veterans health care program. at a: 30, joe courtney talks about student loan financing policy. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning. it is june 11, 2014. in a surprising outcome, eric was defeated last line in the gop primary by the tea party candidate. the loss is sending shockwaves throughout washington. it was his support for immigration reform -- that proposal is now dead. we want to go outside of washington. what do you make of eric canto''

in the gop primary yesterday? republicans, (202) 585-3881. democrats, (202) 585-3880. (202) 585-3882. the new york times this morning with the results of last night election in the seventh district of virginia shows that david 55.5% of the vote. here is what the majority leader had to say a littl. [video clip] >> i know there is a lot of long faces here tonight. it is disappointing, sure.

i believe in this country and i believe there is opportunity around the next corner for all of us. continuing to to fight with all of you for the thegs we believe in, for conservative cause. at those solutions are the answer to the problems that summit people are facing today. thank you all very much. [applause] host: majority leader eric cantor last night at his concession speech there. the reports this morning saying that he left quickly after giving that four-minute speech. andot into a waiting suv did not answer reporters questions after that. the richmond times dispatch -- their front-page courtesy of the museum. um.the newse "cantor out."

also from other virginia papers, this morning here, huge loss for cantor. from the news in lynchburg, virginia eric cantor ousted in stunning upset. brat shocks cantor. trammell.ce what are your thoughts? we will go to gary in glen allen, virginia. republican caller. caller: good morning. the news media is getting it all wrong.

the tea party and immigration never comes up in conversation. it has been simply a matter of getting a career politician out of washington and putting somebody in there that is concerned about what is going on locally. where is glenallen? caller: it is west of richmond. host: are you in his district? caller: we live two miles from him. did you get to vote yesterday? caller: yes. host: was it about immigration reform? comes: immigration never up in the conversation about eric cantor. getting back to republican values. getting back to somebody who

doesn't have the objective of being speaker of the house. that was the overriding thought about eric cantor here. his objective was to move up to the speaker and not necessarily being involved with the district he represented. host: did you see him out and about in the district a lot? caller: it seemed like once every year or two you would have a big outdoor gathering during the summer. sort of an outdoor picnic for supporters. never went to one. he did have those. meeting. a town hall nothing. host: have you voted for him in the past? until two years ago when he was opposed by an independent candidate. before that, i was a supporter, yes.

also, he refused to debate brat. why would a gentleman with 16 years of experience in congress not stand up face to face with a challenger who nobody had ever heard of? his tells a lot about motives and objectives, i believe. host: would you call yourself a tea party person? are you part of the movement? caller: i call myself republican. i'm not part of the movement. they have a lot of values that we all share. it's not tea party versus republican in this district. that is one thing the national media is getting along. it's not about the tea party or immigration. it's about eric cantor. host: this was not even about his opponent? caller: the opponent is an

intelligent guy. he is very educated. he has a degree of theology, which is important in this district. opponent is well spoken, well thought out. he is probably the first legitimate opponent that eric cantor had. give was no reason not to this gentleman a chance. voted yesterday for the winner of the seventh district republican primary. dave brat. thomas in staten island, new york. democratic caller. caller: good morning. a lot of people have their gentleman. this was not listening to the people of this country. host: in what way?

debates.o they rejected everything the president put forward. host: but this is a republican primary. caller: exactly. he was the head. the people in the republican party decide they do not want that rejection come either. -- that rejection, either. host: patrick, what do you make of last nights primary results in virginia's second congressional district -- seventh congressional district? caller: good morning. i was looking through yahoo! a couple of days ago and it says -- this is related to autism. europe band 1300 chemicals from their skin creams. host: what did this have to do with eric cantor's defeat? caller: it's the same thing of

these guys don't look at signs. i wondered if c-span compared autism rates to europe and america. we put every chemical into everything we possibly can -- host: patricia in chicago. they rejectedad him. he was arrogant and he said nasty things about obama and the health care bill. we got it through anyway. i hope come in the fall, a democrat will win. host: here are some tweets. "this may make way for a third-party, which would not be a bad idea." "same old, same old."

