Eric Cantor and the Magic Bullet

AP

Watching the reports of threats and violence against Democrats pile up, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) did what any self-respecting Republican politician in a similar situation might do: He changed the narrative.

On Thursday, Cantor claimed that someone had fired a bullet through the window of his Richmond, Va. campaign office. If true, that would mark a shocking escalation of the ugliness which has accompanied the battle over health care reform legislation. Cantor got what he hoped for as the first round of media stories bought the spin. But Talking Points Memo got a hold of this statement from the Richmond, Va. police and it's worth a read:

"The Richmond Police Department is investigating an act of vandalism at the Reagan Building, 25 E. Main St., Richmond, Virginia. A first floor window was struck by a bullet at approximately 1 a.m. on Tuesday, March 23. The building, which has several tenants including an office used by Congressman Eric Cantor, was unoccupied at the time A Richmond Police detective was assigned to the case. A preliminary investigation shows that a bullet was fired into the air and struck the window in a downward direction, landing on the floor about a foot from the window. The round struck with enough force to break the windowpane but did not penetrate the window blinds. (My emphasis.) There was no other damage to the room, which is used occasionally for meetings by the congressman."

So someone fired a bullet which followed a parabola-like trajectory and then landed "about a foot" away from the window. Serious stuff, but there's a world of difference between the police statement and Cantor's assertion. The investigation may ultimately find that the shooter had a political motivation, but the authorities haven't made that claim. There's no evidence suggesting that Cantor's trying to pull an Ashley Todd but he is playing for sympathy.

The random acts of vandalism obviously don't cast the conservative opponents of the health care form bill in a favorable light. Cantor and the GOP know that the next battle will be to sell the American public on competing narratives offered by Democrats and Republicans. That's why he's singling out the Democrats for using the reported threats as political props (he called them "political weapons")

Related News:

Anthony Weiner's Office Receives Threatening Letter Containing White Powder

Rattled Dems Move Forward Amid Threats

Coffin on Lawmaker's Lawn, Other Reports of Angry Actions Surface

Hoyer: Violent Threats Not "Par for the Course"

Bart Stupak Received Threatening Messages for Health Care Vote (Listen)

But is that what the Democrats are doing? Stirring up their base by publicizing boorish behavior by no-nothing knuckleheads? Cantor said that the Democrats are guilty of "ratcheting up the rhetoric" by blaming Republicans for inciting a hostile atmosphere.

Rush Limbaugh made a very similar argument during his talk show on Wednesday. By that logic, though, Bart Stupak was wrong to release recordings of threats left on his office phone? That's a tough one to buy. Cantor's a savvy guy but he's really stretching to make a point. From my perspective, he seems more keen to blame the victim than to examine how we arrived at this sorry state.

Update: Richmond police on Friday said that the bullet that hit Cantor's office was the result of random gunfire.

[DickSnow]

No wonder CBS is so far down in the ratings. Your left wing rants, which by the way, make no sense at all, are so rediculous that anyone with any common sense at all can reason that your commentators, and all the rest of the left wing media spend all their time trying to blame anything and everything on the Republicans. Before long, you'll be claiming the bad weather is being caused by the Republicans. Why don't you report news accurately instead of putting a left wing spin on every story you make up. You continue to ostracize everyone who refers to the tea party movement, and in the case of this story, take the actions of kooks, and make it sound like all of them are Republicans. To say that the shot fired at Eric Cantors office was no big deal since he is a Republican and only violence against Democrats is newsworthy just shows your inept coverage of events. Keep spewing your left wing agenda, the real story to report this fall, and in the next election in 2012 will be the fall of the socialist politicians, Democrat and Republican. Nobody watches the left wing organizations anymore because the American People are waking up. Your ratings are in the toilet because your reporting is too.

[6591Hou]

The democrats are as energetic at denying that Cantor is a victim, as they are energetic in asserting that they are victims.
They called me the n-word...not on the audio or the video?....they still did it! better yet, the tape was 'altered'. They spit on me.....not on the audio or video?....well they sure acted like they were going to...they shot at my window....well the bullet kind of glanced off my window....but it could have been worse!
Both of you two parties - grow up - and start being elected leaders instead of political shills.

[AnthonyBPA85]

A Philadelphia man has been charged with threatening to kill Rep. Eric Cantor (R., Va.) and his family.

