By Floyd Bayne
It is primary season in the Republican Party. You can tell, because Eric Cantor has been posting daily on his Facebook page, something he seldom does in an off year. He is also running numerous radio ads, denouncing his opponent, one David Brat, as a "liberal college professor" (an outright lie). And sending out four page, 8 1/2 x 11, glossy mailers, extolling his virtues as a "conservative."
The fact that Cantor lies is nothing new. He did the same thing to me in both of my campaigns. He has lied about his agenda and his voting record from his first days in office. Those of us who actually pay attention to such things have known this for some time. The question remains, however, regarding the majority of voters in Virginia's 7th Congressional district, do they even care about the truth anymore?
The fact that voting records can so easily be looked up on any of several websites, leaves one wondering what these voters are thinking, if they think at all. Is it just because he is a Republican and in their minds Republicans can do no wrong? Is it because they believe Cantor's lies and just will not be bothered to do any homework/research to verify/disprove his claims? Do they think that they should continue to vote for him, because, as majority leader, they "have a seat at the table of power?" (I've actually had some of them tell me that). I received one of Cantor's mailers in my mailbox yesterday. In reading through it I simply marveled at the man's chutzpah. The claims he makes, the lies he tells are astounding, given his proven record. All one has to do is take the time to look it up.
I will take this opportunity to go through this mailer point by point and disprove his claims. I can only hope that those of you reading this will spread this information to as many as possible, especially those who still think that Cantor is on their side.
The front of the mailer states that Cantor is "Leading the fight against president Obama's liberal agenda." Well, so far he's done a swell job, wouldn't you say? (<Please note the heavy sarcasm).Exactly which part of that liberal agenda has he stopped?
On the second page we are told that Cantor is "...leading the charge against Barack Obama's wasteful spending, job-killing tax hikes and leading the effort to repeal Obamacare."
Wasteful spending? Cantor is hoping that the voters will not look up his record, which shows that he voted for:
- TARP (Twice) - The Congressional Budget Office determined that the minimum cost to U.S. taxpayers (that includes those of us in Virginia) was at least $34 billion and perhaps as high as $100 billion. How's that for "fiscal responsibility?"
- PEPFAR (Twice) - $55 billion to AFRICA to fight AIDS. Not the U.S. or any of the states therein, to Africa!
- He has raised the debt ceiling at least 8 times, both under Bush and Obama. The most recent was last year and gave Obama unlimited and unrestricted spending capabilities.
- Just last month (March 2014) Cantor increased spending on Medicare.
- He voted for Medicare Part D
- He voted for No Child Left Behind
- He voted to reauthorize the extension of the Import-Export Bank Charter (Corporate Welfare)
On page three of the mailer are some bullet points touting his efforts. Among them; "Tax relief for small businesses to get the economy going and create good paying jobs." Anyone remember his 20% tax cut for small businesses that Cantor pushed during his 2012 campaign? Has anyone heard about the growth and good jobs that bill created? Has it been reauthorized (It was only for one year)? I haven't seen that growth, have you?
"Continue to cut wasteful spending and stand up for our conservative values." Cut wasteful spending?! Really? See the oh so brief list above. There are many more examples, but you'll just have to do some homework yourself. "Stand up for our conservative values?" You mean like working to grant illegal aliens amnesty? Ignoring the rule of law in the hope of getting some more votes from the Hispanic community? As if that is going to ever happen. Those kinds of values?
"Oppose Obama spending hikes and tax increases." So, is that why Cantor recently voted to raise the debt ceiling with no caps or restrictions, so that Obama can spend whatever he wants?
Folks, the lies continue and are so easily proven to be lies that you'll have to forgive my incredulity. This is just a very short list of examples of his lies and distortions. All you have to do, if the truth really matters to you, is LOOK IT UP! If you claim to be for liberty, the Constitution, the rule of law, and fiscal responsibility, and then vote for Eric Cantor anyway, you are the biggest part of the problem.