The Cantor Brand

Cantor was vague about his plans for an upcoming series of meetings Republicans will hold to decide how to rebuild, but he did not deny the GOP brand has taken a hit. Cantor cited Obama's financial advantage and the toxic environment for Republicans as factors contributing to the party's decline. The biggest problem, Cantor said, is that the GOP allowed Democrats to co-opt what has traditionally been a conservative message. "All of a sudden you hear Obama, Rahm Emanuel, and Chuck Schumer talk about the middle class as if the Democrats own the middle class issue," he said. "The middle class is, really was, our playing field. That's how Ronald Reagan came into power, that's how Newt Gingrich came into power, is to stick up for the working families … If nothing else, we couldn't get the message out. Look, Barack Obama ran as a conservative."

Cantor, who was relaxed and reclining comfortably in front of a fireplace in the hotel lobby as he spoke, said that while Obama talks about giving 95 percent of Americans a tax cut, he believes the president-elect plans to pay for it with significant tax hikes on small businesses. His job, he said, will be to explain that to people and "rebuild a mandate for the middle class in this country." Meanwhile, 100 yards away, Cantor's fellow Republicans were all but crying in their drinks, trying to figure out how it all went so wrong.

© 2008