David
Brat is a very religious man who wore his religion on both sleeves in a
strongly Christian district. Did Eric Cantor's religion (Jewish) play a role in his defeat?
In hebrew, cantor means someone who sings and leads Jewish religious services. But Cantor could not chant the psalms or sing the praises of Jesus that, if Brat's victory speech is any indication, were the score for the David versus Goliath epic.
Brat made no overt appeal to anti-semitism. But did his preaching to the choir have a subtext? Did Brat's speeches, peppered with New Testament quotes not only expose Cantor as an old school pol, but also as an Old Testament guy.
One parallel is the defeat of Tom Bradley, Los Angeles's first black mayor. As was the case with Cantor, usually reliable polls had him well ahead. Voters keep their prejudice out of public polls, but freely express it in the privacy of the voting booth.
Eric Cantor was divisive and polarizing. I will not say a Kaddish for the death of his political career. But if he lost for the wrong reason, I will be singing a different tune