"cantor voted for medicare part , china bailouts, wall street bailouts." "hard to believe you can get to the right of cantor." what are your thoughts here? everybody in washington weighing in. eric cantor going down in defeat , losing the gop primary. let's look at the electoral history. first elected in the 2000 election and got 67% of the vote. in 2002, 69% of a. 2004, 75% of the vote. 9% of the 6

vote. away with he came nearly 79% of the vote. in 2012. .0,000 people showed up 65,000 showed up for last nights primary. here is what the speaker had to say. "eric cantor and i have been through a lot together. he's a good friend and a great leader and someone i've come to rely upon on a daily basis as we make tough choices that i'm with governing." -- that come with governing." hi, patricia. glad eric cantor

lost election. he was very arrogant. i hope they will have a democrat run against a republican. mike, you are on the air. caller: the previous caller just eric cantor was blocking obama's agenda. it you are replacing him with a tea party guy. i don't think the tea party is what you call a big supporter of obama's policies. the guide wasng blocked obama with a guy who will block obama change anything? there are some pretty strange ideas out there. host: morris in san diego.

caller: good morning. one thing it means is that -- god got back into the conversation. brat gave him some credit for his election. eric cantor reminds me a lot of -- he says things publicly but then he goes behind closed doors and he's a deal maker with democrats. factappy about the that immigration support is clearly dead now. the rest of the country could really learn something about how to control illegal immigration. in san diego, we have zero illegal immigration. it's it was a good night and i'm happy to see it's not eric cantor. host: eric in georgia.

democratic caller. caller: please let me finish. the reason why he lost -- he was the only jewish politician in the republican house. if you look at the situation, these right-wing people are cleansing the party of everything. the democrats need to start taking a look at these older partis. their hasdemocratic party a lot of jewish members. they are causing problems in the party. we need more black politicians to balance it out. host: ray in ohio. caller: good morning.

i'm glad to see that cantor lost the primary. celebration may be a bit premature. host: why are you glad? caller: cantor was a strong proponent of immigration. he was there since 2000 and he is part of the old guard and thus, part of the problem. host: did you hear our first color? caller? he was saying the national media has it all wrong. it was not about immigration reform. that is a local perspective. particularly on our southern border, immigration is a huge issue. it'immigratio immigration reform is not the answer. the existing law is. you said the republicans

should not start celebrating at. why not? caller: we still have the general election to get through. rat could still screw up. host: it is a solidly republican district. patricia in orlando, florida. republican caller. caller: thank you for having me on the air. -- we need newee blood up in washington. democrats and republicans need to get rid of the old ones in there for years and years. we needed to do something about the immigration and the guatemalan children coming over here and the republicans need to stand up and take a stand, which they are not doing. i'm glad to see it and i hope listen to him

eventually. host: more reaction from capitol hill. had this to say last night. "eric is one of my closest friends. if you have fought harder or rabbit countless more in the pursuit of solutions based on to better the lives of americans than eric cantor -- solutions based policies to better the lives of americans than eric cantor." kevin mccarthy, the number three in the house talking about eric cantor's defeat last night. brat.t to dave getting your thoughts on that this morning. we keep taking your thoughts. theing us on the phone is

politics editor over at rollcall call to give us more detail about this. how did ericith cantor lose this primary. he is asking himself this morning as well. of athe very definition political upset. he was up 30 points before the election. is internal pollster had them up 34 points two weeks before the election. this is definitely a surprise. immigration played a huge role. it was in the news a lot this week. conservative radio show went down to the district and started complaining -- campaigning for brat.

how did this primary race slide under the radar given that -- i understand his internal numbers. what were the outside polls saying? caller: there were not any closer the primary. a little over 7000 votes. that's enough when you are talking about a low turnout that the race could shift pretty quickly. there were not any huge polls. cantorssible that eric people wanted it that way. is david brat? caller: he is an economics professor at randolph macon college. there is a great story on our website right now -- told things

to know about david brat. he has a degree in theology. he enjoys sports. he is a competitor. known in super well republican circles. he obviously had a serious campaign. host: let's look at the number money here. total raised and spent. raised $5.4 million. he spent $5 million. , 206 thousand dollars is what he raised. $122,000. host: hard to raise money against the majority leader.

