Cantormageddon: Political Earthquake Roundup the Morning After

At the clip, CBS News political director John Dickerson comments, and his piece at Slate, "Haunted House: Eric Cantor’s surprise defeat is a warning to all Republicans: Be very afraid."

And Media Matters takes CBS to task for not disclosing Frank Luntz's ties to Eric Cantor, "CBS News Doesn't Tell Viewers Its Pro-Eric Cantor Analyst Was Paid By His Campaign."

At the clip, Luntz admits, "We Republican pollster suck."



More:

* At WaPo, "Cantor internal poll claims 34-point lead over primary opponent Brat."

* Erick Erickson, at Fox News, "Why Cantor Lost."

* National Journal, "Eric Cantor's Pollster Tries to Explain Why His Survey Showed Cantor Up 34 Points."

* WaPo, "Chaos erupts at Cantor’s election night headquarters after his departure."

* Mickey Kaus, at the Daily Caller, "Notes on Cantormageddon."

* Politico, "For Barack Obama, Eric Cantor loss comes with a price."

* Big Government, "Lamar Alexander, Thad Cochran Brace for Falls After Cantor Crumbles?"

* Hot Air, "Did Cantor really lose because of immigration?"

* Los Angeles Times, "Eric Cantor upset: How Dave Brat pulled off a historic political coup."

* Wall Street Journal, "GOP Leadership Scramble: Five Lawmakers to Watch."

* Chris Cillizza, "The seismic political consequences of Eric Cantor’s stunning loss."

* John Judis, at TNR, "Dave Brat and the Triumph of Rightwing Populism."

* Wall Street Journal, "David Brat’s Writings: Hitler’s Rise ‘Could All Happen Again’."

* USA Today, "House GOP grapples with Cantor's loss."

Tea Party Challenger Takes Out House Majority Leader Eric Cantor

Wow.

I had no clue Cantor's seat was in jeopardy.

From Guy Benson, at Town Hall, "EARTHQUAKE: Eric Cantor Loses Primary to Unheralded, Under-funded Tea Party Challenger."

And at WaPo, "Eric Cantor succumbs to tea party challenger Tuesday":

In a stunning upset propelled by tea party activists, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was defeated in Tuesday’s congressional primary, with insurgent David Brat delivering an unpredicted and devastating loss to the second most powerful Republican in the House who has widely been touted as a future speaker.

The race called shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern by the Associated Press.

Brat’s victory gives the GOP a volatile outlook for the rest of the campaign season, with the party establishment struggling late Tuesday to grapple with the news and tea party conservatives relishing a surprising win.

“This is an earthquake,” said former Minnesota congressman Vin Weber, a friend of Cantor’s. “No one thought he’d lose.” But Brat, tapping into conservative anger over Cantor’s role in supporting efforts to reform federal immigration laws, found a way to combat Cantor’s significant financial edge.

Brat, an economics professor, simply failed to show up to D.C. meetings with powerful conservative agitators last month, citing upcoming finals. He only had $40,000 in the bank at the end of March, according to first quarter filings. Cantor had $2 million.

Despite those shortcomings, Brat has exposed discontent with Cantor in the solidly Republican, suburban Richmond 7th Congressional District by attacking the lawmaker on his votes to raise the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown, as well as his support for some immigration reforms. At a May meeting of Republican activists in the district, Cantor was booed, and an ally he campaigned for was ousted as the local party chairman in favor of a tea party favorite.

Expect updates.

ADDED: At Twitchy, "‘Truly stunned’: Eric Cantor getting clobbered in Virginia; Dave Brat shows early lead; Update: Brat takes it."

Eric Cantor's Concession Speech

Oh boy, Brat crushed Cantor nearly 56 to 44 percent.

Megyn Kelly is on right now with an early repeat Kelly File, where we'd normally be watching O'Reilly reruns.

I'll have more.

Here's Cantor at the clip, "Obviously, we came up short."

And at Politico, "CANTOR LOSES":

LIVE FROM CANTOR HQ: The Cantor team appears to have shut off the projector screen showing the primary tally.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 10, 2014

RICHMOND, Va. — It wasn’t enough that Eric Cantor spent $1 million in the weeks leading up to the election, when his primary opponent hardly had $100,000 in his campaign coffers.

It didn’t matter that the House majority leader, 51, branded Dave Brat a liberal hack, and himself as the guardian of the Republican creed. On Tuesday night, Cantor, who was swept into the majority leader’s suite in a tea party wave, was swept out by the same movement.

