Web content for Thursday, May 26th, 2011

First Guess: Cantor Puts Politics Over Missouri's People
Video via Current.com
via YouTube, h/t fferkleheimer


Transcript:

Marie Antoinette never said "Let Them Eat Cake." That was Eric Cantor.

I'm K.O.; welcome to Countdown Online and another First Guess.

Indeed there is no evidence that the Queen of France ever said anything of the kind when told the peasants had no bread.

Unfortunately there is no question that the House Majority Leader said what he said about funding emergency relief for the victims of the airborne version of Katrina that hit Joplin, Missouri, and its environs.

We could spend the rest of our lives simply collecting the monstrous, inhuman, pro-suffering things said by Republican leaders. But I doubt many would contend, for sheer arrogance, for tone deafness, for self-revelation, with the remarks from Eric Cantor in the wake of Joplin, and the push to pass a supplemental spending bill to provide more help to the tornado victims of Missouri.

"If there is support for a supplemental, it would be accompanied by support for having "pay-fors" to that supplemental."

'Pay-for' is Republican-speak for budget cuts.

Mangled bodies were still being pulled out of the wreckage where Joplin Missouri **used** to be, and Eric Cantor still had to, had to, **had to**, turn it into a political stunt for his phony budget-cutting meme. He **exploited** the dead, wounded, and homeless of a typical Midwestern American town, to serve his endless pitch to economically enslave the people of places just like Joplin, so that the rich people **he** serves can get just that much **more** rich.

It is shameful.

It is not even the argument about cutting funds elsewhere - surely the money could be cut from, say, the military budget, or from funds due to be spent in the 7th District of Virginia (represented by one Eric Cantor).

But there is no excuse, none, for talking about "pay-fors" at the very hour when body-bags are being filled. If Mr. Cantor doesn't realize that, he should resign his leadership post, and even his seat - he has no business in the people's house if he can act so crudely and crassly towards actual **people**.

And for people living in those parts of Missouri **not** touched by the tornados let me note that six of your state's nine Congressmen are Republicans. And one of your Senators. And your State Assembly. And your State Senate. And they support this Cantor.

To anybody from Joplin, I'm sorry you had to hear any of this, from Cantor or from me. I apologize. We can discuss it much later once things have improved enough that politics matter again to you.