Lefties Misrepresent Facts To Smear Cantor

The Right-Wing Liberal has the scoop here. After all, it's pretty clear that Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA) does not "thinks Congress has no role to play in war and Bush only needed to check with his lawyers to take us into Iraq" as one far-Left blogger has claimed. Of course, what Cantor actually said was much more limited: "the Constitution gives the commander and chief the right to send our troops into battle." You know, the part about the President as "commander-in-chief"?

"Hardball's" Chris Matthews asked him "[I]f the U.S. Congress were to discuss tomorrow morning whether to declare war on Iran, would you vote yay?" Cantor answered that "it's the commander in chief's role," and then went on to say that "It's not Congress that will ask for that. It is the commander in chief that will make that decision," i.e., to ask for a declaration of war, and that Congress won't declare war absent a presidential request. Cantor also rejected the comments of the other Congressman appearing (Israel) regarding the War Powers Resolution.

What is clear from the transcript is that the far Left and Matthews just weren't listening. Matthews' confusion is understandable; it was a live interview, and one nearly has to read it to understand it and Cantor's point.

And while dishonest in the extreme, the far Left's attack on Congressman Cantor is understandable. After all, he's a Conservative Jew. Can't have that in Congress, since Jews have historically been among Democrats' most loyal constituency. It's always embarrassing when someone leaves the Liberal plantation.

Then there's the little problem with Congressman Israel's pledge of fidelity to the War Powers Resolution, perhaps the most unconstitutional piece of legislation ever passed by Congress. That's just embarrassing.

Of course, it is more that a little ironic that those who are among the most ardent defenders of the unconstitutional Liberal welfare state are attempting to give lessons on the Constitution to Cantor.

West of Shockoe has been leading the attack. A quick visit to that website (with picture) strongly suggests that the author should spend a little less time with beer, and a little more with the Constitution. And with what Cantor actually said.