Eric Cantor Defends Michele Bachmann’s McCarthyism

Unlike Speaker John Boehner, who quickly joined John McCain in denouncing Michele Bachmann’s slanderous allegations against Huma Abedin, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor doesn’t seem at all concerned by Bachmann’s behavior:

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) Friday defended Rep. Michele Bachmann’s questioning of a top Hillary Clinton aide’s loyalty to the United States, saying the Minnesota lawmaker’s “concern was about the security of the country.”

Asked by CBS host Charlie Rose whether Bachmann was “out of line,” Cantor declined to criticize the congresswoman.

“I think that if you read some of the reports that have covered the story, I think that her concern was about the security of the country. So it’s about all I know,” the House’s No. 2 Republican told CBS’s “This Morning.”

Sorry Eric, Bachmann isn’t concerned about national security at all. She’s interested in smearing someone’s name for political advantage, and you’re letting her get away with it.

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Chico says:

    Cantor looks like who he is – an insipid panderer.

  2. Derrick says:

    But Each Side Does It!!

    Its such great news for the country that one political party in the US is willing to name and support the naming of private citizens as enemies of the state. But this is the same as saying that the Koch brothers give alot to the Republicans, so it all equals out.

  3. Ernieyeball says:

    This would be Eric Ivan Cantor!
    How can we trust anyone with a name like that?

  4. al-Ameda says:

    “I think that if you read some of the reports that have covered the story, I think that her concern was about the security of the country. So it’s about all I know,” the House’s No. 2 Republican told CBS’s “This Morning.”

    What a sleazy creep. Yet another example of why this election is more important than any in the past 30 years. Cantor is a guy who could very well be the next Speaker of the House.

    Again, do Americans want to turn control of the entire federal government over to Republicans, and run off the cliff? Perhaps so, it’s hard to be optimistic about American voters.

  5. DC Loser says:

    Let’s flip this logic around and apply it to Cantor’s water carrying for AIPAC. By that definition, he’s an unregistered foreign agent of influence.

  6. James in LA says:
  7. mattb says:

    For as much complaints as there are about Dems starting “Class Wars”, can anyone explain how this sort of behavior on the part of Republicans isn’t about either stoking a “Religious” or “Race” war?

  8. rudderpedals says:

    Real profile in courage from the de facto speaker.

  9. Rob in CT says:

    Isn’t Cantor a hardcore Greater Israel type? Why would we expect different from him?

  10. de stijl says:

    It’s a three-fer! Cantor gets to pander to the base and the Tea Party Caucus, a sop to the foreign and domestic likudniks, and a dig at Boehner.

  11. swbarnes2 says:

    She’s interested in smearing someone’s name for political advantage,

    She’s not just smearing one individual. She’s following the Republican playbook of saying that everyone who isn’t a straight, white, Protestant Republican is actively working against America.

    That’s what Republicans do now, 24/7. You personally don’t buy that argument, and you don’t want to believe that Republicans would use it, and you don’t want to believe the conservative citizens would believe it, but that’s all true. Remember the percentages you cited for birther Republicans? Remember the percentages you cited about how many Republicans think Obama is a muslim? Remember terrorist fist bumps, and Obama as a witch doctor, and Sununu outright saying that Obama’s not American? I bet other people on this board can cite another dozen. All of that can be explained so simply, but you just deny the obvious connection cause you don’t like it.

  12. Tsar Nicholas says:

    Well, Boehner is a blue collar guy from Ohio. Cantor is a white collar guy from Virginia. People who fall into the former category are far more likely simply to call a spade a spade. If you read the entire article and specifically all of the quotes of Cantor’s it’s pretty crystal clear that he doesn’t swim anywhere near the fever swamp in which Bachmann lives. Yeah, it would have been nice if Cantor had read Bachmann the riot act, but by the same token when one of those southern boys damns someone with very faint praise it’s about the nastiest rebuke for which you realistically can hope.

  13. @Tsar Nicholas:

    If you read the entire article and specifically all of the quotes of Cantor’s it’s pretty crystal clear that he doesn’t swim anywhere near the fever swamp in which Bachmann lives.

    Frankly, I tend to consider the people who know it’s crazy but are happier to pander to crazy for personal advantage to be even worse than the true believers.

  14. mantis says:

    @swbarnes2:

    Terrorist fist bump! I forgot about that one. Good times.