Cantor upset in Virginia GOP primary by Tea Party backed challenger

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his GOP Virginia primary race to Tea Party-backed challenger Dave Brat Tuesday night in a stunning upset.
Brat, an economics professor and political novice, latched onto the hot-button issue of immigration, accusing Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the GOP-led House, of supporting immigration legislation that would give “amnesty” to millions of people living illegally in the United States.

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“If you go knocking door to door, you’ll know the American people think they’re in trouble,” Brat told Fox News. “It was a miracle. God gave us this win.”
Brat, a Princeton graduate and seminar student who teaches at Randolph-Macon College, a small liberal arts school north of Richmond, attempted to downplay the Tea Party vs. Washington establishment narrative about the race.
He said he enjoyed Tea Party support but was a candidate focused on Republican principles including free markets and “adherence to the Constitution.”
Cantor conceded defeat about an hour after the race was called, confirming the biggest upset victory of this year's election cycle and a major blow to the core of the GOP.
“It’s disappointing,” he told a small crowd in Richmond. “But I believe in this country. I believe there is opportunity around the next corner.”
Cantor also thanked volunteers, supporters and campaign staffers. And he called serving as the state’s 7th District congressman and as majority leader one of the highest honors of his life.
Brat won 56 percent of the vote, compared to 44 percent for Cantor, with all precincts reporting. Approximately 18,000 more votes were cast in Tuesday's primary than in 2012, when Cantor easily defeated another Tea Party-backed challenger, Floyd Bayne.
In the closing weeks of the race, Brat tried to tie the seven-term congressman’s support for legal status for children who have illegally entered the country to the situation of hundreds of children from Central America pouring illegally across the southern U.S. border, creating a humanitarian crisis.
Cantor, once considered next in line to take over for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, fought back in part by pointing out that he helped block Senate plans "to give illegal aliens amnesty."
Cantor and other House Republican leaders had advocated a more step-by-step approach to immigration reform that would in part begin with tighter border security, instead of the comprehensive bill backed by the Senate.
Brat also said Cantor, who was first elected in 2000 and has ties to Tea Party-backed lawmakers in Congress, had spent too much time in Washington and lost touch with the conservative base in his Richmond-area district.
Despite the attacks, Cantor had appeared well positioned for reelection.
The most recent campaign finance reports showed he spent more than $1 million in April and May but still has more than $1.5 million in the bank.
Brat, by contrast, raised just more than $200,000 for his campaign, according to the reports.
"Dollars don't vote, people do," he told Fox News.
Large corporations and other groups donated heavily to the incumbent.
The American Chemistry Council, whose members include many blue chip companies, spent more than $300,000 on TV ads promoting Cantor. And the political arms of the American College of Radiology, the National Rifle Association and the National Association of Realtors had five-figure independent spending to promote him.
Brat helped offset the cash disadvantage with endorsements from conservative activists, like radio host Laura Ingraham, and with help from Tea Party activists angry at Cantor.
The upset sent shock waves across Capitol Hill with speculation about whether Cantor would resign his leadership post and if any Republican incumbent would now dare to support immigration reform. Cantor aides did not respond Tuesday when asked if the 51-year-old would launch a write-in campaign in November.

“Eric Cantor and I have been through a lot together," Boehner said. "He’s a good friend and a great leader, and someone I’ve come to rely upon on a daily basis as we make the tough choices that come with governing. My thoughts are with him and (wife) Diana and their kids tonight.”

Soon after Cantor conceded, questions also began to arise about what the result means for Boehner's future as Speaker. The conventional wisdom is that Boehner has been strengthened by Cantor's defeat, as his strongest potential challenger for the Speaker's gavel has been removed. 

One former senior House Republican close to Boehner described Cantor's loss as "devastating to the party," before adding that it may not be to Boehner "as there is no one else now."
"We need Boehner now more than ever," said the former member. "Can Boehner step up?"

Democrats reveled in the loss.

"From Day One of (President) Obama’s presidency, Eric Cantor has used every dirty trick to block the Democratic agenda," the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in a fundraising e-mail.

"Eric Cantor has long been the face of House Republicans' extreme policies, debilitating dysfunction and manufactured crises.  Tonight is a major victory for the tea party as they yet again pull the Republican Party further to the radical right," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "As far as the midterm elections are concerned, it's a whole new ballgame."