Cantor conceded the race around 8:25 p.m. — shortly after the Associated Press pronounced Cantor’s 13-year political career at least temporarily over. With nearly 98 percent of precincts reporting, Brat had 55 percent of the vote, while Cantor had 44 percent. People close to Cantor said internal polls showed him hovering near 60 percent in the runup to the race.

It’s one of the most stunning losses in modern House politics, and completely upends the GOP hierarchy in both Virginia and Washington. Cantor enjoyed a meteoric rise that took him from chief deputy whip, to minority whip to majority leader in the span of 13 years.  Cantor was seen by many as the next speaker of the House, biding his time until Ohio Rep. John Boehner wanted to retire.

But now, Cantor has just six months left in Congress. He is the second incumbent to lose this primary season: 91-year-old Texas Rep. Ralph Hall was the first.  The loss will ripple across Washington, too: from political consultants who worked for Cantor to his aides who decamped for K Street, there will be reverberations...

More.

"Brat has accused the House majority leader of being a top cheerleader for 'amnesty' for immigrants in the U.S. illegally..."

Heh, that's the juicy quote from a WaPo piece last Friday, "Tea partier takes aim at Cantor in Va. primary."

And see Michael Patrick Leahy, at Big Government, "Cantor Primary Challenger David Brat: Anti-Amnesty Mailer 'Act of a Desperate Campaign'":

Eric Cantor's primary challenger David Brat ripped the Majority Leader as “the number one Republican supporter of amnesty” in a dramatic press conference steps away from a rival event by a liberal Democrat intended to paint Cantor as the face of GOP intransigence on immigration.

The day after Cantor portrayed himself as an anti-amnesty warrior in campaign literature, Brat accused Cantor of coordinating with Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), the Democrat holding the rival press conference, to provide him political cover in his moment of greatest need.

Cantor, Brat noted, had previously visited sites with Gutierrez in a pro-immigration reform tour. "You would have to be pretty gullible not to see a link there," Brat said.

The long-shot challenge from Brat has improbably gained national attention after Cantor was booed and heckled by a crowd of Tea Party activists at a recent Republican party event. Cantor has had to go on air with attack ads fact-checkers have criticized as misleading and adopt the language of anti-amnesty hawks in his mailers, clashing with his “making life work” rebranding effort.

Typically, party leaders are able to win reelection easily, especially in primaries, so the concerted efforts by Cantor are seen as deeply embarrassing for the Virginia Republican considered Speaker John Boehner's heir apparent.

"This is the act of a desperate campaign," Brat said about the mailer.

More.

BONUS: You gotta love it, at the leftist New Republic, "Immigration Reform Died With Eric Cantor's Shocking Loss to a Tea Party Challenger."

And at BuzzFeed, "Only President Obama Can Help Undocumented Immigrants Now, Advocates Say."

Reid Epstein's Appalling Meme Suggesting Dave Brat Would Exterminate the Jews — #VA07

At Twitchy, "‘Just nasty’: What exactly is WSJ trying to suggest with this piece on Dave Brat?"

And from John Podhoretz, at Commentary, "An Appalling Cantor Meme":

That's some remarkable bullshit. RT @Tyler_McNally pic.twitter.com/JHGQmY3jN7
— Neal (@Neal_Dewing) June 11, 2014

That Dave Brat Would Exterminate the Jews As the commentariat rushes to find meta-meaning in the defeat of Eric Cantor last night—a difficult task, because his primary loss was clearly the result of several smaller factors that added up into one serious shellacking—there’s one that’s especially cheap and especially disgraceful. So disgraceful, in fact, that it’s only hinted at in either an easily denied or giggly sort of way. And that is the idea that Cantor lost in his district because he is a Jew.

Among the reasons adduced by the regrettable Norman Ornstein in the New York Daily News: “He was highly visible as the only Jewish Republican in the House, in a district with a strong evangelical presence.” The fact that Cantor has served the district as a Jew for 23 and a half years is not noted, nor is the fact that evangelicals are more likely to be philo- than anti-Semitic.

Reid Epstein of the Wall Street Journal proffered his own version in this cute set of sentences:  “David Brat, the Virginia Republican who shocked House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Tuesday, wrote in 2011 that Hitler’s rise ‘could all happen again, quite easily.’ Mr. Brat’s remarks, in a 2011 issue of Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, came three years before he defeated the only Jewish Republican in Congress.” How Brat’s invocation of Hitler relates to Cantor’s Judaism is not clear, but Epstein decided to link them, and the link is suggestive, and not in a good way.

