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Blunt Steps Down

By Jay Newton-Small | @JNSmall | November 6, 2008 | +

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri announced today he’s stepping down, which opens the door for his top deputy, Eric Cantor, a young up-and-comer from Virginia, to move up. The move likely saves John Boehner’s hide as Blunt’s blood probably satisfies those looking for a sacrificial lamb in the wake of a second horrendous election cycle for the GOP. Indeed, though they lost 18 seats (with eight seats still undecided), many Republicans are breathing sighs of relief – it could’ve been so much worse. While this may help sort out who leads the party in the House, the GOP clearly still has a lot of soul searching to do.

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  • ghostlawns

    I still can’t get over how Bachmann got re-elected. What a disgrace.

    I’m betting Eric Cantor will run in 2012. He seems ambitious enough to try.

  • jarais

    The GOP doesn’t need to soul search. It needs an exorcism, which Bobby Jindal probably thinks he can provide.

  • http://pourmecoffee.blogspot.com pourmecoffee

    I have never gone wrong following this rule with respect to the far right: assume that the person I think is the most mindlessly reactionary and ambitious will ascend. By that light, the person that struck me this way was Indiana representative Mike Pence.

  • sgwhiteinfla

    Eric Cantor is going to run the GOP like a freerepublic blogger. This is GREAT news for Democrats. And ultimately it will be great for Republicans in about 8 more years. He along with McConnell and Boehner are going to triple down on the WingNut base and lead their party even further right which along the way will push many of their own moderates further left. If you think the GOP was lilly white this year just give them till 2012. I predict that Susan Collins will start caucusing with the Dems also in the next 2 years

  • http://pourmecoffee.blogspot.com pourmecoffee

    I have never gone wrong following this rule with respect to the far right: a$$ume that the person I think is the most mindlessly reactionary and ambitious will ascend. By that light, the person that struck me this way was Indiana representative Mike Pence.

  • sgwhiteinfla

    jarais
    .
    Bobby Jindal will be called an affirmative action hire by the time 2012 rolls around. Dont be surprised if a slew of David Duke types dont emerge in the 2010 midterms with GOP behind their names.

  • jarais

    Really, SG? I think Repubs will be clinging to their off-white members (all three of them)for dear life by 2012. El Rusbo waxes poetic about him all the time.

  • centfan

    Now is the time for the rise of an Independent Party. Much depends on the success (and perception of success) of an Obama administration, but I think the Republicans will become the Good Ol’ Party exclusively and all moderate Republicans and Democrats fearing a fall to the left will duck into an Independent Party. Now if they could find a way to cut Lieberman loose…

  • Paul-no not that one

    Cantor is the new Delay. Awesome.

  • sgwhiteinfla

    jarais,
    .
    Rush only did that to point to his “token” minority friend that he can say “I would have vote for THAT minority guy” about, so he can’t be called out as the racist we all know he is. Of course as I suspected the man most people folks like Rush always point to as their totally theoretically token black republican presidential nominee, Colin Powell, was thrown under the bus as soon as he endorsed Obama. Just shows you what they REALLY thought about him. It will be the same thing with Jindal as the GOP becomes even more steeped in wingnuttery!

  • jarais

    SG,
    This should be entertaining. I’ll bring the popcorn if you bring the candy.

  • FlownOver

    Excellent! Sgtwhite has it right – Cantor’s easily the smarmiest weasel they could put out front! His congenital smirk is best described as the sort of grin that, if named, would guarantee this comment a term in Moderator Purgatory.
    .

    Jarais – No surprise Limburger has the hots for Jindal. Legend puts the origins of the Aryan race in India.

  • Andy from MA

    JNS wrote ” the GOP clearly still has a lot of soul searching to do.”
    .
    I respectfully submit you can’t find something you never had.

  • Paul-no not that one

    “No surprise Limburger has the hots for Jindal. Legend puts the origins of the Aryan race in India.”
    .
    Knowing Rush’s travel history. Vacations with blue pills to the DR I thought you were going a whole different way with that.

  • Andy from MA

    SG: I lived in ME for 22 years and I knew Collins chief of staff Steve Abbott very early in his career. You won’t see that happening. While she staffed for Bill Cohen when he was a senator, she is a traditional republican, right of center. Collins is less of a moderate than you might think.

  • shepherdwong

    “…many Republicans are breathing sighs of relief – it could’ve been so much worse.”

    Oh yes, what a great day for the GOP. I wonder if you’ll ever tire of being punked by these liars.

  • sgwhiteinfla

    Andy
    .
    I don’t necessarily think she is moderate. But from some of the things she has said recently it seems like she might be shocked at just how far right her party has gone. I don’t have illusions that she will go with the Dems on everything but I just have this feeling that she wont be very partisan either. Especially with the big majority the Dems have now
    .
    Rahm just accepted the COS post

  • wvng

    Tim F at Balloon Juice: “Awesome. Eric Cantor and Mike Pence will take the #2 and #3 leadership spots in the House GOP. Pence stirred up some trouble when he backed Bush’s abortive immigration plan, but overall these are two of the most ideological true believers in the GOP caucus. If the GOP needs to broaden its appeal through reform then choosing these two is like putting cancer in charge of the chemo.”
    http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=13504

  • Sean DeCoursey forgot his password

    I keep thinking about Ron Paul, and how well he did considering that the entire party apparatus and MSM basically ignored or worked against him. Makes me wonder if the libertarian wing of the GOP is going to break out into its own party that actually does appeal to some young people and has a future.

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