Eric Cantor grows a ball. It's only tick sized and there's only one of them, but grown it he has.

[Bucky]

Cantor Says Tea Party's Dachau Photos 'Inappropriate,' Takes Issue With Limbaugh


At yesterday's tea party rally on Capitol Hill, at least one protester brandished a large graphic photograph of the victims of the Dachau Nazi concentration camp, comparing health care reform to Nazi policies. Today, Rep. Eric Cantor's (R-VA) spokesman called the photograph "inappropriate."

Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) has also condemned the poster.

I guess I applaud this step in the right direction. But "inappropriate" is not the right response to showing graphic photos of genocide victims and comparing it to lowering healthcare costs. "Inappropriate" is when your 12 year old kid tells a fart joke at the dinner table. Steve Israel got it right: the correct response to dragging the Holocaust into a healthcare debate is condemnation.

Cantor was equally tepid with the topic of Limbaugh's appalling behavior. In an interview with Bloomberg News he said

“Do I condone the mention of Hitler in any discussion about politics? ... “No, I don’t, because obviously that is something that conjures up images that frankly are not, I think, very helpful.”

What a weasel job. Letting your mom carry in the groceries from the garage while you watch Scooby Doo is "not helpful." When Limbaugh compares Obama's healthcare logo to a swastika is vile and disgusting. Of course in the next few days I expect Cantor to have to apologize to Limbaugh for even this mild distancing from his sickening antics. But for the time being, Cantor seems to be taking the role as this year's Condi Rice.

You remember Rice? She was one of the craven assclowns who in 2002 ridiculously called themselves "The Vulcans" as they prepared for a totally awesome string of wars for other people's kids to fight (the hit list included Somalia, Syria, and mind-bogglingly Iran all in a projected three to four year time line) and fancied themselves the new Napoleons. Then, when Colin Powell left the room in disgust following the '04 elections, she somehow became the designated adult in the room. The job was not a good fit. She managed to quit the childish "liberate the region" and "form of a mushroom cloud" talk, but she didn't actually get anything done. Still she did manage to at least sound responsible--ultimately meaningless but at least a stab at recognizing the limitation of earthly, grown up realities.

Well, Dr. Rice has crawled back into her corporate cubby hole, a ridiculous and discredited failure like all her fellow Vulcans--a reference to the Roman god of the forge rather than Leonard Nimoy--and the designated grown up role in today's Republican circus has fallen onto other shoulders. More well-bred than genuinely responsible, it's Eric Cantor's job now to hang back from the right wing's rhetorical mosh pit and meekly wonder, "Gee, guys, I'm not sure if this whole 'Hitler' thing is such a good idea."

If he can manage to withstand Limbaugh's inevitable smackdown for even that meek bit of "not helpful" criticism, we might begin to see a movement within the Republican Party to actually debate against healthcare on conservative principles rather than assaulting it with a toddler's temper tantrums. We might, but honestly, I hold out no hope that the vast bulk of Republicans can behave like adults in this debate.

History has consistantly upheld the 'open marketplace of ideas' concept created by the Founding generation of Americans, the US Constitution, and the First Amendment. If you let the competing ideas fight it out in public debates, the best ideas generally win. Conservatives have had their chance to discuss their ideas, even to put them into practice over the past 30 years since the Reaganauts commandeered the Republican Party. Their ideas, for the most part, have failed. Had they been successful, Republicans wouldn't today resort to bogus "you're unamerican" arguments and hysterical name calling tactics to distract their voters from actually thinking about the Democrats' counter proposals. It's not just hubris or hatred that motivates the Conservative elite to abandon civility in debate; it's fear.

They fear that, given the full run of the federal government for six years, their core ideas proved to be utter, utter failures. The fear that their movement is doomed, in the words of their patron saint, to be "left in the ash heap of history." If Republicans seem a little nihilistic in their debates, please be kind, for they have a reason for fearing the end of the world. Like with a child throwing a tantrum, you won't help them with their problems either by screaming at them or by trying to reason with them. They need reassurance, not logical arguments. Logic is for grown ups. Someday they'll get there, but for the time being they need unconditional love. If you really want to give them that love, passing healthcare reform would be a good place to start.

[spanone]

1. 'inappropriate' is hardly a testicle.... 'unacceptable' is a tad closer

imagine mr cantor's outrage had the democrats held up depictions of the dead from the holocaust....pictures of piled bodies, no less

[AlinPA]

2. Cantor will be on his knees in front of Limbaugh begging for forgiveness very soon. nt

[rurallib]

5. Yep - zRush ain't gonna like that kind of talk.

Rush may even bust him back to regular congressman.

[Ineeda]

3. Too little, too late.

Especially being Jewish, you'd think he'd be protesting this abominable rhetoric at the top of his lungs. Of course, every one of our public spokespeople - media and elected officials, Democrat or Republican, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, atheist or other - all should be forcefully repudiating it. Yeah, like that will happen.

[JohnnyLib2]

4. Rec for the marvelous writing and imagery.

:thumbsup:

My ladylike mother might have called him a "little pissant," but I like this eloquence!

[Kansas Wyatt]

6. I would like the Right Wing, Limbaugh, Beck, & Teabaggers to explain...

If Barack Obama was in 1930s Germany, where would he be?

We know, but I want these dumb mother fuckers to explain it.

They are ONLY projecting their own faults, guilt, and sick wishes onto their opponent, and that is all.

These Nuts get to keep spewing their illogical bullshit, and NOBODY calls them out and asks them how that could even be remotely possible. They can't justify their position, yet are allowed to continue with their tirade.

[Are_grits_groceries]

7. Meh!

Rush sent a tick over.

[arcadian]

8. AIPAC is a bigger bread winner for Cantor.

He knows his masters.

[SoFlaJet]

9. About time one of them spoke out

I mean this is a party that I have voted for back in the 80's I can't ever no I WILL never ever cast a vote for any man woman or alien with an R after his, her, or it's name. I used to vote for who I thought was the best person for the job but after George Bush stole the election in 2000 some of us will never vote for them again. It was a very short-sighted and costly coup. And I mean NEVER EVER EVER...

[monmouth]

10. Perhaps Cantor's Rabbi had a "word." This is appalling to the Jewish Comm...n/t

[lonestarnot]

11. Is that diaper dude or do I have him mixed up with another?

[NYCGirl]

12. You're thiniking of David Vitter. Eric Cantor is that rarest of species, the

Jewish Republican.

[lonestarnot]

13. Oh yeah that!

:puke: