Cantor Sings His Final Tune

The following is my latest column in The Jewish Link of Bergen County, in which I discuss how House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s impending departure from Congress impacts the State of Israel and the American Jewish community:


CANTOR SINGS HIS FINAL TUNE


By: N. Aaron Troodler, Esq.


The campaign for the June 10, 2014 GOP primary election in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District was by all accounts a sleeper. David Brat, a college economics professor and a virtually unknown political novice, was challenging the Number 2 Republican in the House – Majority Leader Eric Cantor.


Cantor, a powerful 7-term lawmaker who some speculated had designs on one day becoming Speaker of the House, was a shoo-in for re-election. The pre-Primary Day polls had him leading his opponent by a considerable margin. The political pundits essentially ignored the race, which they found to be devoid of any excitement. For Eric Cantor, it was not a question if he was going to win the race; it was merely a function of counting down the days until Primary Day, when he could finally formalize his inevitable victory.


And then the voters spoke. When the polls closed and the dust settled, Eric Cantor had suffered a stinging defeat at the hands of his Tea Party-backed opponent, thereby becoming the first Majority Leader in history to be ousted in a primary. The final tally had Brat besting Cantor by 55% to 44%.


In political circles and in Washington, DC, Eric Cantor’s incomprehensible loss was the equivalent of a political earthquake that sent tremors through the political establishment. The New York Times described it as “one of the most stunning primary election upsets in congressional history.”


Cantor, who was a star in the Republican Party, raised a whopping $5.4 million for his campaign, as opposed to Brat, who raised a paltry $200,000. With his campaign war chest overflowing, Cantor outspent his opponent by more than 40 to 1. However, at the end of the day, Cantor came up short.


While I do not necessarily agree with Eric Cantor’s political ideology, I nonetheless am troubled by his loss, because when Eric Cantor resigns from the House on August 18, the American Jewish community and the State of Israel will lose one of the staunchest allies that we have in Congress.


Not only has Eric Cantor been the sole Jewish Republican in Congress for the past five years, he is also the highest ranking Jewish lawmaker in congressional history. Yet, merely being Jewish is not the reason why I respect Eric Cantor. I admire him because he proudly wore his Jewish identity on his sleeve at all times. Eric Cantor made a conscious decision not to hide from his “Jewishness,” but to wholeheartedly embrace it at every turn.


I also greatly appreciate the fact that he constantly exhibited not just an understanding of Israel and its unique security needs, but a willingness to go to the mat for the Jewish State whenever it was necessary to do so.


Just several weeks ago, even after his defeat, and as he prepared to relinquish his post as Majority Leader, Cantor issued a strong defense of Israel as it defended itself against a barrage of rocket attacks from Hamas during Operation Protective Edge.


“Israel is one of our nation’s strongest democratic allies and its security is directly tied to our own,” said Cantor. “Hamas’ outrageous and unprovoked war against Israel must end. Until Hamas accepts the Quartet principles, abandoning violence and recognizing Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, there will not be peace.”


“There is no justification for Hamas’ violent assault on Israel, which withdrew completely from Gaza in 2005,” continued Cantor. “Since then, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have lobbed thousands of rockets into Israel and Hamas staged a coup against the Palestinian Authority, assuming complete control over Gaza and turning it into a den of terrorism.”


Regardless of whether you were a Democrat, Republican, Independent or Conservative, when it came to the safety and security of the State of Israel, Eric Cantor was always interested in hearing what you had to say. He had no compunction about stepping up to the microphone in order to deliver an impassioned defense of Israel and to declare that Israel’s security needs are America’s security needs, and he often backed up his words with action.


Eric Cantor’s electoral loss is not just a personal one; it is a communal one. With his departure from Congress, the Jewish community will not just lose one of our own; we will lose one of the best friends that we have in Congress. As Cantor sings his final tune and the curtain comes down on his Congressional tenure, unfortunately for the Jewish community and the State of Israel, there will be no encore performance.


“Mr. Speaker, I close by once again thanking my colleagues for their service, I thank them for their friendship and warmth,” said an emotional Eric Cantor on July 31 as he closed what was his final speech on the floor of the House as Majority Leader. “And with that, I yield back.”


N. Aaron Troodler is an attorney and principal of Paul Revere Public Relations, a public relations and political consulting firm. Visit him on the Web at TroodlersTake.blogspot.com, www.PaulReverePR.com, or www.JewishWorldPR.com. You can also follow him on Twitter: @troodler