Days from Primary, Eric Cantor Poses as Anti-Amnesty Warrior
by Michael Patrick Leahy 27 May 2014, 11:07 AM PDT
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Is it a campaign flier for Majority Eric Leader Eric Cantor, or Rep. Steve King (R-IA)?
Cantor, whose primary race against a political newcomer, Randolph Macon economic professor David Brat, has improbably garnered national attention, has sent thousands of voters a flier claiming he is the chief bulwark against the “Obama-Reid plan to give illegal aliens amnesty.”
Brat has made immigration a top issue in the campaign, ripping Cantor for his support of a proposal to give amnesty to illegal alien “DREAMers” if they enlist in the military.
Over his career, Cantor has received high marks from NumbersUSA, an anti-amnesty activist group, for his voting record. He's also repeatedly said he opposes the Senate “Gang of Eight” bill.
However, since the 2012 elections, Cantor has voiced support for enacting a broad immigration reform bill, and made a GOP version of the “DREAM Act,” which would grant amnesty to individuals brought to the country illegally as children, a top part of his “making life work” agenda.
The issue is complicated by the fact that pro-amnesty activists have decided that right now, while Cantor is facing political danger from his right, is the moment to launch a coordinated attack against him for opposing amnesty. The move has drawn suspicion from prominent writers like Mickey Kaus that the whole episode is a clever bit of political theater to give Cantor political cover just as he needs it.
The flyer featured an April 16 headline from liberal publication Talking Points Memo, which stated "Eric Cantor Torches Immigration Reform After Call With Obama."
That day, Obama had called Cantor and the two discussed immigration. According to Obama, the call was “pleasant.” But hours later, Cantor launched a vicious attack through his spokesman.
"House Republicans do not support Senate Democrats' immigration bill and amnesty efforts, and it will not be considered in the House," the statement read. "I also reiterated to the President there are other issues where we can find common ground, build trust and get America working again," it continued.
A White House aide told Huffington Post reporter Sam Stein Obama called Cantor to wish him a happy Passover and the broadside was “all staff bluster.”
In the House, Republican opponents of amnesty generally consider Cantor someone who strongly wants the GOP to pursue a comprehensive bill.
On Wednesday, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), perhaps the single most vocal proponent of amnesty in Congress, will travel to Cantor's district to criticize Republicans who oppose amnesty, including, presumably, Cantor.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...nesty-Champion
Cantor Primary Challenger David Brat: Anti-Amnesty Mailer 'Act Of A Desperate Campaig
Cantor Primary Challenger David Brat: Anti-Amnesty Mailer 'Act Of A Desperate Campaign'
by Michael Patrick Leahy 28 May 2014, 11:07 AM PDT
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Eric Cantor's primary challenger David Brat ripped the Majority Leader as “the number one Republican supporter of amnesty” in a dramatic press conference steps away from a rival event by a liberal Democrat intended to paint Cantor as the face of GOP intransigence on immigration.
The day after Cantor portrayed himself as an anti-amnesty warrior in campaign literature, Brat accused Cantor of coordinating with Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), the Democrat holding the rival press conference, to provide him political cover in his moment of greatest need.
Cantor, Brat noted, had previously visited sites with Gutierrez in a pro-immigration reform tour. "You would have to be pretty gullible not to see a link there," Brat said.
The long-shot challenge from Brat has improbably gained national attention after Cantor was booed and heckled by a crowd of Tea Party activists at a recent Republican party event. Cantor has had to go on air with attack ads fact-checkers have criticized as misleading and adopt the language of anti-amnesty hawks in his mailers, clashing with his “making life work” rebranding effort.
Typically, party leaders are able to win reelection easily, especially in primaries, so the concerted efforts by Cantor are seen as deeply embarrassing for the Virginia Republican considered Speaker John Boehner's heir apparent.
"This is the act of a desperate campaign," Brat said about the mailer.
In attacking Cantor for his support of amnesty, Brat noted that Cantor has supported legislation to grant amnesty to illegal aliens brought to the U.S. as children, a class of individuals colloquially called “DREAMers” in reference to the “DREAM Act,” which would grant them amnesty.
In a 2013 speech that was the launch of one of Cantor's rebranding efforts, he explained his rationale for supporting the legislation, saying, “One of the great founding principles of our country was that children would not be punished for the mistakes of their parents.”
Cantor also backed a more targeted effort granting amnesty to illegal aliens who enlist in the military, called the “ENLIST Act.” Cantor was a key force behind the push to insert the proposal into a must-pass defense bill but changed course at the last minute, blocking it from even coming to a vote on the House floor.
Brat went further, saying, “There is no Republican in the country who is more liberal on immigration than Eric Cantor.”
However, over the course of his career, Cantor has received high marks from NumbersUSA, an anti-amnesty activist group, for his voting record. He's also repeatedly said he opposes the Senate “Gang of Eight” bill.
In the House, Republican opponents of amnesty generally consider Cantor someone who strongly wants the GOP to pursue a comprehensive bill, but not one of its most public advocates, like Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart or even Boehner.
Brat also challenged Cantor to sign a new pledge from an anti-amnesty group. If Cantor is such an anti-amnesty stalwart, Brat asked, "Why hasn't Cantor signed the no amnesty pledge circulated by FAIR? Has Eric Cantor ever met with ICE officers?"
"I am calling on Eric Cantor to make public all corporate executives and lobbyists he has met with discuss cheap labor,” he added.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...on-Immigration
