Earlier today, at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, Rep. Eric Cantor said:
"Rush has got ideas. He’s got following. He believes in the conservative principles that many of us believe in — of lower taxes, or making sure that we turn back towards a focus on entrepreneurialism in this country, to promoting innovation and not stamping that out by overreacting, if you will, which this town often does, to crisis.
Cantor was blasted for the remark, with Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly saying:
Republicans just lost the debate over the economy ... Once in a great while, there are key turning points in a policy debate. This might be one of them. [...]
This explains quite a bit. Why have Republicans refused to take the economic crisis seriously? Why have they offered the same tired, failed economic ideas they've been spouting for decades?
It's simple, really. As Cantor explained, the minority party is worried about "overreacting." Where most sensible people see a global, generational economic crisis, one of the leaders of the Beavis and Butthead Party see a regular ol' downturn. No wonder the GOP rejects the very idea of stimulating the economy, reforming the regulatory system, and addressing the pitfalls that created the crisis. As far as Cantor & Co. are concerned, there is no crisis.
And now, according to a Democratic National Committee (DNC) press release:
It is our understanding that Rep. Cantor has taken issue with the characterization of his statement earlier this morning at the Christian Science Monitor breakfast as Democrats "overreacting" to the economic crisis because he didn't use the word "Democrats."
But as the DNC asks, if Cantor wasn't talking about the Democrats, what did he mean? Who was he talking about?