Peter King had some words this week in reaction to Eric Cantor’s primary loss on Tuesday. Speaking with Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent, King said that David Brat’s win in Virginia over the House Majority Leader will be misread by many in Congress as a sign that immigration reform should stop moving forward. According to Sargent:
King suggests the broader failure to embrace reform, along with following the destructively uncompromising and confrontational path blazed by Cruz, could hurt the party in the long run.
“There is an opportunity right now—we have Democrats who are willing to agree to strict border controls,” King says. “We could get meaningful reform which could satisfy most Democrats and Republicans.” But sticking with a “hard-line position,” King adds, “could make it easier in primaries, but nationwide that doesn’t sell.”
Eric Cantor is a politician who repeatedly blocked immigration reform when he was Majority Leader. Now his primary defeat is being heralded as a new reason to block reform. The votes of 36,000 Virginia primary voters does not outweigh the votes in 2016 of the millions of Latinos and Asian Americans who will cast their ballots.