Cantor, a former Virginia state legislator, was elected to Congress in 2000. He became majority leader in 2011.

The Brat victory was by far the biggest of the 2014 campaign season for Tea Party forces, though last week they forced veteran Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran into a June 24 runoff with state Sen. Chris McDaniel.
"Thad Cochran, Eric Cantor. They were playing with fire," a source familiar with both campaigns told Fox News. "It will force the Republicans to move further to the right. ... You have what could be chaos for leadership. They could get caught up in the politics of this and that gets them away from any legislative agenda."
Cantor's defeat appears to be the first ever suffered in a primary by a sitting House majority leader. Former House Speaker Thomas Foley, D-Wash. and Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota both lost their seats at the polls in 1994 and 2004, respectively, but they fell to Republicans, not to challengers from within their own parties.
Jay S. Poole, a Cantor volunteer, said Brat tapped into widespread frustration among voters about the gridlock in Washington and issues such as immigration.
"I can't tell you how amazing this is to me," Poole said.
In the fall, Brat will face Democrat Jack Trammel, also a professor at Randolph-Macon, in the solidly Republican district.

Hillary Clinton says family 'dead broke' after White House

Intelligence officials predicted two detainees in Bergdahl swap would return to senior Taliban positions, report claims

U.S. intelligence officials predicted that two of the detainees freed from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from Taliban captivity would return to senior positions in the militant group, according to a published report. 
The Wall Street Journal reports that analysis was contained in a classified assessment prepared by spy agencies during deliberations about whether to agree to the prisoner exchange. The analysis also said that two others were likely to assume active roles within the Taliban. 
The intelligence assessment was reportedly described to select lawmakers during classified briefings about the prisoner swap given by the administration last week. The existence of the assessment is being revealed as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel prepares to testify before the House Armed Services Committee about the prisoner exchange Wednesday. 
The five detainees are Mohammed Fazl, a former Taliban army chief of staff; Noorullah Noori, a former commander in northern Afghanistan; Khairullah Khairkhwa, a former interior minister; Mohammed Nabi Omari, another Taliban official; and Abdul Haq Wasiq, the deputy intelligence chief.
Of those five, a senior U.S. official tells the Journal that Fazl and Khairkhwa are likely to resume senior leadership roles, while Noori and Omari are expected to resume active roles. Wasiq is considered unlikely to resume an active role with the Taliban. According to documents obtained and released by the website Wikileaks, Wasiq had arranged to meet with U.S. forces to provide information about Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar that could be used in attempting to capture him prior to Wasiq's detention in 2001.  
The Journal reports that one U.S. document says Wasiq was "resentful" that he was imprisoned while cooperating with the U.S. 
The Obama administration has defended the prisoner exchange on the grounds that Qatar, which took in the detainees, would allow the U.S. to monitor and track them. The Journal reports that Qatar has also agreed to offer a  "re-education program" designed to draw the five away from militancy. 
If that doesn't work, U.S. officials say, the administration would not hesitate to target the men should they attempt to return to the battlefield. 
As Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby put it, "They re-enter the fight at their own peril."

China billionaire eyes US market after snatching up taxpayer-backed Fisker

 Bailey: "Get use to it because this is just the beginning. The American Government started selling us out a long time ago!"


