“The Republican Party in its roots is a party of inclusion and we ought to be promoting that and making sure that voices are heard,” Cantor, of Virginia, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend.
Cantor, when asked about Limbaugh’s comments that “Adolf Hitler, like Barack Obama, also ruled by dictate,” and his comparison of the administration’s health-care logo to a swastika, said the comparisons were wrong.
“Do I condone the mention of Hitler in any discussion about politics?” Cantor said. “No, I don’t, because obviously that is something that conjures up images that frankly are not, I think, very helpful.”
He also took issue with some of the harsher rhetoric of House Republican colleagues.
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I have no problem with Cantor invoking Godwin’s Law, but I have to take exception to his language regarding ‘inclusion’. ‘Inclusion’ is a red herring.
Vatican Watcher on November 7, 2009 at 11:05 AM
I was unaware that Rush Limbaugh was an elected official.
Until he is, everyone who is asked about him should simply say…Hey, this is America. Our citizens are free to talk.
Otherwise, cry me a river.
bridgetown on November 7, 2009 at 11:06 AM
Conservatives to Cantor: You first
macummings on November 7, 2009 at 11:06 AM
Uhh. Heard this on Mark Levin last night. Cantor fell for a liberal misquote again. Limbaugh was reacting to Nancy Pelosi’s comments.
Cantor needs to wisen up.
alexwest on November 7, 2009 at 11:07 AM
I wonder why Obama is never asked about comments made by asshats like Alan whats his face from Florida…
Any ways big deal. Nothing to see here.
Dritanian on November 7, 2009 at 11:07 AM
It would make more sense if Cantor addressed his comments to Obama, i.e., tell him to stop trying to rule by dictate and to get rid of the swastika logo.
Blake on November 7, 2009 at 11:08 AM
Isn’t it about time that reps like Cantor dialed it up? All this ammunition and the GOP is sitting on their thumbs.
Bishop on November 7, 2009 at 11:09 AM
I love that phrase. “Not helpful” or “unhelpful”, etc. It’s so Frumian. Just delicious. It’s almost as good as H8R.
I hate to break Cantor’s bubble, but Hitler was…political active. And in a conversation about political endgames, a political active totalitarian might come up. So if he’s complaining, he should register that complaint with the Speaker of the House first, who opened the comparison.
Spirit of 1776 on November 7, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Cantors strategy “Listen to liberals”.
the_nile on November 7, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Nessuno to Cantor:
Seriously, Cantor is an unimpressive hack. The GOP in his hands will suffer the same mistakes as the past.
Nessuno on November 7, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Why do these idiots in Washington keep taking the bait? Simply say, “I don’t compare the President to Hitler and I haven’t heard those comments by Limbaugh myself so I won’t comment on them.” Then move on to the issues.
Stop taking the bait.
By the way Cantor, with the Scozzafava debacle I wouldn’t be criticizing Rush too much if I were you. You come across as weak to us grassroots conservatives and we would prefer not to see you in a leadership position of any significance if you are going to be weak and baited by the media so easily.
Daemonocracy on November 7, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Cantor had better figure out how to wage a scorched earth rear guard campaign to stop the Marxists in the House and STFU about extraneous events.
elduende on November 7, 2009 at 11:10 AM
The country is crumbling and Cantor focuses on Rush?
And people think this country will be saved.
heh
artist on November 7, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Uh, Eric? Why don’t you go after Grayson first?
John the Libertarian on November 7, 2009 at 11:11 AM
But, how “inclusive” would that be.
the_nile on November 7, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Eric – The majority of Americans are not Elitists and they are not squishy. They believe in God, family, and country. If you want your precious Republican Party to be in power again, you had better move toward the majority and stop listening to the Country Club Elites.
kingsjester on November 7, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Conservatives to Cantor: Grow a Pair
alexwest on November 7, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Cantor is moving in the wrong direction. The dems are the greatest threat to America that this nation has ever seen. As to the Nazi label, Cantor should know that Nazi Pelosi was the one who brought “Nazi” into the public debate (and from the Speaker of the House, yet) when she was busy projecting and trying to smear the town hall protesters and tea party attendees.
