Did anyone happen to see House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in Ann Arbor today? According to a reader of the Ann Arbor Chronicle, he was at the State Street CVS this afternoon, surrounded by Secret Service agents. I wasn’t aware of it until just now, but apparently his daughter, Jenna, is a sophomore at U-M… I wish I would have know that he was in town. I would have liked to have asked him how he could, in good conscience, propose that no more money be allocated for post-Irene disaster relief efforts until federal spending cuts are made elsewhere. If he’s still around tomorrow, and you see him, be sure to ask him about it. Oh, and while you’re at it, also ask him about how he intends to roll back environmental protections and further weaken organized labor under the guise of creating jobs. Here, with more on that is a clip from The Hill:
House GOP leadership on Monday outlined plans to delay or kill a suite of environmental rules in coming months, signaling an expansion of legislative and political attacks against regulations that business groups call burdensome.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), in a memo to GOP members, outlined a legislative schedule for thwarting “job-destroying” regulations that includes a number of Environmental Protection Agency rules.
Cantor plans a vote this winter to block EPA’s decision to toughen Bush-era smog standards, a rule that EPA plans to finalize soon after repeated delays. Major industry groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute have appealed directly to the White House to scuttle the rules.
Legislation targeting other rules will come to the floor even sooner, Cantor’s memo states…
If there’s one thing the Republicans know how to do well, it’s how to milk a disaster for all it’s worth. They used 9/11 as a pretext to go to war with Iraq. And, now they’re using the failing economy, which they’re in large part responsible for, as pretext to roll back environmental protections and laws protecting the rights of workers. And they’re brilliant at naming things too. Who, after all, would dare vote against something called The Patriot Act? (The answer to that question is Russ Feingold, and he was voted out of office soon afterward.) Cantor, in the memo he sent out to House Republicans today, coined the following phrase for his upcoming legislative assault… “The Repeal of Job-destroying Regulations to Create Middle Class Jobs.” Of course, those jobs will likely be in coal mines, and will pay a fraction of what they pay today, with no federal safety oversight, but I don’t suppose any of that is worth mentioning.
[Those who are curious can see video of Cantor and his daughter here.]
update: I’m particularly pissed off about Cantor’s playing politics over disaster relief at the moment, as I just learned that my friend Chelsea, who occasionally leaves comments here, is in a small Vermont town that, as of right now, is inaccessible to aid workers. Word is that the Red Cross is going to “try a food/fresh water drop” sometime soon. Apparently there are about 12 small towns in that area that are similarly isolated, with most homes submerged, etc. According to the Burlington Free Press, folks are helping each other out as best as the can, but it looks like it might be weeks before power is returned, etc…. Our thoughts are with all of these folks tonight. And, pardon me for saying so, but to hell with Eric Cantor.
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If you see Cantor, you can also ask him about how he supported Paul Ryan’s plan to destroy Medicare.
And be sure to ask him why, if the main the objective of the Republican party has been to create jobs for middle class Americans, they spent the past half year trying to defund Planned Parenthood and NPR.
Don’t you suppose somebody has already asked him all those questions?
Damn it! He came into my place of business yesterday, walked right up to me and stared at the counter, but didn’t say a word in response to me when I said hello. I couldn’t figure out who it was, but he was flanked by two Secret Service agents, who were much more personable than he was. He had is daughter with him, I suspect she’s going to U of M. They came in, used our restroom, and walked out without purchasing anything, all the while their SUV’s parked illegally out front.
Damn. I really, really, wish I had been able to place his weasely face while he was there. I mean, he was three feet from me, and I could have posed any question I wanted. I’m positive he would have ignored me and walked away, given the general look of distaste he had on his face, but it sure would have been fun…
Can you draw it for the Pencil Paparazzi file, Andy?
I could maybe have someone draw for me. I don’t know if my stick figure drawings would do the situation justice.
Please for the love of god (which I don’t believe in, just a figure of speech) let’s stop acting like Republicans are the only ones who milk disasters and difficult situations for political reasons. Are you kidding me?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yeA_kHHLow
I prefer the hollywood types to slime pols lurking about
I heard he had lunch at the Northside Grill. Not sure if anyone served him the Kick-in-the-ballsdition sandwich he deserved to get.
He’s like Boehner, but without the character and guts.
And, yes, that’s a joke.
She’s cute. One can only hope that the U turns her gay, like it does so many young women.