Fisker Automotive -- the U.S. electric car company that failed to repay roughly $139 million in federal loans before going bankrupt -- is now owned by a Chinese company eager to unleash its cut-rate acquisition on the American auto industry.
The company’s assets were acquired earlier this year by China's biggest auto parts supplier, Wanxiang Group, for $149.2 million in a U.S. bankruptcy auction.
The company reportedly could start selling Fisker’s ill-fated Karma plug-in car later this year in the United States and Europe.
Billionaire company founder and Chairman Lu Guanqiu has aspired to get into the auto industry since the 1980s and the electric-car business for roughly the past 15 years.
And the acquisition of Fisker and its battery supplier, A123 Systems, which each came with key patents, should make Guanqiu's company well positioned to compete.
Wanxiang acquired A123 Systems in a 2012 bankruptcy sale, after the company failed to repay millions to the same federal loan program that helped Fisker.
"I'll put every cent that Wanxiang earns into making electric vehicles,” Guanqiu, who outbid at least one other Chinese investor, told Bloomberg Businessweek this spring. "I'll burn as much cash as it takes to succeed, or until Wanxiang goes bust."
The remark reflects the opinion of industry experts who think Guanqiu’s determination and record of success could indeed make him a player in the market along with Toyota, whose Prius is the most popular hybrid sold in America.
Fisker received the taxpayer-funded millions through the Energy Department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, which has provided $8.4 billion in funding since 2009.
The program came under scrutiny after the department lost the roughly $139 million on Fisker, which filed for bankruptcy in 2013. Fisker received $192 million from the program before funding was pulled.
The situation resulted in criticism about the Obama administration’s eagerness to back “green-energy” projects like Fisker and failed solar panel company Solyndra, despite indications they could not compete in the marketplace.
The Energy Department also lost about $42 million on a loan to a shuttered Michigan company that made vans for the disabled. However, the loan program had success with electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc., which reportedly repaid its $452 million loan in 2013.
Critics have also complained that Guanqiu didn’t step in to save Fisker and U.S. taxpayers, instead waiting for the bankruptcy sale.
An Energy Department spokeswoman later told reporters: “While the outcome is not what we hoped for, the [agency] explored every option available and closely followed federal legal processes in an effort to get the best possible recovery for the taxpayer.”
Fisker in its five-year run also reportedly burned through roughly $1 billion in private investment money.
The Karma comes with a small gasoline engine that kicks in when the battery runs out of power. Fisker sold about 1,800 models from 2011 and 2012, at about $100,000 each, before a series of problems halted production.
Wanxiang also is reportedly considering completely the development of a second Fisker model -- a more affordable mid-sized, gas-electric hybrid named the Atlantic.
Right now, the new owner plans to produce the vehicles in Finland but reportedly is considering the potential for U.S. manufacturing.

Milwaukee Catholic school parents blast Archdiocese's blessing of Common Core

A group of Milwaukee-area Catholic school parents are fuming over the Archdiocese's decision to implement Common Core at its 110 parochial schools, and some are turning to home-schooling their children.
More than 1,000 parents have banded together and launched a campaign and online petition calling for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to reverse Archbishop Jerome Listecki’s move at the beginning of the year to implement the controversial, Washington-backed educational standards. Some told FoxNews.com that they send their children to private schools precisely to avoid a secular curriculum they believe is infused with politics and dubiously researched lessons.  
“If I wanted my children to have a public school curriculum I would have sent them to a public school,” Heather Schweitzer, of Kenosha, who recently pulled her daughters Mia, 9, and Chloe, 7, out of All Saints Catholic School and is now teaching them at home, told FoxNews.com. “A Catholic school’s priority is to prepare children for Heaven, not for college.”

“A Catholic school’s priority is to prepare children for Heaven, not for college.”- Heather Schweitzer, Catholic school parent-turned home-schooler

The Common Core State Standards Initiative, an educational testing program begun by the nation's governors with the goal of making public education more uniform from state to state, has become increasingly polarizing this year. Critics say the standardized testing drives curriculum, and the entire program is undermining local control of what kids are taught. Some 45 states initially signed on, but Indiana and Oklahoma have since opted out and opposition to Common Core has increased as it is being rolled out around the nation.
Of the five parishes in the state of Wisconsin, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the only one to adopt Common Core. The unusual move has led to speculation from some. Listecki insists that standards at the schools he oversees will not be changed by participating in Common Core.
“Our approach in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is no different than the approach of other bishops in the State of Wisconsin, namely, that each of us has a strong commitment to Catholic identity, and that commitment shines through boldly in our Catholic schools,” the Archbishop said in a statement provided to FoxNews.com. “Common Core standards are a reference, not a replacement for Catholic school standards. We are not “adopting” Common Core, but rather utilizing those standards, along with our own Catholic school standards, as a way of measuring the success of our students.”
The diocese addresses the controversy on its website, with a letter to parents, sample Common Core-aligned essays and questions and a list of what it calls Common Core "myths."
The parents, who have formed a loose coalition called “Milwaukee Catholic Parents Against Common Core,” and put together a petition that has garnered more than 1,000 signatures, according to education blog EAG news.
The coalition claims Common Core standards represent "untested, experimental standards that are threatening the independence of Catholic schools,” according to a statement. The group points out that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said Common Core was developed for a public school audience and is "of its nature incomplete as it pertains to Catholic schools.”
Steve Becker, whose two children attend St. Alphonsus in Greendale, Wis., said Catholic schools have a track record of success and should not follow educational trends that have not been proven. 
“It’s too much of a risky endeavor,” Becker told FoxNews.com. "Personally, I don’t understand why a Catholic school would go with secular standards designed for public schools.”
A meeting Becker had been promised this week with the Archdiocese’s superintendent of schools, Kathleen Cepelka, was canceled last Friday amid concerns the parents had taken their complaints public.
“[She] canceled the meeting because she felt that Mr. Becker had preempted the discussion and engaged the media on a story without giving her/us an opportunity to have a respectful dialogue concerning the implementation of Common Core Standards,” said a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Becker said he is disappointed the Catholic hierarchy would follow the public school trend.
“I would guess that they are doing it because it’s the next thing,” Becker said. “They are just aligning themselves with a trend in education.”

