Incoming House GOP Leader: My Party Is No Longer "Relevant"

Washington Times :

Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, poised to ascend to House Republicans' No. 2 leader this week, said the Republican Party in Washington is no longer "relevant" to voters and must stop simply espousing principles. Instead, it must craft real solutions to health care and the economy.

"Where we have really fallen down is, we have lacked the ability to be relevant to people's lives. Let's set aside the last eight years, and our falling down in living up to expectations of what we said we were going to do," Mr. Cantor told The Washington Times in his district office outside of Richmond. "It's the relevancy question."

Read the whole story: Washington Times

Comments

[Loki11467]

Cantor is right. Glad to see a bit of sanity in the GOP. Lets hope they stay insane until 2016

[chandolyn]

Why only until 2016? How about infinity?

[canucklivinginUSA]

I remembered in the 1990s how the Conservative Party in Canada fell apart. It took them a full decade to come back and they had to merge with Stephen Harper's party to regain some power. If it wasn't for the Liberal mismanagement and scandals, the Conservatives would have never come back to power.

[peacegurl48]

It was the politics of hate and splinter issues that was their downfall. I, too, think we need a robust two party, or preferably more, system. Maybe the thinking Republicans can reclaim the party.

[sandpiper1]

They may make a comeback if they separate from the religious wing nuts and form a more moderate the party..you may then have 3 parties with the wing nuts on the sidelines. Why any party would want to associated with them is puzzling. They have to realise they cannot force people to buy into their ideology of extreme religiouos mantra. The country is secular and have many different religious beliefs and practices which must be taken into account. Religion should have no place in Governemnt, it's a private matter.
Here in Canada, the right wing religious conservatives had to do away with their ideology when they merged with the moderate conservative party to be given a chance to govern. Yet, we gave them a minority Gov. X2 because we still don't trust them. Hopefully, the Liberals will get their act together for the next election.

[JohnPone]

The Republicants will become relevant again when they:
A) walk away from the politics of fear
B) stop interferring in people's secular lives

[canucklivinginUSA]

That might take awhile.

[apoyo]

He should take a long look in the mirror. He's part of the reason his party is "no longer relevant."

[SueW0]

It may be easy to cheer on the demise of the Republican party, but I would rather see it grow some brains and strike up a relationship with reality. I may be a Democrat now but I have no party loyalty whatsoever. I want to see what's good for the country as a whole, and a marginalized, barely coherent extreme right wing doesn't have anything useful to contribute to the political conversation.

[Grunty1]

The Republican party is running the same campaign now as they have for over a century: the rich first and only the rich. All other wedge issues are merely to fool people into voting for them.

[canucklivinginUSA]

same here. If the Republicans go back to what made them a viable party with good principles and a more secular POV, I might consider voting for them, as long as they have a visionary as leader.

[FanaticRealist]

Depends on what you mean by 'visionary'.

At the moment, most countries need leaders who have their policies grounded in the practicalities of fixing a broken banking system and all of the fall-out from that break-down.

Reagan was a visionary as is Bush 43: the problem is the vision is fundamentally flawed and antithetical to the development of a sustainable and fair society.

This is actually the problem with "new" Republicans: they confuse the words 'society' and 'socialism' and misuse both of them even when they don't have them confused. For entertainment, try using the words "social cohesion" on a Repub.

If Cantor is only now coming to the conclusion that the GOP is all about ideology and pseudo-religious cant, then he needs to ask himself why he wasn't smart enough to make that observation back in March or July: his party spent a fortune promoting fear and uncertainty whilst insulting people who were not perceived as "real Americans", when - after the 2006 mid-terms - they had a long opportunity to define a practical "one nation" policy platform.

[JoeBear55]

Let's not set the last eight years aside, as a fact let's always remember the last eight years. Never again to succumb to their jingoism of country first, responsable government, moral values, we are a center right country, pro life, and whatever other crap they try to shove down our throats. Remember a party of republicans is a party of liars. So in 2010 and 2012, They will still be the same old liars but with a different jingle. If they ever get back into power again we will be treated to the same old policies that their ideoligy dictates, and voters, that won't be pretty, we have suffered enoungh at their hands. Until they change their ideoligy and they get some new faces in their leadership­/membershi­p that have never heard or Ronald Reagon and who beleive in the Separation of Church and State. Until that happens Republicans shouldn't be allwed within 200 miles of Washington.

[Obama4change]

This is the Republicans leader? This will guaranteed that more Democrats are going to be voted in to the Senate and Congress in 2010. It is a new world and the old, slime ball tricks are no longer relevant. When it comes to politics CNN, FOX NEWS, ABC, NBC and CBS are not longer relevant either. Huffington Post, Daily Kos, MSNBC (minus Joey and David Gregory) rule!!!! This is the MOMENT, This is the TIME!!!!!!

[souris]

..........­...so, now will every one in MSM stop calling this a "center-right" nation when, in fact, we are "CENTER-LEFT" [as evidenced by the Obama/Democratic landslide]!!!!!

[HeevenSteven]

With people like Cantor "leading" them, they'll stay that way.

[Toonadude]

Now don't be too tough on yourself there Mr. Cantor. The workers in the Spam factory are putting in major overtime to catch up with the demand as generated by the leadership and vision of G.W. Bush and Co.

Republicans irrelevant ? ----- I think NOT.

[AmbivalentGuy]

They've done wonders for the environment too.
My little town's cleaner than ever - a beer can,
discarded aluminum windows, furniture,
it's all magically cleaned up in hours.

[SecondBase]

I assume we all remember Rep. Cantor's performance during the bailout crisis.

Take a good look.

This guy is the future of the GOP.

[canucklivinginUSA]

I seriously cross my fingers it would be Pawlenty, however, I wouldn't want him to run for 2012. If Obama does a good job, Pawlenty would definitely lose. So, I say, let the crazies run, while the moderates create a good strategy to return to power

[zest]

The smear tactics no longer work for the republicans because voters have heard wolf cried too many times. If repub smears were true the opposition canidates would be in jail for theire illegid misdeeds; more repubs seem to taking the purp walk. Repubs have nothing to talk about because they are the handsoff goverment policy idealoges. They want gov to fail to prove their theory that gov is the problem. Bankrupt the beast and starve the beast is their policy. Well that's just not going to work in this complicated interconnected world we live in now. Milton Friedman and the repubs will remain irrelivant for a very long time.

[iswideopen]

Well, Eric, you seem to be the first republican to really "get it". The far right wing religous republicans have destroyed your party. Every American is entitled to their own opinions, however, we Americans take serious issue about our rights; ALL OF THEM. We are adults and can make our own decisions. What we refuse to allow is anyone else demanding we take their views via legislated law. We demand the right to make our own choices; GOD truly is our judge and jury, not some group of Evangelicals who take one sentence out of the BIBLE and twist it for their own use. It has become so politically toxic, we hope you republicans stay in the wilderness for many, many, years. Trickle-down economics is as old as the current republican slogan(s); keep taxes low, no government spending; pro-life. Where in these is an "idea" or anything of "substance" to challenge. This is why the country is in the state it is today; republican ignorance and un-intelligence. AKA: The party of divide and conquer. Truly pathetic.

[WasteNJ]

Eric Cantor is the best they can do?
Excellent. I watched Cantor crumble several times on Hardball, he's nothing but a talking points robot. No capacity for constructive or creative thought.

[zyxt]

I saw that too --thank god for Youtube it will be around for the next elelction.