Politico has a story about how the smooth-talking, telegenic Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in the House, has become an even bigger "villain" than Rush Limbaugh for Democrats:
As the Virginia Republican fights President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority on everything from spending to stem cells, the Democrats are racing to introduce him to voters before he can introduce himself.
• At last month’s White House summit on entitlement reform, Obama painted Cantor as a poster child for obstructionism. “I’m going to keep on talking to Eric Cantor,” the president said. “Someday, sooner or later, he’s going to say, ‘Boy, Obama had a good idea.’”
• In a Washington Post op-ed last week, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said Rush Limbaugh’s voice “could be heard in the words of new Republican quarterback Eric Cantor.”
• In robocalls aimed at potentially vulnerable Republicans in Michigan, Florida and California, union groups are urging voters to ask their representatives why they’re “following the ‘party of no’ and its Republican leader, Eric Cantor.”
• In a series of TV spots, Americans United for Change identified Cantor as one of the Republican leaders who have stood with Limbaugh and opposed Obama’s stimulus plan.
A senior Democratic aide said Monday that “Cantor is well on his way to being defined. He is ‘Mr. No.’”
"Mr. No" just doesn’t seem quite as evil-sounding as "Dr. No," does it? Cantor staffers say they don’t mind being attacked — it just proves they’re making an impact:
Whatever its cause, members of Cantor’s team insist that they appreciate the attention he’s getting from the other side. In Washington, partisan barbs can be the ultimate sign of political respect, and Cantor’s staff says the attacks from the left are proof that he’s shaking the Democratic establishment.
“Mr. Cantor’s hard work has not only caught the attention of the president and key players at the White House but has clearly rattled armies of the left,” said Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring. “Partisan attacks by the liberal echo chamber will not deter Mr. Cantor from continuing to offer common-sense solutions and work with the president. We have too much work to do for the American people.”
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