Eric Cantor: ‘I Care About the Poor’
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, asked in a nationally televised interview why most Jews are Democrats, invoked the idea of tikkun olam, the Jewish mandate to repair the world, which the Virginia Republican called “a very charitable concept.”
“There is the ability to characterize all the social programs that exist at the federal level as reflecting that need to repair the world, and to help those who can’t help themselves,” he told Lesley Stahl of CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”
Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, also said that his party, historically, “wasn’t really good at welcoming immigrants, wasn’t really good at saying, ‘Hey, we want to give you a helping hand,’” and that led many Jews to vote Democratic.
Stahl, in the interview broadcast Monday, asked what he thought of those who say that his policies conflict with Jewish ideals, such as helping those in need. “I care about the poor. I care about helping people who need the help,” Cantor said. ” As far as taxing the rich, I think we should make sure that everybody, middle class and the rest, hardworking taxpayers in this country, are able to keep as much of what they earn as they can because they, too, can help the poor” through charity.
In the last presidential election, 78% of the Jewish vote went to Democrat Barack Obama.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!