No, not a good way at all. More like a leftist exterminationist way.

Also at the Other McCain, "Libertarians Are Hitler or Something."

PREVIOUSLY: "Leftists Spew Anti-Semitism in Response to Eric Cantor Loss in #VA07."

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor at AIPAC Policy Conference: VIDEO

At Weasel Zippers, "GOP Leader Eric Cantor Rips Obama at AIPAC Conference, Says Arab “Hatred” of Jews to Blame For Lack of Peace…" (Via Memeorandum.) And at Weekly Standard, "Eric Cantor: 'It Is Not About the '67 Lines'."

Plus, a long analysis from Jennifer Rubin, "Reaction to Obama’s AIPAC Speech."

Added: From Ron Radosh, "Eric Cantor Gives AIPAC Delegates a Lesson on Which Political Party Really Supports Israel and America’s Alliance with the Jewish State."

Why Can't Cantor See Britney?

Okay, here's the Huffington Post's headline on Representative Eric Cantor's Britney Spears faux scandal: "Cantor Watched Britney Spears Concert During Obama Presser, Landrieu Denies Rumors."

I don't get it. Everyone saying how the GOP's got to get hip with the younger crowd, and as soon as one of the party's rising stars goes out for an evening of entertainment, it's Britney-gate.

This is no big deal. As Sister Toldjah notes:

The latest “scandal” brewing at far left blogs involves a story that first broke at the liberal Wonkette blog about how House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) allegedly “blew off” Obama’s presser Tuesday night for a Britney Spears concert. Think Progress sums up the thoughts of the far left on this “issue” (via JWF) ....

Are these people really that stupid that they don’t understand the difference between the President of the United States trying to sell his econ plan on a late night talk show versus the House Minority Whip attending a concert, allegedly with a few Congressional Democrats (or was it at the request of a fundraiser?), during (the latter part of - see update below) the Obama presser? Apparently so.

Are these fruitcakes also not aware that it’s possible that Cantor recorded or TiVo’d the presser? At last check, only one bright bulb thought to speculate on that possibility, seeing that Cantor talked at length Wednesday morning on NBC about what Obama said at the press conference.

Republicans need to go to more concerts. Screw political correctness. They need to get out and have some fun. Good for Cantor, but you've got to ask yourself, why is Mary Landrieu denying this? I don't think the issue is the missed press conference. It's that officials don't want to be seen as morally depraved. Wow, and we thought social conservatism was dead?

More at Memeorandum.

Leftists Spew Anti-Semitism in Response to Eric Cantor Loss in #VA07

At Twitchy, "Left pivots from ‘Tea Party is dead’ to ‘Tea Party hates Jews’ after Cantor loses."

Also at Expose Liberals, "Progressive bigots claim Eric Cantor lost because he’s Jewish," and Yid With Lid, "A Word to the Idiots Who Are Blaming Eric Cantor's Loss on Tea Party Jew Hatred":

.@BTiBeauty You know YOU'RE racist for raising the anti-Semitism card, right?
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 11, 2014

.@Redistrict Raising the anti-Semitism card? Stay classy dude.
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 11, 2014

I once read that when God created the world, sparks of his holiness were spread across the earth. Every time that a person makes the choice of performing a righteous act, one of those sparks is purified and sent back to heaven, through that process we become closer to God.

Liberal/Progressive government takes away that choice. It assumes that left to our own devices, we will do the wrong thing (or at least what they say is the wrong thing), government takes over the role of God, and steps in to control our decisions. Liberalism takes away our personal choice and gives it to the government, retarding our spiritual development and most importantly, the opportunity to get closer to our maker....

The Jewish picture of God is of a creator who instilled in us a personal responsibility to do the right thing, but he also provided us with the choice to accept that responsibility or not. Just like the tea party. There is no room in Jewish law for a government that forces us to do (their interpretation) of the right thing. There is also little room for a Government that does not include religion and morality in their consideration set before they make decisions.

It is Tea Party conservatism that best matches Jewish tradition. When it comes right down to it, tradition tells us those principals such as limited government, individual responsibility, and traditional morals are all Jewish principles.

