repeal of Obamacare to the floor for a vote. Did it have a snowball’s chance in the hot place downstairs, no, surely not.  What it would have accomplished was a voice of unity among the House Republicans in supporting the majority of Americans that want Obamacare repealed.  It would have been a loud and clear statement that the Republicans were committed.  As EE wrote, the Discharge Petition written by another Republican would have included a proposal for very weak replacement legislation,  that virtually no one had read.

Recently, Eric Cantor was interviewed for a ABC/WashPO Top Line segment, where Cantor said he was not yet ready to repeal the recently passed, and now signed, Financial Reform legislation.  John Boehner and Mike Pence immediately came out in favor of repealing the bill.

Some of Cantor’s comments in that interview include:

• So much of it is going to be left up to the regulators, and how it goes into effect will be borne out in the agencies of the executive branch.
• It is just another part of an agenda that has, quite frankly, been detrimental to the economy.
• We’ve not seen the kind of job growth that Americans want to see.  In fact, the job growth results have not been at all what this administration has promised, and that’s why you see the anger out there across the country.  This Financial Services regulatory reform bill is just another step in the direction of trying to proscribe from Washington the outcomes across the economy.
• The end result of this bill will be to lessen the amount of credit available to small businesses, to families; to increase the cost of everything, because Washington’s overreaction in terms of some of the regulations in this bill.
• Did we have some excesses that brought on the collapse of the financial markets? You better believe it.  But, that doesn’t mean that you swing the pendulum back so far in the other direction to basically impede the kind of job growth that we need right now.

Kind of OK so far, however, I would have driven home the point that it was the Progressives, with their push for mortgages that people couldn’t afford, that was a major part of the meltdown.  I would have driven home the fact that the very authors/sponsors of the Reform bill, Frank and Dodd, were assuring the country that the programs were financially healthy, and, not that long before the meltdown. Should the Republicans have screamed about the unsustainability long before the crash, absolutely.  Sorry Cantor felt the need to put the Republicans square in the same dysfunctional/deceptive camp as the Progressives, and in essence put an equal amount of blame on the Republicans.

This is where Cantor speaks out of the other side of his mouth in the interview-

“When the Republicans reclaim the majority in November, it will be incumbent upon us to insist that the regulations reflect the kind of free-enterprise job growth environment that we want to see, not towards the direction that this administration continues to drive.”

In other words, Mr. Cantor seems to want to pick and choose between the 535 regulations, and wants a seat at the table to “help” monitor the implementation of the regulations, that he just admitted were a part of the Progressive agenda, that is detrimental to the economy.  Remember, Mr. Cantor also has not come out in favor of repealing Obamacare.  He just wants a seat at the table to “help make it better.”

It is becoming more and more apparent that Mr. Cantor does not have an  understanding that the majority of conservatives, and even the more moderate Republicans,  want smaller and less government intrusion, in all areas of our lives.  We do not want Big Government, but with a Republican twist to it.  We are happy that the Republicans have not had a “seat at the table” because, the table has been set with the Progressive “my way or the highway” plates.  Mr. Cantor, I want to go to the restaurant that gives me choices, like a greasy Cheesburgers, rather than being forced the argula. Mr. Cantor, you can’t put lipstick on a pig.

As a part of the same interview, Cantor also stated that the current House Republicans will be rolling out a set of plans and proposals this September. I’m sure that Paul Ryan’s Roadmap will be a part of it.  I can only hope that it is not the same Roadmap that didn’t gain any traction, even amongst the House Republicans.  It is a great start, but, again, as EE has pointed out, there are sections of it that are not readily acceptable to even many Republicans.  I wonder why Cantor is willing to foolishly risk a backlash, shortly before the Mid-Terms, in rolling out “plans” that may easily shun voters, in a time of “just stop the Obama takeover of the country, and stop the infringment on our freedoms.  The anger across the country isn’t only about the job situation, it also includes tremendous anger at the overreach of the Federal Government against her citizens. Save your plans for when you can actually implement them, if they are a better direction for the country, and away from Big Government with a Republican twist.  Give us hints, but, keep your detailed cards close to your chest.  Many elections have been lost because of too many details, and promises.

Mr. Cantor, please do not proceed with the old habits of Republicans snatching defeat from victory. It’s a bad habit we need to break.