Jon Stewart, like everyone else, is surprised by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's (R-Va.) loss to little-known GOP primary opponent David Brat. But, he noted on Wednesday night's Daily Show, the loss isn't really that earth-shattering — certainly not "David over Goliath times 1,000," as one pundit colorfully put it.
"So, 65,000 people in one congressional district in Virginia have overthrown a clearly arrogant and unsuspecting incumbent," he said, noting (repeatedly) that Cantor spent more of his campaign war chest at steakhouses than Brat did on his entire campaign. ("How did you spend $169,000 on steak?" Stewart asked of Cantor — and Politico has the answer.) Surely this is a case of "all politics is local"? Not if cable news has 24 hours to fill, he sighed: So, "to the broader-lesson-mobile!"
The broader lessons are that all Republicans have to be afraid of Tea Party challenges, immigration reform is dead, and GOP lawmakers will be in trouble if they even talk with Democrats. "Oh, no!" Stewart said in mock horror, summing up his feelings about Washington and Cantor's downfall. "Congress's current golden age of cooperation and productiveness is over!" --Peter Weber