Eric Cantor Slams Obama on Response to Jerusalem Terror Attack

At The Hill, "After bombing, Cantor hits Obama admin. handling of Israel." Also, at Israel Matzav, "Cantor statement on suicide bombing nails Obama." And from the Office of Rep. Eric Cantor, "Leader Cantor's Statement on Violence in Israel":

“Today’s bombing in Jerusalem is another chilling reminder of the obstacles Israel faces in its quest to live in peace with its neighbors. Israel is a true friend to the United States and a vital strategic ally in an unstable region. In the face of unremitting terror, Israel can count on the continued support of the United States as exercises its right to defend its people.

“Within the past two weeks, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza have launched dozens of unprovoked rocket attacks at innocent Israelis, while in the West Bank a terrorist brutally murdered a family as they slept in their home. These attacks must not be downplayed as mere episodes in a game of tit-for-tat between Israelis and Palestinians. There is absolutely no justification for deliberate and deadly attacks on innocent civilians.

“This kind of violence does not emerge in a vacuum; it is incubated through education and nurtured by popular culture. The sooner the world comes to grips with this reality, the sooner that there will be peace in the region. That’s why we must use the recent attacks to address the root cause of this violence: anti-Israel incitement in Palestinian mosques, schools and media – and the blanket refusal on the part of the Palestinians to accept Israel’s right to exist that it has created.

“The Administration has called on Israel to make sweeping concessions that I believe will endanger its security, but it doesn’t seem to demand similar from the Palestinians. That’s why I support bipartisan efforts in the House and Senate that call on the White House to put an end to anti-Israel incitement in the Palestinian territories. No matter how much we desire Mideast peace, it will remain a pipe dream so long as Palestinian culture makes martyrs of terrorists who target innocents.”

Leftist Jews and the 'Dual Loyalty' Smear Against Eric Cantor

Not enough time to blog everything, obviously. Not only that, I'm cutting back a bit on the high-powered political blogging. But this controversy surrounding incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor caught my attention. Cantor's Jewish. I can't imagine he'll ever be able to make any forceful statement on the protection of Israel without being attacked as a shill for "genocide." But the GOP's still weeks from taking power in the House, so the left's out of the gate pretty quick with the smears. Think Progress slammed Cantor earlier, "In An ‘Unusual’ Meeting, Cantor Tells Netanyahu The GOP Majority ‘Will Serve As A Check’ On Obama’s Israel Policy." That was followed by a round of attacks from the usual self-hating lefist Jews, as reported by William Jacobson, "Why Do Leftist Jewish Bloggers Love The Dual Loyalty Smear?"

I left a comment earlier. I'm always blown away by Mondoweiss, and this morning's no exception:

As I've reported earlier, "Philip Weiss met with Hamas terrorists last year, at an event co-sponsored by Code Pink and Norman Finkelstein. That gives a pretty good idea how far out these people are, enemies even."

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl Suspend Participation in White House Debt Ceiling Negotiations

At ABC News, "Top Republicans Walk Out of VP Biden's Debt Talks":

Vice President Joe Biden's debt ceiling talks hit a brick wall Thursday after two key Republicans walked out in a dispute over the idea of raising taxes.

The departures of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Thursday morning left the formerly bicameral, bipartisan talks with no Republicans left at the negotiating table.

Cantor said the group had reached an "impasse" because Republicans oppose any and all tax hikes, while Democrats say they are a necessary in a balanced attempt at deficit reduction.

"As it stands, the Democrats continue to insist that any deal must include tax increases," Cantor said. "There is not support in the House for a tax increase, and I don't believe now is the time to raise taxes in light of our current economic situation. Regardless of the progress that has been made, the tax issue must be resolved before discussions can continue."

Also at Wall Street Journal, "Tax Dispute Stalls Debt Talks" (via Memeorandum).

Eric Cantor's Home Style — #VA07

An outstanding piece, from Sean Trende, at RealClearPolitics, "What Cantor's Loss and Graham's Win Mean":

In his political science classic, “Home Style: House Members in Their Districts,” Richard Fenno hypothesized that members of Congress have three goals: re-election, power in Washington, and enacting policy preferences. To pursue the second two goals, a member must achieve the first, and to do that, he or she must adopt a style that suits the district. If these images are not consistently reinforced, the incumbent will have trouble. Crucially, Fenno notes that the adoption of an effective home style involves a two-way communication process: Telling the constituents about oneself, but also listening to constituents. With the benefit of hindsight, we can probably apply this model to explain most of the Tea Party wins and losses over the past few years.

