‘House of Cantor’ comes Tumbling Down, Reflections from Richmond
In what may very well be the political upset of the year on June 10, Eric Cantor of the 7th District in Virginia lost in the Republican Primary to his opponent, Tea Party challenger, David Brat, an Economics professor at Randolph-Macon and a man who has never held public office. Eric Cantor was a 7th term incumbent, and remains till July 31st the House Majority Leader.
Around 8 PM on June 10, the AP predicted that Eric Cantor would lose the election. At that moment, only about 60% of the polling had been reported. The reporting on this political bombshell began and included reasons for his loss. Once all polling had been reported, Cantor’s defeat was clear as Dave Brat won with 11% more votes. Cantor’s district spans parts of Richmond including Henrico County and Hanover County as well as Louisa and Culpeper. Cantor spoke the morning after his results, saying that, “House Republicans do get things done.” The problem is perhaps he did not “get [sic] done” what his voters wanted him to do. Many national reports have said that he did not listen to the issues at home, and focused too much on national politics. Yet, as a leader, he was expected to concern himself with national politics in order to keep the government running. However, the Virginia 7th District voters let it be known that they wanted a change from Washington elite to someone more like themselves even though Eric Cantor “fights for Middle-Class Americans” who mostly comprise his district. They, in turn, want a man more like themselves and closer to the issues; though, a man with a Ph. D, and a background in Economics who is financially able to run for public office without the backing of large donors will not be just another “Average Joe.” He will not be as in tune with the Washington D.C. way of life like Cantor.
Eric Cantor spent over 5 million dollars on his campaign, while David Brat spent just over 200,000 dollars. The voters in this district signal, perhaps, another change—campaigns cannot be won solely on money. Both men did their share of campaigning with television ads and mailers, Eric Cantor hosted events, and David Brat was seen campaigning at a local berry farm the weekend before the primary. Yet, the winner and loser were decided on issues.
Much of the national reports claim that Brat won on his truly conservative immigration beliefs as Cantor was calling for amnesty and compromising over immigration reforms. With the recent influx of illegal mothers and children across the border, this news potentially pushed Brat supporters to vote at the polls. Yet, UVA’s very own Larry Sabato has been tweeting as well as commenting on Cantor’s loss since the polls closed. His words on June 12th seem to highlight the central reason to Cantor’s loss which, “… was a very personal rejection of Eric Cantor. All politics has never been more local…I was struck by disconnect of media coverage of race’s ‘meaning’ and what real voters said.” He hints that the media chose to focus on immigration for Cantor’s loss, yet did not address the reasons of local voters who choose Brat over Cantor. Speaking to several local voters in the 7th district, they made several remarks on immigration just none that confirmed national media speculation. The ads and mailers, which provided homes with information on each candidate and their stance on immigration, economics, etc., did not have as large as an impact on many of their voting decisions. When asked, several people remarked on the ads which talked about “ObamaCare” and Cantor calling Brat a once liberal college professor. Yet, immigration was barely mentioned in discussions with them. They noted reasons to Cantor’s loss was about wanting a change in representation, and Brat better represented all of the issues that they stood for. Perhaps the media would be able to “solve” this political earthquake (as this has been named) if they came to Richmond or Culpeper and specifically ask voters.
Another speculation, as Virginia is an open primary state, claims that Virginian Democrats voted for Brat to get Eric Cantor off November’s ticket. Former congressman Ben Jones, who ran against Cantor in 2002, wrote an open letter to the Huffington Post asking for all Democrats, Libertarians, Republicans, and Independents to vote Cantor out of office. In the letter, he stated, “From what I know of Dave Brat, he is a good, honest, and honorable man. And from what I know of Eric Cantor, I can say only that he ran a truly dishonorable campaign against me back in 2002.” Yet, it is really unlikely that this letter and his attacking words had much of an impact on bringing Democrats to the polls. After all, it seems unlikely that they would want to potentially place a man on November’s ticket whom is farther from their beliefs than Cantor is.