Don’t you think it’s odd, that his daughter comes North to Ann Arbor? I mean, it’s so not like him here? Kind of like, in your face, Daddy moment?
Watching the video of them interacting, I don’t get the sense that she’s at all rebellious. I suspect she’s just like her father.
And he’s apparently still in town. A friend of a friend saw him eating at Angelos this morning.
@David Gomez
No, Republicans are not the only politicians who participate in that kind of reprehensible behaivior, though the whole “we won’t negotiate on the budget” thing makes them the front runners, I think. However, this guy was the only one of those assholes that’s been standing close enough to me that I could personally question his integrity.
A former coworker posted to FB that he was also in last year. That time he actually bought something, but wasn’t any more willing to talk to anyone, even small talk. Clearly, we aren’t constituants or campaign contributors, so why waste the energy, right?
From Electablog:
Get that? Eric Cantor says hurricane victims will have to wait for the money for assistance to help them after this natural disaster until Congress can figure out where to take the money from so that it can be directed to help them. Never before has such a condition been placed on helping out those who were devastated by a hurricane or earthquake or tornado. Not until this year.
These evil bastards are so desperate for Irene to be “Obama’s Katrina” that they are willing to create a crisis to blame on the president. That means people will needlessly suffer while they play political games designed only to hurt the president.
I’m particularly pissed off about Cantor’s playing politics over disaster relief at the moment, as I just learned that my friend Chelsea, who occasionally leaves comments here, is in a small Vermont town that, as of right now, is inaccessible to aid workers. Word is that the Red Cross is going to “try a food/fresh water drop” sometime soon. Apparently there are about 12 small towns in that area that are similarly isolated, with most homes submerged, etc. According to the Burlington Free Press, folks are helping each other out as best as the can, but it looks like it might be weeks before power is returned, etc…. Our thoughts are with all of these folks tonight. And, pardon me for saying so, but to hell with Eric Cantor.
You have to try to draw it, Andy. Seriously, just give it a shot. I’m sure you can do something great. Just be honest, and do your best.
Cantor’s grandstanding over disaster relief certainly puts Bush II’s handling of Katrina into perspective. Perhaps, rather than massive incompetence and callous disregard, what FEMA Administrator “heckuva’ job, Brownie” was really demonstrating was merely “budget discipline.”
After all, expecting a vigorous federal government response following a natural disaster is SO 20th Century. What do yo think we are, a first-world nation?
This is Libertarian America, Glen. It’s every man for himself.
He’s probably also hanging around longer; because of the Rick Snyder Recall Effort has gotten over the 50% mark, and is heading higher.
I got a slimball robo call yesterday against the recall in a stange angle?
Gotta be something more, than just here for his daughter, something crooked no doubt.
Watching Laughing.
Maybe he’s just terrified to go back to his constituents.
Yes, that too.
Watching Laughing.
David Madland on Cantor’s memo:
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/09/cantor_jobs.html
Well, thank you, Mark. Frankly, I never heard of this Cantor guy (and I’m certain he’s never heard of me, either), but, happily, it doesn’t seem to be shaping up as Katrina II over there. (As you know, I reached Boston last evening, having been literally trapped in town for most of the week.) Folks are helping one another; aid, knock wood, seems to be forthcoming and transportation is improving every day.
Glad to hear that you made it out, Chelsea.
It looks like Eric Cantor is coming back to Ann Arbor — just in time for Halloween.
http://fordschool.umich.edu/events/calendar/index.php?com=detail&eID=1146
From AnnArbor.com: A group of local workers and students is expected to protest a speech by U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, in Ann Arbor on Monday.
In honor of Cantor’s Halloween visit to the University of Michigan, numerous groups will be holding a “Funeral for the Middle Class,” protesting what they call Cantor’s “radical and destructive votes” on economic and social issues.
The noon protest is expected to include a funeral procession and eulogy given by a Cantor impersonator, according to a press release.
Cantor is expected to speak at 1 p.m. at the Michigan League as part of a lecture series organized by the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
http://www.annarbor.com/news/us-rep-eric-cantor-to-face-protest-in-ann-arbor-on-monday/
Yes, Demetrius, I know about it, and plan to post about it later. Thanks.
Hooray! Eric Cantor was thrown out of office by the voters of his district! They chose the Tea Party backed candidate over him. Bye bye, Eric.
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