NOT SINCE Bill Mazeroski's historic walk-off home run to defeat the Yankees in 1960 has such an abrupt ending invited more attention than Rep. Eric Cantor's walk-off tantrum in his budget talks with Vice President Joe Biden. But there the comparison ends. Mazeroski's World Series clincher led him into Baseball's Hall of Fame for a job well done. Cantor's hissy fit merely confirmed that he is not always in touch with the realities of his job. No matter his erratic behavior as a Republican Tea Party fan and the House majority leader from Virginia, he doesn't impress me as a fellow looking at a Hall of Fame down the road. Frankly, he's nothing more than an grandstanding nuisance, not only to President Obama, but to House Speaker John Boehner. Indeed, the Washington Post's Ezra Klein wrote:
"Cantor has the credibility with the Tea Party that Boehner lacks. But that's why Cantor won't cut the deal. The Tea Party-types support him because he's the guy who won't cut the deal. He can't sign off on tax increases without losing his power base. But if he's able to throw it back to Boehner and Boehner cuts the deal, that's all good for Cantor."
It's an awful pas de deux of the two top Republicans in the House of Representatives while a governmental shutdown hangs in the balance. There are days when the public interest loses all meaning. In fact, too many days.
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And while we are in default, these congressmen still get paid. Instead of focusing on repealing the 14th amendment, maybe they should fix the 27th that permits them to get paid during a government shutdown or default. If the military and seniors aren't paid, why should the politicians? For congressmen, the realities of the situation are placed at a distance and framed in soundbytes and platitudes.
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