Eric Cantor Vs. The Proven Truth

Jan 3rd, 2011

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) is the face of the modern GOP. When an Earthquake hit the eastern United States last year, he used it as bargaining chip. When thousands took to the streets to protest fraud and avarice on Wall Street, he called them "mobs."

When the debt ceiling needed to be raised, be undermined his own party's Speaker and, in the process, contributed to the first ever reduction of our country's credit rating. His role in that crisis was significant for more than simply demonstarting his obstructionist tendencies. There was a more Machiavellian component. As U.S. News reported at the time, had the nation actually defaulted, Rep. Cantor and many of his principle donors stood to make a profit.

The entirety of his career has been predicated on serving the few and rendering debate opaque. But, a moment in his most recent major media interview defines him more succinctly than any of the aforementioned questionable acts.

Raw Story reports:

"Appearing on the CBS News program 60 Minutes on Sunday night, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) experienced an awkward moment when he was challenged to admit that his hero, President Ronald Reagan, did in fact raise taxes."

This is a fact. It is not an ideological interpretation of policy. However, Cantor has no use for this fact.

"Cantor tried to deflect the focus by mentioning that Reagan cut taxes, but Stahl reiterated her point.

Upset at the reporter, Cantor’s press secretary yelled off camera, "That’s not true, and I don’t want to let that stand." EMPHASIS OURS

When you tell child that there is no Santa Claus and they yell, "that's not true," it can be forgiven. This, on the other hand, cannot. Cantor and his team are so endeared to their own fantasy narrative of America that they will have a tantrum, on national television, to defend the provably untrue.

Steve Benen writes:

"Unfortunately for Cantor and his press secretary, reality is stubborn. The facts are indisputable: in Ronald Reagan’s first term, he signed off on a series of tax increases — even when unemployment was nearing 11% — and proceeded to raise taxes seven out of the eight years he was in office. The truth is, “no peacetime president has raised taxes so much on so many people” as Reagan.

Of particular interest is the “Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982,” the largest of Reagan’s tax increases, and generally considered the largest tax increase — as a percentage of the economy — in modern American history. In fact, between 1982 and 1984, Reagan raised taxes four times, and as Bruce Bartlett has explained more than once, Reagan raised taxes 12 timesduring his eight years in office.

Why do Cantor, his press secretary, and Republicans everywhere deny what is plainly true? Because reality is terribly inconvenient: the GOP demi-god rejected the right-wing line on always opposing tax increases; he willingly compromised with Democrats on revenue; and the economy soared after Reagan raised taxes, disproving the Republican assumption that tax increases always push the nation towards recessions.

In other words, Reagan’s legacy makes the contemporary Republican Party look ridiculous. No wonder Cantor’s press secretary started yelling: Stahl was bringing up facts that are never supposed to be repeated out loud."

Full video of the interview is below. The moment in question is shortly after the ten minute mark.