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.