Cantor Argues For Do Nothing Government

Republican House Whip Eric Cantor spoke at the Christian Science Monitor breakfast. Cantor praised Rush Limbaugh's economic ideas and said Democratics were "over-reacting" to the economic crisis.

“As far as Rush, Rush has got ideas. He’s got following. He believes in the conservative principles that many of us believe in –- of lower taxes, of making sure that we turn back towards a focus on entrepreneurialism in this country, to promoting innovation and not stamping that out by over-reacting, if you will, which this town often does, to crisis.”

Rush Limbaugh is a talk radio host that has said repeatly in interviews he intentionally stirs things up. Limbaugh has never created economic policy. Economists generally agree the current economic climate is the worst since the depression. Canter simply does not take economic matters seriously.

Politically, Cantor is pandering to the dwindling conservative base by praising Limbaugh. Republicans lost the last two election cycles because independents, moderate Republicans and Hispanics voted Democratic. The Gop's response is to go further away from the center and reject the responsibilities of governing. Gov. Bobby Jindal argued the federal government should of had no role for disaster relief for Hurricane Katrina. PJinal argued private enterprise is best for disaster relief. Jindal doesn't explain how poor black people are going to pay to get themselves off the roofs of their flooded homes.



Brian Beutler argues Cantor wasn't stating Democrats were over-reacting to the economic crisis. Cantor did use the word "over-reacting." I have bashed John Aravosis but I concur with his conclusion.

I know Joe posted on this earlier, and mentioned Limbaugh, but it didn't hit me until now, looking at the transcript, that Cantor, the minority whip, THE NUMBER TWO REPUBLICAN IN THE HOUSE, said he prefers Rush Limbaugh's solutions to the economic crisis over what the Democrats are offering because THE DEMS ARE TOO CONCERNED ABOUT THE ECONOMY. It's bad enough to suggest that the economic crisis isn't that important a problem, but in the same breath - the same sentence - to say that you prefer Rush Limbaugh's solutions? Are these guys nuts?

The GOP doesn't have a working message or ideas for the economy. We are talking about one of the two major political parties unable to grasp basic economics. That is profoundly scary. Republican are no longer arguing about less government. Their position on Katrina and the economy is to do nothing. Literally. David Brooks described this policy as "nihilism." I call it depressing.