LINK - Eric Cantor is a darling of that rightwing; popular with the Tea Party-backed politicians who swept into the House in the 2010 mid-terms and who still wield enormous power. Together with Mitt Romney's former running mate, Paul Ryan, and majority whip, Kevin McCarthy (who also voted no), Cantor co-wrote a 2010 book called Young Guns that sought to be a manifesto for an emerging generation of rightwing ideologues.
Cantor's high-profile "no" vote in the fiscal cliff debate now propels him to the front of the conservative movement. It is a bloc that sees Mitt Romney's failure to defeat Obama as an example of what happens when you run a moderate who has to espouse rightwing views he does not genuinely hold instead of a true conservative candidate.
It is a profound split in the party. While Boehner does not look immediately under threat when it comes to a fresh vote this week on his speakership, he does appear to now be in the minority in the House. Just 84 other Republicans joined Boehner in voting for the compromise bill to avoid the fiscal cliff, while 150 Republicans lined up behind Cantor in the no camp. "You have the whole notion of people who want to stand on principle and those who want to be more pragmatic," said Professor Tim Hagle, an expert in Republican politics at the University of Iowa.
The split also represents different ways of looking at where the party's focus should be. Boehner and the more pragmatic wing of the party see the Republicans' 2012 defeat as a sign that the party is losing touch with a younger and more ethnically diverse national electorate that can deliver a candidate to the White House. The party's conservatives, however, look to their own party's still Tea Party-infused base and gerrymandered congressional districts that too often provide safe seats to extremists.
As the 2014 mid-term elections hove into view, some observers believe that those backing Boehner could be punished for their 'yes' vote and further undermine Boehner's position. "Some of those Republicans who voted for this are going to lose their seats because of this one vote," said Mitchell.
That means Cantor's dissent could tie in with eventual ambitions to take Boehner's job. If Republicans in the House emerge from 2014 even more in the grip of conservative ideologues, he will be well-placed to launch a bid for the speakership himself. "Cantor is a shrewd political animal. He is incredibly ambitious. He will do whatever he needs to do to take control of that speaker's gavel," said Professor Cohen.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy R-CA, Majority Whip
http://www.majoritywhip.gov/
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Kevin Owen McCarthy DOB January 26, 1965, Bakersfield CA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_McCarthy_(California_politician)