how did he spend this money effectively? there are things money can't buy. in this case, the issue of immigration. you can't buy that. a laura ingram appearance in this case. number is a little deceiving. could include transfers to other candidates. i highly doubt that $5 million was spent on himself. that is being reported -- he spent $5 million. is it possible that he could have spent this money on other races? caller: yes.

exactly. i would have to look at the numbers. i highly doubt that he spent $5 million on this race. it would be a huge red flag. host: what does this do to leadership in the house? caller: it changes everything. it absolutely changes everything. , you would look at the way house republican leadership a structured -- you have a , a conference chair. they are all in a hierarchy. this completely shakes that up. conservatives have an opportunity to say that this is to shake do need things up in leadership.

mccarthy, i'm getting all of my ducks in a row because he wants that majority leader spot. in this climate. a lot of conservatives in the house have been waiting for an opportunity like this to really change the leadership lineup. host: what is it need for the legislative agenda for the rest of the year and in 2015? caller: the agenda for the rest of the year -- we were expecting not tackle really much. it's an election year. in serious legislating -- terms of immigration, any hope or pray or it had of coming to dead right now. eric cantor was the voice in the house for this kind of legislation.

we are only halfway through primary season. host: what about the prospect of striking a deal with the democrats, crossing the line and voting on any sort of legislation? the highway trust fund is running out of money. they have to come to some sort of deal on that for august. caller: we have seen it in the last congress -- the formula to been johnlation has boehner getting together all of his moderates with one's left in the house and having them vote with democrats. that could happen, potentially. , it changes

everything. the cover of roll call this morning says "donor." "stunner." eric cantor was with him for these packages. the moderates will think twice. probably express to john boehner that this is a sign that they should not be doing that anymore. host: we were showing harvey were is the roll call website. viewersre showing our the roll call website. caller: looking at the races, -- part of that

lindsey graham could differentiate himself as the incumbent. you are looking at a different electorate in a primary area in a republican primary in a statewide election in south carolina versus low turnout affair in virginia. host: let's go back to last about thatalk a bit and what is to come next. is it possible that eric cantor could still be on the ballot in november? caller: we are still trying to figure that out. our eric cantor's lawyers tried to figure that out right now? he did not sound like a guy who was trying to come back.

it is possible. in on theight virginia ballot. there is a sore loser law that says people who lose in the primary can be on the ballot. -- theree writing in are sources that roll call saying yes, it is possible. the question is whether he is going to do it and go for it. on the flipside, it could endanger republicans. up sources saying the democrats

-- we have sources saying that democrats are going to seriously go after that seed. .- that seat host: is there a democratic candidate? caller: yes. another randolph macon fsr. -- professor. host: what are his chances? caller: they are not great unless eric cantor runs as a write in candidate. these are role regions in virginia. -- these are rural regions in virginia. what extent does gerrymandering the seventh district have to do with this? caller: a little bit.

had some kind of say informalormal or boundaries are drawn in virginia. he was the leader of the republican party in virginia gerrymandering had something to do with it. we have seen this across the country. have done a masterful job of redrawing the lines after 2010. their districts are very conservative and their members are vulnerable to primary challenges. thank you for your time. to the website and take a look at the package they put together an art canter, how

he spent his money and who he gets his money from, here are the top five contributors. blackstone group topping the list. sachs, all trio group -- altria group. the top five industries contributing to his campaign. securities and investment, real estate, retired, lawyers and law firms. the number two was defeated last night by a t party challenger, dave brat. getting your thoughts on that this morning. connecticut. republican caller. just think this is a warning for all politicians, not only eric cantor -- democrats also. the people of this country are fed up with what's going on.

in action from congress -- nobody is enforcing immigration laws. barack obama is issuing a pot of executive orders and going around congress. he is going around "we the people." congress represents the people and we have a say. -- issuing a lot of executive orders. he is cutting out the voice of the people. this is a big warning for republicans and democrats. we want immigration. we want our borders secured. host: george in phoenix, arizona. limits should be imposed. people are starting to impose term limits.