I like Cantor, but he needs to understand the threat that America faces from the feral government. I find it quite disheartening that many in the GOP don’t seem to understand where America is being pushed by the traitorous dems – and they are traitorous in the deepest sense. Worse than that, they are looking to have the feral government control every single aspect of life, and there is no comparison that can convey the full impact of the attempt to destroy this nation and move us from the freest of nations to one of servitude to the feral government and a life dictated by the whims of “feral elite”.
progressoverpeace on November 7, 2009 at 11:16 AM
It seems as if politicians think that the way to leadership is over Rush’s body. Which makes no sense to me. He’s never run for anything, so why R’s then they need to treat him like a primary opponent is befuddling. You can court the media (and maybe moderates, though I’m skeptical) by bashing Rush, but you lose the people who either listen to Rush or are conservatives who appreciate what Rush pontificates about. I don’t see how that is a winning equation.
Spirit of 1776 on November 7, 2009 at 11:18 AM
American Conservatives to Cantor – let us pull up another chair at the children’s table. Newt meet Eric. Eric this is Newt. The real Conservatives are going back to our table now to get some real work done. You two sit and be quiet.
HadithHarry on November 7, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Conservatives to Cantor: If You Can’t Handle Al Hunt, What Can You?
alexwest on November 7, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Consrevatives to Cantor: Look Up “Rope-A-Dope”
alexwest on November 7, 2009 at 11:23 AM
Heard that too. Levin ripped Cantor apart for being sucker-punched. Wouldn’t it be great if the GOP took on Obama like they do Rush?
Thank me!
conservative pilgrim on November 7, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Cantor can go (censored) himself and his become a Democrat to win ideology. Who in their right mind takes advice on how to win from people who are trying to defeat them? Cantor, you sir are a fool…
doriangrey on November 7, 2009 at 11:27 AM
+ 2
SouthernGent on November 7, 2009 at 11:29 AM
No politician who allows himself to be cornered by MSM into critiquing a private citizen’s remark is worthy of a leadership position. Why are we “served” by the most gutless people? One more reason to be less then impressed with these so called intellectuals from inside the Beltway and New York.
Cindy Munford on November 7, 2009 at 11:30 AM
There are way too many Charlie Browns in our republican leadership who need a certain Montgomery Scott quote stapled to their foreheads.
Dusty on November 7, 2009 at 11:31 AM
A – freaking – men.
You’d think with all the highly paid political consultants and image makers and spinmeisters, someone would maybe get this little bit of common sense advice out to all Republican elected officials.
(You listening, Karl Rove? I know you’ve got the connections.)
notropis on November 7, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Exactly.
beachgirlusa on November 7, 2009 at 11:34 AM
Eric Cantor who?
mizflame98 on November 7, 2009 at 11:34 AM
I love Rush and think he needs to continue and maybe dial it up, but I agree that talking about Hitler does not add to the discussion, there are just too many connotations that come from that. And Hotair: Cantor did not tell Rush to dial it down, he just said he does not think using Hitler as a reference in this case is helpful.
Go Rush!!! Keep up the campaign against the Beltway crowd
georgealbert on November 7, 2009 at 11:36 AM
Some of us would even like to see Cantor join Scozzafava in the unemployment line…
doriangrey on November 7, 2009 at 11:36 AM
Limbaugh to Cantor: Eric who?
——————————————————
I know Rush knows who Eric Cantor is, but how many other non-political people do? Cantor is a republican hack, who was obviously asleep during the elections last week.
rmgraha on November 7, 2009 at 11:36 AM
Me to Cantor: Cram it.
Jockolantern on November 7, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Conservatives to Cantor: Check out Monster.com
alexwest on November 7, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Misleading headline, Cantor given comments taken out of context, MSM interviewer trying to “spice” a storyline out of sympathy for her bias.
Nothing new here. Next.
itzWicks on November 7, 2009 at 11:39 AM
Is there anyway to email Mr. Cantor?
Cindy Munford on November 7, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Yes, lets just go about our lives pretending that Hitler was some bizarre German phenomena that had nothing what so ever to do with politics in a democratic republic. Or better yet, lets just let the opposition party tell us what metaphors, similes, analogies, and tactical stratagems we are allowed to use against them.
doriangrey on November 7, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Cantor voted for the outragous 90% tax on AIG.