Cantor’s race has been slightly compared to GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham who won his primary with almost 60% of the vote. Senator Graham, along with Cantor, is pushing for immigration reform. Yet, he went back home to South Carolina and explained to voters his position, which is something Eric Cantor failed to do.
With Graham as an example and Cantor as another, perhaps, the take-away point in this particular primary is, even at a time when voter turn-out remains extremely low, voters still matter. And, they will not let you forget them.
When Political Dramas Become Reality
The average American watches about five hours of TV per day according to a Neilson study released in March 2014. Though, this does not include online streaming through providers like Netflix or Amazon. Among the most popular of television shows in the past fifteen years, include political-oriented dramas. NBC’s popular show, “The West Wing,” ran from 1999-2006, and is currently available on Netflix. “The West Wing” explores, just what it implies, The West Wing and the people who work for the President. ABC’s “Scandal” hit 10.5 million viewers when Season 3 debuted last fall. “Scandal” centers around the life of Olivia Pope, a crisis manager with a strong character yet a weakness for the love of the President. “House of Cards” on Netflix received fourteen Emmy nominations this year including Best Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress for Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright who play the driven power couple, Frank and Claire Underwood. This show centers on Frank Underwood’s hatred and his plight for revenge as a US senator. HBO draws in viewers with its own political-minded comedy, “Veep,” staring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the Vice President of the United States, which has been nominated for several Golden Globes as well as Emmy’s.
With a plethora of television shows to choose from, we are, as American television viewers, always exposed through multiple media platforms to a fictionalized version of the inter-workings of the Capitol and the White House. These shows consume viewers with constant drama, and scatterings of comedic punches to relieve tension. There are deaths, sex, drugs, torture, destruction, and strange ways of showing affection that only seem to fit in a cut-throat political environment when love seems to work as a partnership and sometimes a business deal—cue Frank and Clair Underwood—or a love so complicated it resembles Romeo and Juliet—cue Olivia Pope and President Grant. Yet, real D.C. politics has been formulated to entertain us for years. We may not always need the scripted, televised version.
Forty years ago this August, Former President Nixon resigned due the Watergate scandal. Watergate showed political corruption and power at its most dramatic, and many people related to the incident were put on trial and found guilty of their involvement to the break-in at Watergate. Fast-forward forty years later and the American public still receive daily updates of practically made-for-television political drama. Earlier this summer, there was a real plot-twist in the polls when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost the primary election to a political unknown, Dave Bratt. The end of July brought more drama to the state of Virginia, when the corruption trial of Former Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen McDonnell, began. Some emails, text-messages, testimony, clothes, and other gifts presented as evidence seem fit for a made-for-TV drama with plenty of scandal, and a couple who could use some handling from fictionalized Olivia Pope.
These television shows do not necessarily try to imitate reality. However, day within political life can vary like each television episode within a season of “House of Cards” or “Scandal.” Justin Trinidad who worked inside the White House said, “For me, there was something new and different to experience everyday.”
On television, there is a level of intensity built with great acting performances and music appropriately placed to bring in huge ratings. D.C. itself is, in a way, bringing in ratings. After all, it has to keep the American public happy. Justin says, “I definitely think the shows add intensity to everyday work. However, I think there is some truth to the stress people in D.C. face especially for certain people who face pressure from their constituents to solve problems immediately.”
