House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, whose daughter is an undergraduate at U-M, will be on campus tomorrow, speaking at the Michigan League Ballroom. And, the irony of the fact that he’ll be here on Halloween, has not been missed. In fact, it looks as though there’s going to be a big zombie party tomorrow in celebration of his presence. The following announcement has been circulating widely this weekend.
In honor of U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s Halloween visit to the University of Michigan this Monday, October 31st, zombie corporations and vampire banks will descend on the campus to feast on the remains of America’s middle class.
Cantor himself will conduct a public funeral for the middle class – finally done in by the regressive tax policies, health care cuts, and special favors to CEOs that he has advocated – in front of the Michigan League, 911 N. University Avenue, at 12:30 pm.
The service will be attended by undead representatives of major corporations and banks who, while soulless, have been accorded status as people by the U.S. Supreme Court. All members of these entities and the top 1% are invited to attend and prey on the body of the deceased.
Those wishing to partake are kindly requested to bring a contribution to Congressman Cantor’s political action committee (no brains, please) which the organizers of the theatrical protest will re-appropriate for Occupy Ann Arbor.
Please come, and please come in a spooky costume. Eric Cantor’s vision for our nation is SCARY!!!!!!
After our Funeral for the Middle Class we will silently and respectfully fill the auditorium to hear Mr. Cantor’s speech, and eagerly await the Q & A session at the end.
The event is free and open to the public.
To learn more about Eric Cantor’s record, click here.
I haven’t read anything today concerning ticket availability, but, if you’d like to hear Cantor’s speech, there may still be tickets at the Michigan Union Ticket Office. Tickets, as I understand it, were only being given, one-per-customer, to individuals with valid U-M IDs.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that that Cantor will show. If you’ll recall, he’s been know to back out of speeches in front of non-hand-selected groups.
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I can’t go, but I’d love for others to ask him why, in our current situation, he’s decided to direct his legislative effort primarily at social issues, like gay marriage and abortion, instead of at job creation.
I may be there. If so, I’ll try to report back.
He’s on a tour of colleges with high profile business schools. Earlier this month, he cancelled a UPenn event “after hundreds of Occupy Philly protesters accumulated outside of the venue’s entrance.”
http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/city/cantor-campus-visits-draws-protesters-impromptu-meeting-1.2662274#.Tq62Z2DUP5w
Politico had a good piece on how he’s trying to rehab his public image a few days ago.
Read more:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66857.html#ixzz1cN7GewRb
That last article I linked to also contains the following explanation from Cantor as to why he didn’t speak at UPenn.
Word is they were pre-screening his questions for the Q & A.
From Damn Arbor:
“The protest crowd was pretty disappointed that Cantor et al. were prescreening comments for the Q&A session.”
http://www.damnarbor.com/2011/10/eric-cantor-protest.html
Cantor’s is a former Goldman Sachs vice president. I think that’s important to know.
Correction – that is all you need to know!
I attended today’s “funeral.”
There were probably 35-45 people demonstrating on the circle drive on the south side of the Michigan League (along North University), with many holding signs promoting either some variation of the “99%” theme — and some others holding fake headstones proclaiming “R.I.P. Middle Class,” or “R.I.P. Job Security,” or “R.I.P. Retirement,” etc. There was also a large banner that said: “Cantor works for the 1%. Who will work for the 99%?”
Shortly before Cantor was scheduled to speak at 1 p.m., a young man playing the part of “Eric Cantor” proclaimed the end of class warfare, saying that he and his rich pals had finally “won” — whereupon he conducted a mock funeral, followed by driving a “final” nail into a casket representing the middle class …
Of course, the real former “Vampire Squid” Cantor was nowhere to be seen since, it seems, he either arrived at the League long before the demonstrators, or was hustled in via some secret entrance.
I’m glad there were at least a few folks there to create at least a token show of outrage over this man being invited to speak here in Ann Arbor — at a public, taxpayer-funded University, no less. Still, I found it quite disappointing there wasn’t a larger show of opposition, such as when Governor Snyder came the U-M’s spring commencement — and several hundred people created a noisy spectacle.
Meanwhile, AnnArbor.com provides some information about what happened INSIDE the League during Cantor’s speech (including some additional protests) here: http://www.annarbor.com/news/cantor-speech-goes-on-amid-protests/
Unbelievable some of the comments here regarding Eric Cantor. He’s a great man and does great work for his State of Virginia and our country. If you think there’s a problem with the middle class in Ann Arbor, look no further than the Democrats you elect into office that continuously reach into your wallets for tax money, money, money and drive businesses out of Ann Arbor. And I say to Demetrius, ANYONE can be invited to speak at the University of Michigan. The U of M invites domestic terrorist Bill Ayers to speak there, so a patriot like Eric Cantor is a political breath of fresh air to the campus! Stop giving the University of Michigan a bad name, Marxists! Ann Arbor is a great city if left alone by money hungry marxists.
eric cantor’s a little bitch. but he’s not dumb enough to call anyone marxists, i’ll give him that.
IMHO, this is how the students of the University of Michigan should have greeted Cantor. (It embarrasses me that the students of Rice have more life in them than the students of Michigan.)
http://thinkprogress.org/special/2011/11/14/367634/rice-university-grad-students-eric-cantor/