Word: cantors
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...Congress returns from its midwinter break and Obama readies his first joint address to Congress, Cantor and the rest of his party are grappling with how to approach the rest of the President's agenda this year - housing and foreclosures, financial markets re-regulation, the budget, universal health care and green jobs. The key in opposing the stimulus, Cantor says, was offering a credible alternative. "Our members in the House really rallied around a forward-looking, smarter, simpler stimulus plan," Cantor says. "We took a very positive, constructive view on where the stimulus should be, and when the bill that...
...Cantor believes the one lesson the Obama Administration took from his orchestrated opposition was that it must work harder to reach out to the GOP. Many Democrats argue the opposite, saying the stimulus fight proved the futility of the new President's attempts to achieve a measure of bipartisan consensus. Stripping some objectionable measures (like family-planning aid for states and money for cleaning up the National Mall) from early versions of the House plan, they point out, won over absolutely no House Republicans...
...Cantor bristles when asked about taking an opposing position from business interests on the stimulus plan. "I knew about the endorsements from some of the business groups for sure, but their obligation is not to the voters and the people of this country like mine is," he says. "I feel that my obligation is to be a prudent guardian of taxpayer money...
...issues like health care and regulatory reform, Cantor says both sides must come together. "I think, obviously, the challenges that face the American people are enormous," he says, "and because it is an equal-opportunity challenge, it's not just Democrats or Republicans that suffer, it's all of us. I believe that President Obama and the Democrats will work with us because the stakes are just that high." He also emphasizes the large areas of agreement between Dems and Republicans on upcoming legislation, such as the need for an austere budget (though Cantor opposes letting President Bush...
...Cantor says he knows he can't block everything coming through - otherwise the GOP risks being labeled the party of obstruction. (Just look at the Republicans' four-decade stint in Siberia after they tried to block much of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.) But he also won't simply roll over for Obama's agenda. In offering constructive criticism and viable alternatives, negotiating when possible and walking away when necessary, Cantor believes he's found the path back to that office with the spectacular view of the Mall...