White House reportedly let Bergdahl parents take part in secure video conferences

The White House allowed the parents of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to take part in a series of secure video conferences with State Department and intelligence officials and senior military commanders, according to a published report. 
The Washington Times reports that Bob and Jani Bergdahl were allowed to join the conferences remotely from the Idaho National Guard headquarters in Boise soon after their son was captured by the Taliban in June 2009. 
A spokesman for the Idaho National Guard told the paper that the Bergdahls participated in up to 20 video conferences per year. 
"Mr. and Mrs. Bergdahl were regularly informed about what was happening throughout the duration using video teleconferencing [with] various military and other government agencies," said Air Force Col. Anthony Marsano. "There was a great effort to keep Mr. and Mrs. Bergdahl updated on developments."
Larry Johnson, a former State Department official who worked on the cases of American citizens taken hostage in Lebanon during the 1980s, told the Times that granting such access to the family of a missing person was "wrong."
"The Bergdahls shouldn't have been part of that for no other reason than on the off chance they may inadvertently divulge some tactic," Johnson told the paper. "I mean, it's one thing for government officials to interview the family, get insights from the family about what’s going on."But to put them in the middle of what is essentially a classified secure video conference is ridiculous."
Col. Marsano told The Times that he was not aware that the Bergdahls had exposed any sensitive information and would not discuss whether the couple had a security clearance or if any classified matters were brought up in the briefings.
Bob Bergdahl has been criticized for expressing sympathy for Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. Five detainees were released from captivity in exchange for the release of Sgt. Bergdahl May 31. 

Cleveland Clinic leader Cosgrove drops from competition to run Veterans Affairs

 Bailey: "Could you blame the guy, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole!"

A top Obama administration prospect to run the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs withdrew his name for the job Saturday.
Cleveland Clinic chief executive Dr. Toby Cosgrove acknowledged he had been contacted by the administration but said he wants to remain at his current job to complete his work.
“This has been an extraordinarily difficult decision, but I have decided to withdraw from consideration …  due to the commitment I have made to the organization, our patients and the work that still needs to be done here," said Cosgrove, a decorated Vietnam veteran.
President Obama has been looking for a replacement for department Secretary Eric Shinseki since accepting his May 30 resignation, which followed an inspector general’s report concluding widespread problems with providing veterans prompt medical care and "systemic" problems with clinics misrepresenting patient wait times. 
Cosgrove's decision is a signal of the difficulties the Obama administration may face in finding someone willing and able to tackle the VA's entrenched problems.
The report came weeks after allegations surfaced about “secret” waiting lists at a VA medical clinic in Phoenix, which resulted in a growing chorus of Democratic and Republican lawmakers calling for Shinseki’s resignation.
"I am humbled and honored to have been considered for the opportunity to help veterans across the United States,” Cosgrove also said. “This is an enormous responsibility and one that deserved careful thought and consideration.”
Considered one of the country’s premiere medical-research facilities and health-care providers, the Cleveland Clinic has been a favorite for Obama.
The announcement comes just days after President Obama's choice to be the top health official at the VA withdrew his nomination Thursday, saying he feared his confirmation could spark a prolonged political battle. 
Jeffrey Murawsky, health care chief for the VA's Chicago-based regional office, was nominated last month to be the department's new undersecretary for health care, replacing Robert Petzel, who resigned under pressure. Petzel had been scheduled to retire later this year but was asked to leave early amid a firestorm over delays in patient care and preventable deaths at veterans hospitals.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.