“De-Cantor” Eric Cantor From GOP Leadership

The time has come. We must ban the musical Caberet.

To be consistent, we must also censor Gone With The Wind, Hogan’s Heroes and every other movie about war.

Despite entertaining countless people, these productions must cease in the name of Political Correctness.

For that, we extend our thanks to Congressman Eric Cantor.

A Republican.

No, that’s not a misprint. Cantor is one of the GOP’s national leaders, poised to become Majority Leader should the Republicans win back the House.

There’s a far more appropriate term for Cantor: garden-variety political hack.

And that’s being kind.

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Cantor has helped create a sensationalistic story where there shouldn’t be one. In doing so, he has shown his true colors as a politician seeking power for the sake of power, with no regard for principles or people.

At issue is Ohio GOP congressional candidate Rich Iott, who had a hobby of reenacting historical events. As part of a tremendously popular activity, Iott has participated in re-enactments of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II.

In accurately portraying the Second World War, he donned the garb of a Nazi soldier.

And therein lies the firestorm. [SIGNUP]

Iott dressed as a German, so therefore must believe in the Nazi ideology.
So goes the insane logic of Cantor.

The Republican whip betrayed his ally on national television, stating that he, “would absolutely repudiate that, and not support an individual to do something like that…. I don’t support anything like that.”

Under that rationale, we should pretend the United States didn’t fight real enemies in any war.

If anyone should be repudiated, it’s Cantor for stripping away the dignity of millions of veterans who actually fought the bad guys.

Re-writing history in order not to “offend” is the greatest injustice that could be heaped on America’s greatest heroes.

Burying your head by pretending there weren’t atrocities committed is ridiculous. Iott wasn’t glorifying Nazis, but educating on one of the world’s darkest moments. The only way we can prevent history from repeating itself is by understanding what really happened.

And what better way to make history come alive, in a way that students of all ages can easily understand, than historical re-enactments?

Of course, depicting war requires two sides. You can’t exactly educate if you’re missing half the pieces.

But that is lost on Cantor.

Bowing to the altar of political correctness is inexcusable behavior from anyone, but for a leader of the Republican Party, who should be held to a higher standard, it’s a disgrace.

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Where does this warped thinking end?

Do we chastise actors who portray Nazis, Japanese — or British Redcoats? How about a Southern slave owner or even…a Democrat?

Are we to believe that, should one reprise these roles, that he has assumed membership in, and adopted the ideology of, that character?
Of course not. Doing so insults everyone’s intelligence. Which is why Cantor’s real motivation is so easily discerned.

He wasn’t “offended” at all. If he was, he has no business serving in Congress, let alone being one of its leaders.

Instead, he made a deliberate decision to throw one of his own under the bus to appease the loud Left. Cantor wants to show that the new Republican Party is tolerant and unoffensive — codespeak for “politically correct.”

Not coincidentally, every poll shows Iott trailing his opponent by a substantial margin, which means Cantor sees the race as unwinnable.
So who better to make an “example” of than someone who will lose anyway? Put another way, if the race were a nail-biter, or the Republican was ahead, what are the chances Cantor would have assassinated the character of that candidate?

Slim to none.

If that’s not putting politics ahead of principle, nothing is.

And that’s exactly the problem Republicans will face should they win power. GOP Leadership has learned nothing from 2006 and 2008, when the Party lost its way. Politicians like Cantor don’t understand that selling out your own for political expediency puts the Party on a very slippery slope, from which it is difficult to reverse course.

And he gets the worst of both worlds. He won’t win anyone in the middle, since Americans see his position as lunacy, yet he has alienated much of the Republican base.

There’s a big difference between winning elections and effectively governing. Cantor may succeed in the first, but the latter is in serious doubt.

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Will those who criticize Cantor receive flak from a small but vocal minority, being accused of insensitivity to the plight of those victimized by the Nazis? Sure, and it’ll be spitballs off a battleship, because anyone of sound mind — most of all, those still with us who experienced Nazi evil — inherently knows that history must be told accurately.

And you can’t tell it right if you don’t tell the truth.

And by the way, we won. The Nazis were crushed, and freedom ruled the day.

Kind of ironic, then, that Cantor is trying to rain on the parade of someone fighting to keep freedom and liberty from dying in this country.
There’s an old saying that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.

And in this case, Cantor IS the problem.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com. Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris’ recent bestseller “Catastrophe.” Freind also serves as a weekly guest commentator on Philadelphia-area talk radio shows, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX. He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com.