With Dick Cheney gone and Rush Limbaugh already tiresome, Democrats need a new go-to bugbear—and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor is their guy, reports Politico. Democrats are using his name to tar other Republicans in ads and calling the young Virginian out in op-eds. The president himself said of Cantor, “Sooner or later, he’s going to say, ‘Boy, Obama had a good idea.’”
Cantor’s tactics in the House have mimicked those of White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and Speaker Nancy Pelosi during their ascents, irritating both. Democratic strategists hope to define Cantor on their terms as his profile grows. Responds one GOP representative: “He’s doing a good job. Whenever you do a good job, they come after you.” (More Eric Cantor stories.)