With Tom DeLay stepping down as House Majority Leader due to the growing Abramoff scandal, you'd think that the GOP would try and move away from the whole scandal thing.You'd be wrong. The two men vying for DeLay's leadership position are Representatives Roy Blunt of Missouri and John Boehner of Ohio. Roy is part of the DeLay leadership machine -- "a DeLay protege who received $8,500 in campaign contributions linked to Abramoff" and who is no stranger to special interest scandals. On the other hand Mr. Boehner has his own lobbyist-induced ethical problems himself. Nice choices.
Anyway, since this is a Virginia blog, let's focus on the person who appears close to taking the Whip spot (should Blunt, the current Whip, succeed in replacing DeLay). That person would be Rep. Eric Cantor from the Seventh District of Virginia.
In the wake of the DeLay/Abramoff scandal, the House Republicans are about to make their third-ranking leader a man who had a sandwiched named after him at Jack Abramoff's downtown DC deli. Here's Jack musing on his good buddy during the $500-a-plate event at the deli:
Cantor "will be the party's most visible liaison to Jewish groups and in my view will be an important liaison to conservatives and religious Christians," said lobbyist Jack Abramoff, one of the most powerful Republican Jews in Washington, who hosted the event in the deli he opened last month. Abramoff described Cantor as having "real Jewish credentials," yet one who "does not use his observance as a political weapon. Jews appreciate that, as do non-Jews." (from The Forward, a magazine focusing on Jewish issues
I'd guess that scandal-plagued Jack Abramoff ain't the best authority on religious credentials, but that's beside the point: Eric Cantor is as connected to Abramoff as anyone in the DeLay machine.
In fact, Cantor is such a DeLay drone that The Hill reported today that before "Cantor began working the phones early Saturday afternoon" to get support for his candidacy to beceom Whip, he first "discussed his bid with DeLay and his wife, Diana." So, when it comes to his political future, Cantor is still taking cues from the disgraced DeLay.
So, make no mistake about it. Just like Blunt and Boehner, Eric Cantor is a step in the same direction for a Republican party that desperately needs a shower.