with little money defeated eric cantor. people are tired of the old guard and they will impose term limits themselves. all republicans and democrats need to be wary. you can be in a strong red state, but it does not mean that or incumbents will hold the seat. nick in el paso, texas. republican caller. caller: good morning. you had the list of people who supported eric cantor. bankers and lawyers. they are not the mainstream people that we are looking for. it jobs and economic growth. here in el paso, we received 300 texas. aliens from south

they are telling us that we will get 100 more. tucson.he news along that is why people get mad. , we you go to washington will put you in office, but we will take you out if you forget about us and people in your district. host: some reaction from lawmakers on twitter yesterday to the defeat of eric cantor. friende from -- "my good , eric cantor, has been on my side as we work on many issues." she was the former chairwoman of the house foreign relations committee. gerry connolly says "cantor's loss in virginia tonight is a

seismic develop an opening fissures in the gop and a scramble in house leadership." york schumer from new "tonight proved the gop has two paths on immigration reform. take a mainstream stance and win or play both sides and walked the path to defeat." saying "cantor loses primary. inmates are now fully running the asylum." "ive stockman from texas, want to thank eric cantor for his service, but this should be a wake-up call to gop leadership." that me show you roll call's

blog from a 14th about steve stockman. -- from may 14. since stockman did not win a senate primary and will not be running, rules require that he returned the money before he dissolves his campaign committee. 5000 from the political action committee for that primary bid. james in philadelphia. democratic caller. caller: what's going on? believe how the seventh district in virginia fired eric cantor. do indeed have a voice.

how does this guy lose this election when he is number two? attention.ose the democrats need to take a page out of the tea party book. how does this economics professor beat eric cantor? congratulations to him. i have to give him his just due because he is right. god came in. host: let me show you and others a bit from dave brat's speech last night. this from a local cbs station. [video clip] every vote will move the back to the people. host: that was the republican

yesterday, defeating eric cantor. his victory speech there. rose in harrisburg, pennsylvania. republican caller. caller: i have a lot to say, but a lot of the republicans stole my thunder. of thispeople are tired agenda that is no good for america. we want god back in our lives and our daily activities. this guy sounds like a winner and i'm happy he won. boehner, watch out. you are not listening to the people. guess who is laughing now? .ost: you are a republican

you are saying, boehner, watch out. shouldthink a republican challenge the speaker for his speakership in 2015? caller: i believe that is possible because i always call and i talk to them about what's going on. terroristslet those loose, i asked what boehner is doing about it and i have not heard anything yet about boehner saying anything about this. the democrats are going crazy over here. host: you have not heard john boehner say anything about the release of bowe bergdahl? caller: i have not. it's putting america in jeopardy. host: we will talk about that a little bit. talking to two members of congress. the speaker of the house did hold a news conference yesterday where he did address the release of bowe bergdahl.

he said the administration's excuse was that they could not tell congress about what was happening because they were afraid of leaks. he said he had been advised about the possible capture or killing of osama bin laden, all the decision when it w was finally made and there were no leaks than. he does not follow the logic. democratic caller. hi, olivia. i would love to call in during the next session about the bergdahl release. i feel obama did the right thing. glad that he lost.

he should have. he stopped everything. forget about immigration reform. that will get done. i want to make this point. this is a wake-up call. i'm being very serious. two african-americans and young people, when they love to make the statement but don't vote. get up and register to vote. vote. that is very important. right toed for the vote. i've been a voter since i was 18 years old and i will continue to vote. this man went door-to-door and did what he needed to do. forll congratulate him ousting eric cantor. ingram, the radio

was influential in this outcome of yesterday's seventh district race. she campaigned for dave brat and spoke a lot about it. she tweeted this out. pack trounces cantor." obamas senior adviser tweeted this out. "cantor's problem was not his position on immigration reform. position."lack of that is what -- we showed you this tweak before. steve stockman.

