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Eric Cantor
Same Old Republican...

Will It Help Him Overcome His Little "Abramoff Problem?"
At Fundraiser, Jack Abramoff Named Sandwich After Eric Cantor -- Cantor Asked To Switch Sandwiches. "At a January 2003 fundraiser for Cantor, who had just become chief deputy whip, Abramoff unveiled the Eric Cantor sandwich, 'a tuna-based stacker,' which, lamentably, was 'not quite [the] power lunch befitting' the only Jewish Republican in the House. Hen a request by Cantor ... to switch his eponymous sandwich to roast beef on challah, 'a deli special that exudes Jewish power.'" [The Hill, 1/18/2006]



Cantor Co-Signed a Letter That Would Protect Abramoff Tribal Client. In 2003, Rep. Cantor co-signed a letter to Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Majority Whip Roy Blunt opposing a plan by the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians to open a casino at a non-reservation site, expected at the time to be outside Shreveport, La., not far from a casino owned by the Coushattas. The letter endorsed a view of gambling law benefiting the Coushattas' desire to block gambling competition by another tribe.  The Coushattas were an Abramoff client, and Abramoff lobbied to get the letter organized, signed, and sent to Secretary Norton.  According to a report in the Washington Post, the intent of the letter was to protect the income from the Coushattas' casino -- about $300 million a year. [Washington Post, 9/28/04; Chicago Tribune, 1/5/06]

Cantor Co-Hosted Improper Signatures Fundraiser With Abramoff. Jack Abramoff and House Deputy Republican Whip Eric Cantor co-hosted a fundraiser for then Rep. David Vitter at Abramoff's Signatures restaurant. In April 2005, Vitter admitted to the Federal Elections Commission that he failed to pay for the expenses for the fundraiser. According to the Times Picayune, Rep. Eric Cantor was "the marquee guest" at the event. [New Orleans Times Picayune, 4/16/05, NRCC Events List]



Abramoff Held Undisclosed Fundraiser for Cantor at Stacks. In January 2003, Abramoff held a fundraiser for Cantor at Abramoff's Stacks restaurant. At the $500 per plate dinner, Abramoff announced that he would name a sandwich at Stacks after Cantor. However, by June 2003, Cantor had failed to pay Stacks for the cost of the event or disclose any debt owed. Cantor's campaign consultant said that though Cantor was required to disclose any debt owed within 60 days, Cantor was late because he had not yet received an invoice from Stacks. Cantor's consultant said that the invoice had just arrived and that the debt of $1,732.52 was immediately paid. [Forward, 1/31/03; National Journal's House Race Hotline, 6/20/03]


A Legend In His Own Mind: Cantor Campaigning Hard For Job
Cantor Waited Until Every Other Candidate Dropped Out To Endorse John McCain. On February 9, 2008 -- two days after Mitt Romney suspended his campaign making McCain the presumptive nominee, Cantor endorsed John McCain: 'John McCain is about honor, duty and country above all else ... He is an unapologetic defender of our nation’s security and will be an excellent president ... He has been a leader in the U.S. Senate in fighting wasteful government spending and I look forward to working with him to ensure that the federal government starts working for the people again.'" [Eric Cantor for Congress blog post, 2/9/08]

Cantor Posted Articles On His Own Campaign Blog Suggesting a McCain/Cantor Ticket. Cantor posted the following: "RTD Op/Ed: McCain- Cantor? That's the Winning Ticket - In case you missed it, Bob Rayner had some nice things to say about Eric Cantor today. 'As a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Cantor brings the clout and experience on economic and tax issues that many believe McCain lacks. He was a businessman before being elected to the House in 2000 and has been an eloquent spokesman for pro-growth policies ever since.' This Just In: Stuart Roy at The Hill’s Pundits Blog agrees." [Eric Cantor for Congress blog post, 4/23/08]