I have yet to read anything suggesting that Cantor had a good home style. His staff is consistently described as aloof, and his constituent service is lacking. This is consistent with my experience. Anecdotes are not data, but after passage of the Affordable Care Act, I called his office with a question about what autism therapies for my son would now be covered (I lived in Cantor’s district for six years). I never heard back. This surprised me, as constituent questions rarely go unanswered. I never once saw Cantor, not at county fairs, not at school board meetings, and not in the parades that would sometimes march past our house (we lived on a major thoroughfare). This isn’t to say that Cantor never did these things, only that they weren’t frequent enough to register; he wasn’t the stereotypical Southern politician whose face showed up at every event.

In short, Cantor seemed more focused on the second and third goals of a politician -- power and policy -- to the detriment of the first. I am guessing he didn’t realize he might have a problem until he was booed at a district meeting a month ago. If he’d run scared, the result might well have been different. But he didn’t, and he lost. This is really the big-picture message for GOP incumbents. You don’t have to remake yourself into a Tea Partier. But you do have to care.

Obama Bails on Debt Talks

Well, the news you've all been waiting for!

At Los Angeles Times, "Obama ends tense debt talks with a warning":

Reporting from Washington— President Obama abruptly left debt negotiations with congressional leaders Wednesday at the White House when a top Republican said there was no longer time to engage in the large-scale deficit reduction discussions the White House is now seeking as part of a vote to raise the nation's debt ceiling.

The flare-up came at the end of the nearly two-hour session during which House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told the president that Congress should instead consider a series of debt ceiling votes based on spending cuts that already have been identified. Talks could then continue to identify additional cuts for subsequent votes, he said.

Republicans have refused Democrats' call for taxes on the wealthy. The president responded by ending the meeting, sources said.

"I suggested we were so far apart I didn't see in the time before us how we get to where he wants us to be," Cantor told reporters after the meeting.

Obama warned Cantor not to set such an ultimatum, and according to congressional and administration aides repeated his vow to veto legislation that would extend the debt ceiling only for a short period.

"The president told me, 'Eric, don't call my bluff. I'm going to take this to the American people,' " Cantor said.

Aides described it as the tensest meeting yet in the months of discussions, with the president at one point accusing both sides of posturing.

More at the link above. And at National Review, "Obama ‘Abruptly’ Walks Out of Debt Talks."

BONUS: Also at Politico, "No yelling at Obama today." And the segment's a little after 20 minutes:

Laura Ingraham Helped Propel Dave Brat's Campaign — #VA07

Laura Ingraham slams sham tea party "patriot" Jenny Beth Martin at the clip below.

And boy, Ingraham really racked up the creds with this insurgent win out of Virginia's 7th congressional district.

Even the far-left New York Times pumped and praised her impact on the race, "Potent Voices of Conservative Media Propelled Cantor Opponent: David Brat Was Aided by Influential Figures Like Laura Ingraham":

If Eric Cantor needed evidence that his political career was in real trouble, all he had to do was look outside his living room window one night last week. At a stately country club about half a mile from his home in the affluent Richmond suburb of Glen Allen, so many people had come to see the radio talk show host Laura Ingraham stump for Mr. Cantor’s opponent in the Republican primary, David Brat, that the overflow parking nearly reached his driveway.

Ms. Ingraham was so taken aback at the size of the crowd — inside the clubhouse, hundreds of people crammed onto staircase landings, leaned over railings and peered down at her from above — she wondered aloud what was really going on.

“We all looked at each other, saying, ‘He could totally win,'” Ms. Ingraham said in an interview. “I’ve had two moments in American politics in the last 15 years where I knew there was a big change afoot. One was when I left the Iowa caucuses in 2008. I walked out of there and said to a friend, ‘Barack Obama is going to win.’ And the other was when I left that rally last Tuesday.”

Few people did more than Ms. Ingraham to propel Mr. Brat, a 49-year-old economics professor who has never held elected office before, from obscurity to national conservative hero. And few stories better illustrate how his out-of-nowhere victory was due in large part to a unique and potent alignment of influential voices in conservative media.

Crucially, voices like Ms. Ingraham’s combined with shoe-leather, grass-roots campaign work by a highly organized local conservative movement to fill a void left by the absence of support from national Tea Party organizations and boldface Republican Party names.

