Eric Cantor, the second-ranking House Republican, claimed earlier today that his office had been the target of a politically motivated shooting.
If you thought Cantor's claim seemed reminiscent of the the bogus "an Obama supporter carved a backwards 'B' into my face" story from the 2008 campaign, you were right.
According to AP, the Richmond Police Department now says the bullet that hit an office in the building where he has a campaign office was fired randomly.
Bullet that hit Va. congressman's office random
RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond police say the bullet that hit a window of Republican Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor's office had been randomly fired skyward.
Given the facts of the matter -- that the bullet was fired randomly in the air, and hit a window in the building in which Cantor has an office (the bullet didn't hit his office) -- it is clear that Cantor willfully misled the media this morning. Cantor and his office knew that they were not targets of the shooting, but they claimed otherwise to score political points.
This is a big deal. Cantor is the number two Republican. He speaks for the party. And he brazenly dissembled to the national press corps on an issue of life or death. It might not be fair or balanced, but he should be held to a different standard: truth and accuracy.
Postscript: In related news, officials have determined that the gas line leading to the home of the brother of Congressman Tom Periello was severed intentionally. Tea partiers had urged members to "drop by" Periello's brother's home thinking it was the Congressman's.