Maybe he should start acting like a conservative.
Rush has been a outstanding defender of conservatism for over 20 years, what has Cantor done for us?
Norwegian on November 7, 2009 at 11:46 AM
The Dems want to portray Hitler as a madman who nobody should take seriously.
Well, why did so many continental Europeans become expatriates after 1933? Were they crazy?
And why do so many conservatives consider Obama and his czars a carbon copy of Hitler and the Nazi leadership who ruled Germany with an iron fist?
Does anyone with half a brain really believe Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin are insane or delusional?
technopeasant on November 7, 2009 at 11:54 AM
The problem with people like Cantor is that they don’t or won’t realize who their enemies are.
Loser.
Beta-male.
BigD on November 7, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Cantor also voted to cut AIG bonuses. Principled?
PrincipledPilgrim on November 7, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Ahhh, the old inclusion delusion. It’s like bipartisanship, diversity, and the rest of those leftie buzz words. They mean nothing except what the left wants them to mean.
If he’s going to speak out, he could at least avoid speaking in cliche’s.
petefrt on November 7, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Can you imagine if, five years ago, protesters had compared our government to Hitler?
dont taze me bro on November 7, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Wade Garrett to Eric Cantor…FO
Wade on November 7, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Me to Cantor…grow some balls.
LtE126 on November 7, 2009 at 12:19 PM
I don’t know why I bother with the asylum-like atmosphere of comments sections anymore, but anyway……Eric Cantor’s lifetime ACU rating – 96.2. But, yeah, he’s just like Dede Scozzafava. Pretty much identical. I know, I know, the ACU is all a bunch of phonies, too. Everyone except St. Sarah of the Blessed Tundra is.
I’ve listened to Rush for 20 years or so, since I was a kid, and I will continue to enjoy his show. But at the end of the day, he’s an entertainer. He’s deliberately provocative because that means good ratings for him. Mentioning Hitler keeps people tuning in. That’s fine. Is it something that the GOP should be associating themselves with? Absolutely not, and if you think otherwise you really need to get out more. While the echo chamber here loves that stuff, the average voter reacts rather negatively to it.
But why try to think dispassionately about this? I’m just another fake conservative who really should shut up and go change his registration to Democrat, or so I’m sure I’ll be told soon.
radar g on November 7, 2009 at 12:20 PM
No, but their jobs are different from Cantor’s job. When the left invoked Hitler during the Bush admin it made them look irresponsible. Obama’s first term is unlikely to result in something akin to Hitler’s most significant actions between 1933-1937 or any 4-year period after that.
If looking for a 20th century European leader to compare Obama to, Clement Attlee might be closer. Following WWII he pushed Great Britain down a socialist path that would ensure its demise as a global power and hamper its economy until Margaret Thatcher was able to undo some of his damage.
dedalus on November 7, 2009 at 12:40 PM
“We just want to p-u-m-p y-o-u u-p, girlyman.”
– Hans and Franz, SNL
platypus on November 7, 2009 at 12:44 PM
He’s gonna get tetanus from the rusty fish hook Al used.
As long as their primary concern is incumbency and power, the GOP will react like this. Try refocusing on liberty and Constitutional government.
Valiant on November 7, 2009 at 12:44 PM
You beat me to it.
Levin was right. How hard is it to say, “I have no comment on that quote without hearing the full context”?
Cantor’s not the only one of our guys who needs to wisen up. This stuff has gone on too long.
Hawkins1701 on November 7, 2009 at 12:49 PM
.
Whom do you mean by the ‘GOP’? The voting base, or the Cantors?
I have been listening to Rush for years. He entertains because he argues what he believes, and he exposes the phonies with more wit and humor than anyone else.
Rush does not take positions to get ratings, The ratings come to his positions. Rush honestly speaks his mind, which puts him ahead of Nazi-mouth Pelosi, who uses slings labels to destroy opponents.
Explain why they are wrong. Millions listen to Rush. Who should they listen to? Cantor?
Who is Rush excluding, Nazis?
