Dave Brat runs against amnesty, beats Eric Cantor (Virginia, immigration)
In a momentous loss for both the GOP establishment and the elites in general, Teaparty candidate Dave Brat has defeated House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia in the Republican primary. One of Cantor's weaknesses was his support for some form of comprehensive immigration reform (aka amnesty) and - unlike some other candidates - Brat made opposing amnesty a major part of the race (link):
Brat exposed discontent with Cantor in the solidly Republican, suburban Richmond 7th Congressional District by attacking the lawmaker on his votes to raise the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown, as well as his support for some immigration reforms. At a May meeting of Republican activists in the district, Cantor was booed, and an ally he campaigned for was ousted as the local party chairman in favor of a tea party favorite...
...A seemingly critical issue for Cantor was immigration. The majority leader had championed a Republican version of the Dream Act, which would enable some undocumented immigrants who entered the country as children to qualify for in-state college tuition rates. Although Cantor never brought the legislation to the House floor, his support for the idea irritated staunch opponents of immigration reform.
It's very unfortunate that this is a big win for the Tea Parties movement (see the link to the right). But, very fortunately, this is a big win in the fight against amnesty: other GOP politicians that push amnesty might think twice to avoid being "Cantored".
This result also puts the lie to [[immigration polls]] that claim amnesty is popular with Republican voters. Before the election, Cantor sent out mailers falsely portraying himself as an opponent of amnesty; he wouldn't have done that if it was.