33-year-old Norman Leboon made the threats in a YouTube video. The video has since been taken down, but FBI agents included a transcript of the threat in a sworn affidavit:

"My Congressman Eric Cantor, and you and your cupcake evil wife. . . .Remember Eric...our judgment time, the final Yom Kippur has been given. You are a liar, you're a Lucifer, you're a pig, a greedy f-ing pig, you're an abomination, you receive my bullets in your office, remember they will be placed in your heads. You and your children are Lucifer's abominations."

Of course, we already know that Cantor relied on the police rather than the press.

[RobAla]

We live in a very volatile state in our nation. How was Cantor to know where the bullet came from?

[sandy19731]

They have a "waist up" picture of him because his pants were actually on fire.

[krusenjames]

As long as we keep electing liars, they will keep lying. If we don't elect liars, their lies have limited range. As long as we keep listening to liars, they will keep lying. Remember the boy who cried wolf? Again, if we don't listen, their lies have limited effect. As long as we keep giving liars a platform, they will keep lying. If we deny them that, they'll still lie, but their lies won't give us ulcers.

In summation; liars lie. That's what they do. It is why they are called liars. It's up to us to embrace the old admonition, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me Twice, shame on me."

Tired of being lied to? Stop electing liars. Better yet, stop lying to yourself. Best of all possible worlds, stop the lying. We get the government we deserve. Ours is a reflection of ourselves. If you want real change, start at home.

Why do you think our kids are so cynical? It is the disparity between what we say and what we actually do. They learn young that they can't believe us.(That would be the whole lying thing)

Repeat after me; "Fear is the mind-killer. I must not fear. fear is the mind-killer. I must not fear..."

[mumma11]

These claims of threats and earlier claims of racial slurs are designed to lump everyone who has a different view from the recients as being crazies and bigots. So don't listen to their arguments. They are all bad people.
This is just more evidence that our RULING CLASS has a growing disregard for their SUBJECTS. After the Congressional Easter Break, it will be interesting to count the town meetings held by Republicans compared to Democrats.

[brianbwb2011]

The right has no valid argument, they have only posited hate rhetoric, hysterical speculation that can be more accurately termed "extrapolation ad absurdium", and blatant lies.

Actually I expect you will see increased political activism from both sides.

From the progressives, who at long last can sense that if they can stir up the like-minded-but-apathetic progressive vote, that we have the opportunity to shut the lid, at long last, on a political view that has long been antithetical to the good of mankind.

From the regressives, you will see the last burst of energy expended from an obsolete set of ideas that have no place in modern society anymore, but whose adherents will not go quietly or peacefully into that dark night.

[brianbwb2011]

"...Rush Limbaugh made a very similar argument ..."

What? You mean the fat drug addicted ASPD-afflicted, racist hate monger hasn't kept his word and left the country?

Not at all surprised.

[bdowder6]

Good argument dude. Is that the "humanist" argument, loser? You know Obama has admitted to doing blow and blazing weed, does that make him a drug addict? It's obvious you are a 'very committed' blind left wing person. If you knew anything about Eric Cantor then you would know that there have been several threats on his life and *** is a stray bullet flying in the air for anyway? You don't even bother to ask you socialist pig.

[JFK2112]

This is funny...when anything happens to a democrat, its those republican loons from the far right. But if it happens to a republican, he probably deserved it or is making it up, or whatever. Yet there is no proof of any of the claims made over the weekend, no tape, no audio, no witnesses...nothing. Like the previous poster exclaimed, enjoy your shortlived victory, come November everything changes!

[brianbwb2011]

According to humanistic views, yes he did deserve it.

But according to the official police report, he was only making it up.

So now you will posit that the police are "leftists", because they called your boy's lie, right?

Yes, come November, everything changes, the ASPD-GOP will be further reduced to the irrelevant right wing extremist lunatic fringe, where it will still be, even there, overstaying it's time.

[tonyatq]

Nothing happen to him so yes he made it up. Oh wait the police are liberal that fan the flames.

[noloyalisti]

This white wing wacko is such a frightened little reactionary. How does he even leave his house with terrorists behind every Bush? He wouldn't be so paranoid if everyone wasn't out to get him. Maybe it's time to stop lying, cheating and stealing. Then everyone wouldn't hate you.