I have disliked Cantor ever since his scramble to redefine the GOP after the McCain fiasco. He can start a new movement in the GOP, but it is up to free men whether or not they will follow the Cantor to his new, inclusive GOP, since Cantor cannot explain why Rush is preventing the new ‘inclusiveness’ or what exactly Cantor wants to include
entagor on November 7, 2009 at 1:01 PM
Sometimes Snowe irritates me big time. Others I find myself thinking that she is just responding to the deeply ambivalent Maine psyche that is very much a part of her. Mostly I think the latter. If one ever wants to move to a state with a split personality, Maine should be at the top of your list. RINO does not really fit her in my opinion. Now, Dede is, or could be, dubbed RINO if such actually exists.
jeanie on November 7, 2009 at 1:03 PM
Is Eric a log cabin rep?
Wade on November 7, 2009 at 1:13 PM
Um, I think it’s time to put all Dem officials on the spot in interviews by asking, “Do you agree with Olbermann/Maddow/Schultz/Grayson/Matthews that…”
The “do you agree with Limbaugh that…” hot-seat gotcha garbage is a little old.
ddrintn on November 7, 2009 at 1:19 PM
Timid Little Messenger Boy Cantor: “This Obama you’re fighting… He’s the biggest man I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t want to fight him.”
Achilles Limbaugh: “That is why no-one will remember your name.”
logis on November 7, 2009 at 1:20 PM
What exactly does Canto mean by inclusiveness? Moderates who lean right? People who vacillate between espousing what are thought of here as trur conservative ideas or does he mean folks conservative on some issues, moderate on others and left on some. Because this last wishy washy description applies to me.
jeanie on November 7, 2009 at 1:21 PM
“Inclusion” is a great stragegy. It worked well for the Army with radical islam at Fort Hood
Kataklysmic on November 7, 2009 at 1:31 PM
What a disappointment this guy has been. What has he done other than roll over for the TARP?
Hey Congressman: your job is to stop PelosiCare in its tracks. So far, you’ve not done your job. Until you’ve done your job, I don’t want to hear from you.
james23 on November 7, 2009 at 1:35 PM
Hey Cantor. Just go about the people’s business as a legislator and end your role as media critic. Many of us are beginning to see you as part of the problem and this is one of those times. you jerk. There, I said it.
Randy
williars on November 7, 2009 at 1:46 PM
At Eric Cantor’s birth I wish the doctor had smacked Cantor’s mother. America would have better served.
Farfed on November 7, 2009 at 1:48 PM
Wow. When was the last time I saw Valiant on a thread?
BigD on November 7, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Wasn’t Hitler part of the Nationalist Socialist Party, and today’s democrats are becoming more and more of what?
Rush’s comparison is fair game.
veni vidi vici on November 7, 2009 at 2:42 PM
Ha ha! Love it! I have unintentionally, though possibly subconsciously, made the same typo numerous times, but maybe that’s because the present administration has gone wild; existing and acting outside the bounds of a civilized state.
Constance on November 7, 2009 at 2:56 PM
Hitler was a little more anti-communist and less multiculti than Obama.
dedalus on November 7, 2009 at 2:59 PM
No, no. Liberals are all completely different from all the OTHER Socialists and Communists who came before them.
Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro, Chavez, etc., and all of their millions of rabid supporters, probably woke up each and every morning thinking of themselves as evil monsters who DIDN’T want the greatest good for the most people.
But that was then and this is now. For the first time in history, collectivists think of themselves as GOOD people, with nothing but the very best of all possible intentions. Ergo, they are utterly convinced that nothing they do can possibly turn out badly.
So what could go wrong?
logis on November 7, 2009 at 3:08 PM
Hitler was only anti-communist and anti-socialist, or anti-social democrat rather, because they were the ruling establishment parties in 1920s Germany and the opposition when the national socialists came to power in the 1930s.
Less multiculti, sure, but at the core all these socialist variations use the same group/race-based politics and scapegoating of undesirable classes.
I wouldn’t compare the Obamacrats to the nazis though. They’re more like Mussolini’s fascists circa 1925.
modifiedcontent on November 7, 2009 at 3:33 PM