Eric Cantor Gets Some Love From the NY Times...Sort Of

The last time the NY Times said anything nice about a Republican was when they endorsed John McCain in the New York primary. Of course, nobody really thinks the Times thought McCain would be a good president, but they had to pick somebody so they chose the most moderate Republican in the field and a guy they knew the Dems could beat. You never again heard anything nice about McCain from the Times.

Today the Times is running a fairly positive piece on a true conservative, Eric Cantor, congressman from Virginia:

WASHINGTON: The last time congressional Republicans were this out of power, they turned to a college professor from Georgia, Newt Gingrich, to lead the opposition, first against President Bill Clinton in a budget battle in 1993, and then back into the majority the following year.

As Republicans confronted President Barack Obama in another budget battle last week, their leadership included another new face: Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, who as the party's chief vote wrangler is as responsible as anyone for the tough line the party has taken in this first legislative standoff with Obama. This battle has vaulted Cantor to the front lines of his party as it tries to recover from the losses of November.

As Republican whip, Cantor succeeded again on Friday in denying the White House the support of a single House Republican on the stimulus bill. That was a calculated challenge to the president, who, in his weekly address on Saturday, hailed the bill as "an ambitious plan at a time we badly need it."

Cantor said he had studied Gingrich's years in power and had been in regular touch with him as he sought to help his party find the right tone and message. Indeed, one of Gingrich's leading victories in unifying his caucus against Clinton's package of tax increases to balance the budget in 1993 has been echoed in the events of the last few weeks.

"I talk to Newt on a regular basis because he was in the position that we are in: in the extreme minority," he said.

The Republicans can certainly count some victories, although symbolic ones. Even White House aides said Cantor and his team had been successful in seizing on spending items in the stimulus bill to sow doubts about it with the public.

Lest they go too far in praise of Cantor's work in holding the House GOP together, they bring in Newt Gingrich to offer some faint praise:

The fact that House Republicans have stood firm against Obama suggests just how unified the caucus is, though Gingrich, in an interview, said Democratic leaders like Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Representative David Obey of Wisconsin, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, did more to unify Republicans than anything Republicans did.

"I'd like to tell you Cantor did a brilliant job, but the truth is that Pelosi and Obey pushed the members into his arms," Gingrich said. But, he added, "They have been good at developing alternatives so they don't leave their guys out there chanting no."

The Republican Party is arguably weaker today than it was in 1993, given Obama's popularity and the enormous weight Republicans are carrying after eight years under President George W. Bush. Even as Cantor was urging Republicans to oppose Obama on this signature plan, he offered praise of the president, suggesting that Republicans should be careful to avoid being labeled obstructionist.

"I think people out there across the country elected this president because he inspired the notion that we can change," he said. "Not to be so trite as to invoke his campaign slogan, but I do think there was some substance behind it in terms of what people thought in voting for him.

"Banking off that mood of the country right now, I think it's incumbent upon us to reach out to him and see if we can work together."

Do you hear that, Eric? The Times is telling you to listen to Gingrich and find a way to work with Obama. I, however, remember a different Gingrich altogether than the one in this article. I remember the guy who shut down the U.S. government rather than go along with Bill Clinton's budget. He wasn't trying to get along.

I've written before that although there have always been political conflicts in Washington, the tone didn't really turn ugly until the Gingrich/Clinton battles of the 90's. Before the Dems and Republicans didn't agree politically, but they seemed to get along okay on a personal level. Once Gingrich and Clinton went at it the whole atmosphere seemed to be permanently poisoned.

Overall, the tone of the article is positive for Cantor and it's worth reading. He's going to be a force in the GOP for some time to come, and it wouldn't surprise me if he's the next guy to lead the GOP out of the congressional wilderness.