Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is getting his own super-PAC.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericcantor/5497624351/sizes/z/in/photostream/">Eric Cantor</a>/Flickr
If you’re a running for national office in 2012, there are a few things you need to do: 1.) Do not hire Mark Penn; 2.) Don’t tell your base that they “don’t have a heart” (they won’t like it); 3.) Set up a nominally independent super-PAC—preferably with a longtime ally at the helm—dedicated to raising corporate cash and spending it on your behalf. Since 2009’s Citizens United decision, independent super-PACs, which can raise unlimited sums and spend it as they please—provided they don’t communicate with any candidate—are all but required for serious candidates. Rick Perry has two of them, for instance.
And now, National Journal‘s Chris Frates reports that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has gotten in the game, too—paving the way for a spot on 2012 ticket:
The PAC will be run by Cantor’s deputy chief of staff John Murray and would give Cantor a vehicle he could use to run for vice president, should the opportunity arise, said a source close to the majority leader’s office, who asked not to be named because the source was not authorized to speak publicly. Murray’s departure from Cantor’s office is imminent, the source said.
Cantor was floated as a potential vice presidential pick in 2008, but one year later a McCain aide called those reports a “complete and total joke.” He was briefly mentioned as 2012 presidential candidate (mainly because he was raising a lot of money), but shot down those rumors. He has not endorsed a candidate yet, although he had publicly urged Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to run.