Another University of Virginia student who worked in Washington and asked to remain nameless, sings similar sentiments of Justin’s, “The environment is definitely fast-paced…Constituents pull your arms in every direction.” And stress, like on the television shows, shine through. She says, “To be honest, I did feel very stressed…There was literally not a single time I could just take a quick fifteen minute break from working.” However, this stress does not manifest itself in just one person. Cara Mumford, a University of Virginia student who worked in the Capitol, along with the two other University of Virginia students commented on the stress that can be seen throughout the sea of Washingtonians. Cara states, “However, from my view, being a staffer on the Hill is a very stressful job. Someone described it to me as a series of volatile two-year contracts. The experience can vary greatly if it is an election year and depending which party has control of the two houses.” Unlike many of the political television shows which focus on one person, “The West Wing” resembles Cara’s experiences, as she states, “The staffers depend on each other and help each other out whenever possible.” One University of Virginia student commented that, “D.C. work is definitely a group effort. There is so much work to be done that it is literally impossible for one person to do it all. You are almost forced to work as a team or projects just will not be completed.”
It seems that scandals do not make themselves known among daily life for these D.C. interns. When it comes down to it, though, perhaps these television shows have the politics just right rather than the scandal. One student states, “There are definitely a fair share of office politics and in-house drama. Staffers collide. Opinions clash. People fight over interns and which assignments interns should get. There is a lot of inner-office politics for sure. But in my short time there, I didn’t see anyone get murdered…” Art is not imitating life, perhaps.
An Inside Look at the Virginia Film Festival
The Virginia Film Festival will again take place this year from November 7-10. There will be 100 movies on grounds and at the Downtown Mall. For four days, you have the opportunity to surround yourself in so many films. For any film lover out there, this is most definitely a dream come true. One film lover is lucky enough to have this as his job. Jody Kielbasa, the Virginia Film Festival director and Vice Provost for the Arts at the University of Virginia, is just that film lover. He hopes to bring “the best and latest films” to the Festival every year. In fact, one of the most talked about at last year’s festival was Silver Linings Playbook, and audiences had the chance to see it before it hit the big screens.
The first step is knowing what films to bring the festival. Planning starts as early as January and continues through the winter and the spring. Planning includes going to other film festivals, getting in touch with other film festival programmers, and interacting with the festival’s Advisory Board which include a lot of UVA alums. The thirty days before the festival are integral. Mr. Kielbasa says it is “crunch time” where festival staff pulls all the loose ends of the program together, and works to market the festival. What is not a surprise is the hectic mood that runs through Festival weekend. Mr. Kielbasa finds that it is “not uncommon to introduce 10-12 films or panels” all over the place per day. He also does TV and radio interviews, talks with sponsors and filmmakers throughout the day, as well as patrons and viewers. However, he describes his job as a “privilege.” It is “fun” and he “loves interacting with the 27,000 plus people” that come out to the Festival every year.
Luckily, he does not have to do it all alone. While he is the director, which means he is in charge of all the Festival aspects both with the artistic and managing side, he has some help with managing, programming, operations, business, and more. There are 12 interns who engage with the programming aspects and outreach with the school systems among other activities. There are even short term people that come in to help with jobs like guest relations. Even the volunteers play a role in making sure the Festival runs smoothly.
Every year, Mr. Kielbasa’s favorite part of the Film Festival is “interacting with the filmmakers and the general public.” He loves bringing “living history” to the Film Festival goers like last year when the Festival screened All the President’s Men with a discussion about the the film and the real-life events portrayed in the film with Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. It is “bringing in people that were an important part of history, and delivering it to the audience and students” that Mr. Kielbasa describes as “a gift.”
This year, in particular, he is excited about three films. The Festival will screen Nebraska followed by a discussion with William Forte who stars in the film. And, “for fun” the Festival will show MacGruber with William Forte in the lead role followed by a discussion with Jorma Taccone and William Forte. Also, he is looking forward to The Birds, an Alfred Hitchcock film, with a discussion afterwards with the lead actress, Tippi Hedren.
One thing Mr. Kielbasa wants to make sure students know, they can attend the Festival for free! Arts Scholars through the UVA Arts Box Office gives students this opportunity. Check the films out before they hit theaters where you would be paying a lot more! So, make sure to get your tickets online at virginiafilmfestival.org. And, stay tuned for up-to-date film festival coverage here!
Sarah-Beth Vernon 