Cantor against the defeatists

In the previous entry, I pointed out that Rep. Eric Cantor’s assurance that the Democrats are still way short of the number they need was hard to understand and also seemed to contradict other indications, a fact that AllahPundit, who almost seems to want the bill to win, leaped on. But Cantor, in an interview with NRO, is staying with his view, and, while I don’t understand the basis of his estimates, I think he’s an honest man.

From the Corner, posted at 4 p.m.:

Cantor: Pelosi’s ‘False Momentum’ and ‘Fiscal Chicanery’ [Robert Costa]

In the final hours of the health-care debate, Rep. Eric Cantor (R., Va.), the GOP whip, tells National Review Online that Democrats have “false momentum.”

“They can’t have any more than 37 Democrats vote against this bill,” Cantor says. “At this point, they’re way above that. Given what this bill is about, they’re having a lot of difficulty.”

“We’re staying very focused and very close to the Stupak group,” he adds. “We’re also staying very close with Democrats in vulnerable districts—districts that overwhelming oppose this bill due to its fiscal chicanery.”

And what’s Cantor saying to pro-life Democrats being tempted by Pelosi maneuvers? “Those truly committed to the decades-old tradition that we ought not to allow government-funded abortion should see right through that,” he says. “They know that there is no prospect of anything but that happening if this bill becomes law.”

03/19 04:11 PMShare

The chief worry at the moment would appear to be Stupak’s press conference tomorrow morning. Why would he call a press conference if it were only to repeat what he’s said so many times, that he opposes the bill so long as it lacks the Stupak language? If Cantor’s statement is correct that there are currently 45 Democratic No’s, and that 12 of them are the Stupak group, and if Stupak changes to Yes tomorrow, then I would say that it’s looking bad. But the statements by Charles Krauthammer, Larry Sabato, and Allah Pundit have constituted pre-emptive surrender to the enemy.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 19, 2010 10:42 PM | Send