Rep. Peter King (R-NY) bashed conservatives Rand Paul and Ted Cruz today after Eric Cantor’s surprise primary loss.
Via Morning Joe:
King is worried Cantor’s loss will embolden conservatives.
The Politico reported:
Rep. Peter King on Wednesday said the Republican Party cannot allow Ted Cruz and Rand Paul to take over following House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s defeat.
“We can’t allow Eric’s defeat last night allow the Ted Cruzes and the Rand Pauls to take over the party, or their disciples to take over the party,” the moderate New York Republican said on MSNBC. “Because this is not conservatism to me. Shutting down the government is not being conservative.”
King has long been harshly critical of the tea party and two of the movement’s major icons, Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky. On Wednesday, he was responding to a potential party leadership vacuum following economics professor Dave Brat’s stunning victory over Cantor in the Republican primary for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, a result some are calling a sign of a tea party takeover of the GOP.
When asked whether immigration reform is now dead in the House following Cantor’s defeat, King responded: “My concern is that a lot of things are going to be dead and pushed to the side. I’m concerned that, for instance, that the Ted Cruz supporters, the Rand Paul supporters, are going to use this as an excuse to basically stop the government from functioning. I mean, thank God there’s no debt ceiling vote coming up.”