Cantor Colleague Virgil Goode Wrote to Rick Davis Touting Cantor for VP. "One Virginia congressman is trying to boost the vice presidential prospects of another. Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., R-5th, has written to Sen. John McCain's campaign manager touting Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th. 'I believe that it is highly important that [McCain] look right and not left in selecting his vice presidential running mate,' Goode wrote Wednesday in a letter to McCain campaign manager Rick Davis. Goode says that Cantor, chief deputy whip of the House Republicans, is 'a consistent conservative' on issues such as gun rights, spending, abortion and illegal immigration and would energize the Republican base. 'With Eric on the ticket,' Goode wrote, 'Virginia will remain a red state and John McCain will be elected president of the United States.'" [Richmond Times Dispatch, 7/25/08]

Cantor Has Contributed $17,000 to Goode's campaign through his leadership PAC
$5,000 in 2008 Cycle
$10,000 in 2006 Cycle
$2,000 in 2004 Cycle
[OpenSecrets.org]

Cantor Offers Four More Years of Bush/Cheney on Iraq
Cantor Opposed Accountability of Spending in Iraq. In 2008, Rep. Eric Cantor voted against an amendment to the fiscal year 2009 Defense Authorization bill. The amendment would require the president to submit a report on the long-term costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan within 90 days of the bill's passage. This report would include the costs of operations, reconstruction and health care benefits through at least fiscal year 2068. [2008 House Vote #360, 5/22/08]

Cantor Argued That the President Does Not Need Congress To Go To War. Cantor participated in a debate on MSNBC's Hardball in which he argued that the President does not need Congress to go to war, in a discussion about going to war with Iran: "MATTHEWS: 'Congressman Cantor, why did the president ask for approval of Congress before he went to Iraq?' CANTOR: 'I certainly think his counsel gave him guidance why he need to do that but the Constitution gives the commander in chief the right to send our troops into battle.' MATTHEWS: 'Maybe when it comes to war we don‘t need a Congress according to that. Thank you very much Congressman Cantor, thank you Congressman Israel.'" [MSNBC, Hardball, 2/9/07]

Cantor Opposed Setting Benchmarks for Success in Iraq. In July 2005, Rep. Eric Cantor voted against a measure requiring President Bush to set public benchmarks for measuring U.S. progress in Iraq in areas such as defeating the insurgency, establishing democratic institutions and bringing U.S. troops home. Representative Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), who made the motion, urged benchmarks "so we know exactly what we need to do to achieve success in Iraq. Up to this point, Congress has abdicated its responsibility on Iraq. The Republican leadership has provided the administration with a blank check when it comes to Iraq." [2005 House Vote #398, 7/20/2005; Aberdeen American News, 7/24/05]

Cantor Opposed Investigation into Contractor Spending in Iraq. In 2005, Rep. Eric Cantor voted against an amendment to provide $5 million to establish a select committee to investigate reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, including contracting procedures, protection against money laundering, and the allocation of contracts to foreign companies and small businesses. [2005 House Vote #72, 3/15/05]

2004: Cantor On Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "One Of The Greatest Public Servants In Recent History." During an appearance on CNN's Capitol Gang, Eric Cantor staunchly defended Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his responsibility over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, saying "It is a shame when they take somebody like Secretary Rumsfeld, who has been what I think one of the greatest public servants in recent history, and do this to this man." [Capitol Gang, 5/8/04]

2001: Cantor Wanted To Go After Governments Of Iran, Iraq, And Syria, "Without A Question." On an appearance on Hannity and Colmes in October 22 of 2001, Eric Cantor was asked if the United States should also be "going after" the governments of Iraq and Iran. Cantor replied, "Iran, Iraq, and Syria without a question because, if we are to win this war, we must go after the source of this international terror, which are the sponsoring states, because really, by definition, if you've got terrorists with a global reach, there needs to be sponsoring states behind them to give them the geographic base from which to operate, to give them the communications infrastructure and essentially the military training and the financing needed to pull off these grandiose terrorist attacks." [Hannity and Colmes, 10/22/01]