Cantor sez any government shut down will be Obama's fault:
WASHINGTON -- Just as Senate Minority Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has attempted to lower expectations in recent days by saying that Republicans can't really accomplish anything unless President Obama is voted out of office in 2012, so too did Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) set the stage on Sunday by declaring that any lack of progress in Congress -- including a possible government shutdown -- will be Obama's fault.
Cantor also made clear that if there's going to be any compromise, it's going to have to come from Obama, who has said he is willing to work with Republicans. Cantor, however, said that Republicans will work with Obama only if he agrees with them 100 percent.
Cantor sez Obama must work with Republicans on earmarks, which will definitely be a problem:
Earmarks may prove tricky for the GOP caucus though, because it's not clear that there is a unified Republican position. McConnell and Boehner have both said that they're in favor of an earmark moratorium -- a temporary suspension -- but have refused to go all-out in support of a permanent ban. "You can eliminate every congressional earmark and you would save no money," admitted McConnell in a speech last week at the conservative Heritage Foundation, essentially saying that one of the top ideas touted by Republicans to cut the deficit won't have much of an effect. When asked about a ban by Wallace on Sunday, Cantor simply replied that a moratorium was "essentially a suspension for the entire Congress."
