Rep. Eric Cantor (R., Va.) previewed his speech to be delivered today at the American Enterprise Institute Tuesday morning on CNBC. Cantor said he hopes to refocus the GOP's message such that it communicates how abstract macroeconomic factors (such as debt) affect everyday working people:
REBECCA QUICK: You know, Leader, is this a situation where you feel like you have to explain how your policies actually play out on American families? This sounds like the kinder, gentler GOP. Because when people start hearing all this talk about budget cutting, sometimes their eyes glaze over because it's just numbers. And you're probably in a situation where you've gotten a lot of pressure from the president who has said this is not the way the American people want to go. Is this a plan to try and take back that debate?
ERIC CANTOR: I do think there are some lessons to be learned from the last election. And I think that we have been steadfast in our commitment to the principles of limited government and free enterprise and faith in the individual, accountability in government. But somehow I believe that we've got to finish or complete the sentence, if you will. We've got to demonstrate why we're for the things that we're for. Just as I spoke at the school yesterday, I'm a parent. I have three college-age kids. One that's now in the workforce. I understand what parents are going through, and what we need to do to try and help relieve the stress and put them back in the drivers seat and grow this economy. That's the reason I believe that we need to go in this direction. I'll be talking about more policy proposals to help folks, help seniors, help working people, and those who are out of work.