Mr. Brat may have been turned away when he asked for financial support from well-funded conservative groups, and he was largely ignored by the national and local news media, which considered Mr. Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, a shoo-in. But he was a known quantity to the loyal audiences of radio personalities like Ms. Ingraham and Mark Levin, a Reagan aide and a revered figure in the conservative movement, and Breitbart.com, the website founded by the provocateur Andrew Breitbart.

Together, Mr. Levin and Ms. Ingraham reach nearly 10 million people each week. And the Breitbart sites log 60 million page views each month. Those audiences are heavy with engaged, politically motivated voters who turn out in Republican primaries — the kind of voters who came out for Mr. Brat on Tuesday.  “Of the 70,000 voters yesterday in Virginia, I am sure 95 percent go to Drudge, Breitbart, Mark Levin or Laura Ingraham every day, multiple times a day,” said Stephen K. Bannon, who wears many hats as a radio host, a filmmaker and the executive chairman of Breitbart.

More.

FLASHBACK: "Jenny Beth Martin Makes More the $450,000 Annually as National Coordinator of Tea Party Patriots!"

Cantor Rips National Public Radio: 'Taxpayer Dollars Should No Longer Be Appropriated to NPR'

I'll post the video later, but here's this from The Daily Caller, "Republicans tee off on NPR after latest O’Keefe video":

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican, ripped National Public Radio (NPR) on Tuesday after NPR foundation’s nonprofit president Ron Schiller was caught on video saying the radio network and most of its member stations would survive without federal funding.

“As we continue to identify ways to cut spending and save valuable resources, this disturbing video makes clear that taxpayer dollars should no longer be appropriated to NPR,” Cantor said in an e-mail to TheDC. “Not only have top public broadcasting executives finally admitted that they do not need taxpayer dollars to survive, it is also clear that without federal funds, public broadcasting stations self-admittedly would become eligible for more private dollars on top of the multi-million dollar donations these organizations already receive.”

The NPR and public broadcasting defunding debate has heated up as of late, and the new video conservative activist James O’Keefe released emboldens their cause. Congressman Doug Lamborn, Colorado Republican, told TheDC “it’s amazing, the attitude that these guys have,” and their “arrogance and condescension” is “just amazing.”

The initial exposé is here: "NPR executives caught on tape bashing conservatives and Tea Party, touting liberals" (via Memeorandum). Also at POWIP, "Latest O’Keefe Sting: NPR Exec Ron Schiller."

Expect updates. Meanwhile, John Cole doubles down on the racist allegations.

GOP Congressman Apologizes for Nude Swim in Israel

Rep. Kevin Yoder took off his clothes before jumping in the water --- the only one of six GOP members of Congress present for the drunk skinny-dipping in Israel.

Sounds like fun to me. At The Hill, "Rep. Yoder apologizes for skinny-dipping in Sea of Galilee."

And here's the report at the New York Times, "House Member Is Rebuked After Nude Swim in Israel":

WASHINGTON — They came to town promising something new and different, a fresh reprieve from the antics and proclivities of a “Washington” they disdained.

But during a trip to Israel last summer, several House Republican freshmen engaged in a late-night swim in the Sea of Galilee, complete with one skinny-dipping congressman whose choice threatened to tarnish the reputation of the House newcomers as superserious number-crunchers who sleep on their office couches and go to bed before midnight.

On a trip billed as a foreign policy fact-finding mission last year, a large group of Republican members of Congress, and some of their staff and family members, decided to take a swim in the sea after a long day.

Several members — including Representative Steve Southerland II of Florida, who jumped into the water holding hands with his 21-year-old daughter — said they were moved to dip for religious reasons. (The sea is believed by Christians to be the location where Jesus walked on water.)

While most of the members remained clothed, or largely so, Representative Kevin Yoder of Kansas decided to disrobe entirely, as reported first by Politico on Sunday. This sent most of the members fleeing for the shore, said a participant, and prompted a harsh rebuke the next day from  Representative Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, who was on the trip but did not swim in the sea.

More than 80 members of the House went on the trip, which was arranged by Mr. Cantor, as guests of the American Israel Education Foundation, a charity affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group. It was believed to be the largest number of members of Congress to make the trip during a single recess, according to the organizers at the time. Mr. Cantor’s comments were made to the entire traveling group, said one person there, saying that members should not detract from the trip’s mission.

RELATED: At LAT, "FBI not investigating Republican skinny-dipping, drinking in Israel."

Broadwell and Benghazi

Read it all at the link, from James Taranto at the Wall Street Journal.

