An editorial from the Parkersburg News and Sentinel
U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., learned that lesson the hard way this week, as he was soundly defeated in a primary election by a Tea Party candidate, David Brat, who had his ear much closer to the ground.
Money is not always the answer, either, as Cantor’s campaign spent nearly as much on steakhouses as the $200,000 Brat’s campaign had managed to raise, in total. Incumbency – and an easily researched record – did not help, nor did endorsements by everyone from the American Chemistry Council to the National Rifle Association.
Voters recognized Cantor had become too comfortable in Washington, D.C., and had forgotten his roots; though Cantor, himself, betrayed only the slightest understanding his position was in danger. Unfortunately, he decided to try to appease voters by becoming a waffler.
Knowing his constituency believed he had turned a deaf ear to their concerns about immigration legislation, Cantor tried to do an about-face, sending out mailers in which he bragged about blocking Senate plans to “give illegal aliens amnesty.”
But voters were not buying it…