-- this tweak before. dean. democratic caller. caller: i think cantor really had an identity crisis. it was hard to tell if he was extreme right or moderate. was able tobrat take advantage of that. the republicanng nomination -- it does give democrats some life in the district. of moneysee a lot dumped into that race, that is for sure. the executive decisions by president obama -- if she looks it up, he has far fewer executive decisions that he has made than most presidents, including the previous president. cnn tweeted this out.

chamber of commerce offered to help canter but were waved off by cantor camp. here is the reaction from nancy pelosi on the defeat of eric cantor. the american people should take notice. ericea party defeated cantor. tonight is a major victory for the tea party as they yet again pull the republican party further to the radical right. nancy pelosi on arab cantor's defeat. -- eric cantor's defeat. colorado. the firstspan was lace this morning i heard wher b

a degree in theology. it makes sense why he was able to win with such a small campaign contribution. jewishwon against a person. the fact that this is a religious comment from the tea party years were very adamant about getting out and voting to get their christian agenda back into politics is something we need to take into consideration. host: why do you think the tea party has a christian agenda? caller: i have a very dear brother and his wife who are very politically active in the tea party and are very right in their christian beliefs, almost to the point where i think they won a christian state. many of their followers believe that we are supposed to be a christian state.

host: it's your brother? caller: my brother. morning has this totioned that they want us get back to god and this man will take us back to god and this type of thing. host: from wikipedia on dave brat. -- he went to princeton theological seminary school. .e is a professor of economics this from wikipedia this morning on date rat, who is the winner of the gop primary in the seventh district of virginia. -- this morning on dave brat. bonnie, republican caller. thatr: i would like to say i have to get into the slot of

republican, but i am a tea party member. voted for both parties. i did vote for barack obama in 2008 and i did vote for mitt romney in 2010. i voted for bill clinton. what people don't understand is what the tea party is about. this is not about a christian agenda. i don't have a christian agenda. it's about taking america back. watching the politics in congress run all over the people. i hope this is a wake-up call to america and i hope to shed some light on people, that they are not all christian radicals. we are tired of watching the big house take over our homes america. host: front page of the washington post. cantor loses in the primary shocker. the majority leader spent tuesday morning at a monthly

-- it was a monthly meeting with large donors and lobbyists at a capital hill starbucks, helping raise money for three junior lawmakers. hetor assured the group that had bet heavily on his raise. more than $1 million to ensure victory by a large margin and to show no sign of weakness. according to one person who attended this meeting. this was just yesterday morning. eric cantor going about his business there. and majority leader who turned 51 on friday had a relationship. after taking control of the house in 2011, boehner made two a $4 trillioncure spending deal with obama to tame the federal debt. it would have included higher taxes on the wealthy.

cantor opposed the deal both times. this from the washington post last night. another tidbit about what was happening around washington. on tuesday night, a large group of right-wing leaders dined at the northern virginia home of zell. bo sitting around the table, eating the suddenoasting development were members of the club for growth, the heritage foundation, tea party patriots and the family research council.

jeb hensarling of texas sits as chairman of the house financial services committee is their guy who they would like to see challenges speaker boehner or run forever cantor's number two slot. the hill reporting this out this morning. cantor has canceled his national association of manufacturers speech. chris coons will be speaking today. mark in orlando, florida. democratic caller. my question is -- i missed what the first caller said. was a localy there issue. host: the first caller was from virginia from the seventh district. he said he had voted for i dave brat. he said the media has it wrong. this was about getting eric cantor out, who had lost touch

with his district and was too much part of the establishment and that was not a big tea party movement. caller: i live in orlando. the last time i saw her in orlando was to protest against a movement. i'm a progressive and all of that. i disagree with 99% of republicans. people are starting to wake up -- they need people to be responsive to them in a meaningful way. who reads white guy newspapers every day. maybe i'm part of that generation. we need local leaders who are responsive to locals. thank you.