And from the editors, "The Petraeus Probe":

Senate Intelligence Chairman Dianne Feinstein said Sunday she intends to investigate who knew what and when about l'affaire David Petraeus, and rightly so. The facts that are dribbling out suggest that all sorts of people knew about the CIA director's personal predicament—except the President for whom he worked.

If the leaks are correct, the FBI was investigating Mr. Petraeus for months. The unidentified sources claim that the bureau stumbled across the affair when his paramour, Paula Broadwell, sent a threatening email to another woman. The G-men then pursued the matter out of concern for a national security breach, which they say they never found.

Let's hope so, although it's hardly reassuring that the CIA chief was communicating with Ms. Broadwell via a Gmail account. Our operating assumption is that every Gmail account can be ransacked by hackers from China and elsewhere, no matter Google's GOOG +0.43% best efforts at security. For America's chief spook to leave himself vulnerable in this way is an astonishing lack of judgment for such a disciplined and experienced man.

It's also passing strange, not to say politically convenient, that these sources say the FBI alerted the White House for the first time at 5 p.m. on Election Day. The leakers say the bureau told Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who then advised Mr. Petraeus he would have to resign.

But why wait weeks to tell the White House if a CIA chief is compromised in a way that might force his resignation? A report of this kind had to have gone up the chain of command to FBI Director Robert Mueller, and probably to Attorney General Eric Holder. Did they not tell anybody at the White House, not even the general counsel? This is odd, if not a dereliction, and the information chain needs to be understood.

All the more so because House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has confirmed a news report that he was told by a whistleblower in late October about the Petraeus affair, and he then had his staff alert the office of FBI Director Mueller. Mr. Cantor deserves credit for showing discretion and good judgment in the middle of an election campaign.

But the same credit should not go to Administration officials if they kept this problem bottled up until President Obama was safely re-elected. No one wants to see Mr. Petraeus or his family further humiliated, but there are security implications that need to be explained.

Still more, "FBI Agent in Petraeus Case Under Scrutiny."

Pete Hoekstra, Former Chairman of House Intelligence Committee: 'Eric Cantor Probably Lost Touch With the People Back Home...'

Some awesome commentary from former GOP Representative Pete Hoekstra, at CNN.

Compare Hoekstra's commentary to former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's comments, where he says Cantor's defeat means that the Democrats will likely keep their Senate majority in November. Seriously, the dude's in another reality or something, and by the end of his comments Hoekstra's just shaking his head in disbelief.

Click that link above for the video.

And ICYMI, "Dana Bash on #VA07: 'You Can See I'm Speechless. It's Not Often That I'm Speechless. And I'm Not Alone In This Town...'"

Boom! New Poll Finds 65 Percent of Americans Reject Obama on #Immigration

At Gallup, "Approval of Obama's Handling of Immigration Falls to 31%."

A full 65 percent of those polled disagrees "with the way President Obama is handling immigration."

Recent developments contributing to the ongoing debate about immigration include Obama's delay of a review of deportation policies by the Department of Homeland Security in the hope of striking a legislative deal on immigration reform with Congress. Also, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's recent primary loss was widely viewed as a defeat rooted in Cantor's perceived stance on immigration. The primary loss and subsequent shakeup in House leadership could spell greater challenges for Obama as he tries to work with Republicans. Additionally, the media has recently enlarged its spotlight on the increasing numbers of unaccompanied Central American children who have crossed the U.S. border, seeking their already immigrated family members and a generally better life.

Obama's approval on immigration has dropped since last August across all political affiliations, even among those in his own party....

Notice how Gallup is clueless on "the bottom line" at the entry.

The GOP doesn't need to approve "immigration reform." That's not the message coming out of these data. Americans are shocked that our borders are out of control and they want a clamp down. Seriously, people are seeing through this manufactured crisis. It's a threat to national security and the White House --- and the open-borders amnesty-shilling Democrat Party --- will pay the price.

Added: Linked by the Mad Jewess, "MANY Diseases That Are Horrible Come In to America From Mexico. Leftists LIE."

Thanks!

Eric Cantor Spent $168,000 at Steak Houses

Now this is telling.

From Katie Pavlich, Town Hall, "Cantor Spent $168,637 on Steak Houses, Brat Spent $122,793 on Entire Campaign."

Gives a whole new meaning to the term red meat conservative... pic.twitter.com/RkAzO5zlSN

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) June 11, 2014