How Brat Won, Why Cantor Lost
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: A political earthquake, a stunning upset, whatever you call it, the buzz today is all about the House majority leader, Eric Cantor's, primary loss to a little known challenger. So why did Cantor lose? How did Dave Brat win? Let's bring in our political contributor, Michael Smerconish. He is the host of CNN's "Smerconish," which airs Saturday mornings here on CNN. He's also a radio talk show host. Michael, you just finished your radio show. What was it, three hours I take it? What did you hear from your listeners?</s>MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, SMERCONISH SHOW: I think most interesting, Wolf, for your audience, would be what did I hear from listeners who called and purported to be from the Eric Cantor district. I think "neglect" is something that sums up the sentiment that I heard from several of them, much in line with what your guests were saying. They thought this was an individual whose eye had been taken off of the district, was far too much on a national platform, and maintaining his position and becoming speaker than it was constituent service at home. No better than him having awakened and been at a Starbucks fundraising in Washington on the day of the election instead of being in the district.</s>BLITZER: I want to play a clip for you, Michael. This is Eric Cantor last month. He was obviously going after his Republican challenger, Dave Brat, a university economics professor. Listen to what he said. Listen to the reaction from the crowd in Virginia.</s>REP. ERIC CANTOR, (R), VIRGINIA: It is easy to sit in the rarefied environments of academia, in the ivory towers of a college campus with no accountability and no consequence.</s>BLITZER: He is getting boos. A little bit of applause. A lot of people weren't paying attention to that reaction. I guess, with hindsight, we should have been paying a lot more attention.</s>SMERCONISH: You know, the play book says if you are running on the right, you are supposed to talk about the liberal members of academia. By no one's stretch of the administration would Dave Brat fall in that category. And that's where I think it fell on deaf ears.</s>BLITZER: What was the role that talk radio played, do you believe, in this race? Some talk radio stars clearly don't like Eric Cantor.</s>SMERCONISH: I think it played a significant role. I came of age, politically, and involved in an era when getting out the vote on primary day meant you went door to door with a street list under the direction of a committee person or a ward leader and you asked people to go out and cast a ballot. That function has been completely supplanted by the world of talk radio and on the right by Drudge, by FOX. That is the GOP apparatus now. When you have the likes of Mark Levin or Laura Ingraham, who are banging the drum day in and day or for the opponent of Eric Cantor, it matters, especially when we are talking about 12 percent coming out on a primary. Who are they? They are the most passionate, meaning the most ideologically driven voters. How do you reach them? Not with a street list going door to door? You reach them through the airwaves.</s>BLITZER: Michael Smerconish's program on CNN airs Saturday mornings, 9:00 a.m. eastern. Let me recommend it to our viewers our there. Michael, thanks for joining us.</s>SMERCONISH: Thanks for having me.</s>BLITZER: Just ahead, a possible sea change in public education. California's rules for firing teachers have been struck down as unconstitutional. It could have consequences in your local school system. We will explain.