host: we go to tim in maine. independent caller. thing withs whole the right-wing media and republican party is doing to them is a national disgrace. what a lot of people don't realize, when the combat mission ends, the united states will all visitors of war. -- prisoners of war. host: kimberly. republican caller. caller: my personal opinion is my fellow americans seem to be dividing themselves with republicans and democrats. we are supposed to be in this together. the corruption has been going on forever from the bottom to the

top. they all need to clean up. in illinois. democratic caller. i was not surprised that air cantor's defeat because his arrogance he is what defeated him. host: arrogant about what? caller: he was not willing to compromise. the analysis this morning is that he compromised too much. caller: i don't agree with that. i believe in obama. he needs more support from the opposition. york a democrat from new and the chairman of the -- thate that charged was charged with winning back the house for democrats. he put this out. theall saw how far outside

mainstream this republican congress was with eric cantor at the helm. party striking fear into the heart of every republican on the ballot." republicans should be terrified of the backlash from the voters who have been alienated by their race to the right. that is from steve israel. getting your thoughts on this. we will continue here for a few more minutes. your thoughts on eric cantor -- the first time a majority leader has lost primary history. clifford in brooklyn, new york. good morning. caller: good morning. this is my first time on the

air. i heard about the eric cantor thing. it is a very shocking blow. we are all in this together. we are trying to help people. i don't understand what the big deal with the tea party or republicans or whatsoever -- the most important thing is trying to get the country back on track because people are going to have no jobs. people are hungry and stuff. it's all about the people. people are stalling. i'm unemployed and out of work for seven months. i'm trying to get unemployment benefits. those trying to get back on their feet, they are stalling both things. to a democratic

caller in iowa. caller: i'm calling in regard to democrats and republicans. i feel they have lost touch with the american people and they need to be accountable for the positions they have been given by the people of the united states. lawopose that they pass a chargedticians to be with a federal offense for lying in office. people havemerican sent a strong message with this defeat. president obama yesterday participating in a q&a session on the blogging website, tumblr. [video clip] >> i have been in washington for a while now. most things don't surprise me.

six-year-old's0 gunned down in the most disturbing way possible and this town cannot do anything about it wa -- what can we do about it? the only thing that will change as public opinion. public opinion does not demand change in congress, it will not change. i have initiated over 20 executive actions to tighten up the rules and laws. we don't have enough tools right now to really make as big of a dent as we need to. -- thisbers of congress is bipartisan -- are terrified of the nra.

nra andination of the gun manufacturers are very well financed and have the capacity to move votes in local elections and congressional elections. if you're running for office right now, that is where you feel the heat. may beon the other side favorable towards things like that and other commonsense rules, but they are not as motivated. that does not end up being the issue that a lot of you vote on. , until thereanges is a fundamental shift in public opinion in which people say come , enough, this is unacceptable, this is not normal , this is not the price we should be paying for our freedom -- president obama participating in a q&a with

tumblr where he was asked about the recent shooting in organ. the washington post. -- shooting in oregon. "the majority leader said the measure could be taken up within the next two days. they are i legislation over in the senate. we have coverage o." we have coverage of that on c-span2. usa today's money section on the gm recall. the ceo saying that there are no plans to limit compensation. thecompany won't limit compensation funds for victims of the ignition switch defect. the ceo said she has no new

information about the ignition switch recall issue, but reiterated that gm expects to know the size of the victim settlements by the end of the second order. more news to come there. , themigration reform washington times has a front-page story about order issues -- border issues. $1 billion for children crossing the border. the first concrete step from congress trying to catch up with the unfolding crisis on the border. 9500 children traveled without parents and were caught trying to enter the u.s. in may alone. the boost in money will go to the health and human services department.

inside the washington times. the latest on that story that many of you heard about. he talk about this on the ifhingtonalan gomes of "usa too you're interested in that, go to our website, c-span.org. scottsdale, arizona, republican collar. what are your thoughts on the majority leader eric cantor losing in the primary last night? caller: hi, greta. i am ecstatic about it. i am a tea party member. when the democrats, with their propaganda saying we are on the right side of the republican out and outis an lies. the situation is we are wanting toget our constitution back this country. just like the children coming across the border. to put