I find it ludicrous how many Republicans attempt to tie themselves to the spirit of founding father Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, born to the land-owner class in Virginia, used his status to champion working families and prevent all forms of tyranny in government. A fact lost on Republican legislators.
Recently when Virgil Goode VA-05 wrote a letter to John McCain’s staff endorsing Eric Cantor VA-07 for the Vice Presidential position, I was compelled to research Cantor and his record. What I uncovered came as no surprise to me, based on the fact Goode recommends him.
The first thing that caught my attention was Cantor’s relationship with villain Mitch McConnell.
June 26 Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) received the 2008 Thomas Jefferson Award for Distinguished Service from the International Foodservice Distributors Association IFDA .
This group makes it a priority to push pro-business interests in Congress and makes no effort to disguise the fact that they have an anti-working family agenda. No surprise there. It is also no surprise that McConnell and Cantor step-and-fetch to such organizations. Read Cantor’s remarks:
"As a life-long Virginian, in a district that borders Jefferson’s home of Monticello, I am proud to accept this award," said Cantor. "I want to thank you for coming here to Washington and giving up your time. What you do here to educate representatives about the impact of their actions on you, at home, is invaluable. Your being here is a reminder that our policies affect real people."
Thomas Jefferson himself would lead the revolt against Cantor after reading the last sentence of his statement.
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During his comments at the opening dinner of the IFDA Day in Washington last week, Cantor discussed issues surrounding tax and energy policy, as well as the House Republicans vote against the Employee Free Choice Act. EFCA passed the House in a vote along party lines, but was stopped in the Senate where Republicans, led by McConnell, successfully rejected a cloture motion to bring EFCA to a vote. The legislation would allow union representation in the workplace if a majority of employees simply signed "check cards" and undermines the right of employees to vote privately in an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. Defeat of this legislation is IFDA’s top legislative priority.
Enter McConnell;
McConnell was presented the award at a legislative briefing during the IFDA Day in Washington meeting. In his comments, he described the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) as "something we thought was a horrible idea." McConnell also discussed issues surrounding trade, taxes, fuel prices, and the balance of power at stake in the upcoming fall elections. "We are a firewall against a lot of really bad ideas and you are looking at the fire chief," said McConnell. "I need enough firemen to hold the line."
Now just who is the Employee Free Choice Act bad for? You guessed it, BIG BUSINESS. It scares the bejeezus out of Republican legislators that working men and women might have a little leeway in determining their future. Why do you think that is? In my opinion it is due to the fact they have used their power in Congress and the executive and judicial branches of government to build their own profits on the backs of the now defunct middle class and working families. Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
Thus ends Vol. 1 of the Eric Cantor Chronicles - more to follow.