Yesterday in Richmond, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) reminded us how hollow Republicans can sound addressing real people with real problems. When a woman told the story of an uninsured friend stricken with cancer, Cantor suggested she seek out “an existing government program” (presumably the ones Republicans haven’t succeeded in eliminating yet), a charity, or one of the “hospitals here who do provide charity care.”
And in a bold statement of principle, Cantor declared: “No one in this country, given who we are, should ever be sitting without an option to go be addressed.”
The hucksterism doesn’t translate well from cable news to town halls.
David Kurtz
David Kurtz is Managing Editor and Washington Bureau Chief of Talking Points Memo where he oversees the news operations of TPM and its sister sites.