'Mudcat' Saunders: Eric Cantor is a 'bought and paid for crook'

Dave "Mudcat" Saunders, the fiery Democratic strategist, has found his latest crusade: he's a senior strategist for Wayne Powell, the Democratic challenger for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).  On Thursday's The Rachel Maddow Show, Mudcat had some choice words for the Virginia Republican: he called him a "bought and paid for crook."

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

"Of course he's vulnerable," Saunders said  of Cantor when asked if Powell could really topple a key GOP leader with a massive war chest and a national profile. "He's a bought and paid for crook. ... We're in the midst of a coin-operated government and he's the leader."

As proof of that rather incendiary charge, Saunders pointed reports that casino mogul Sheldon Adelson had promised millions of dollars to a group linked with Cantor. Adelson has also pumped tens of millions of dollars into the presidential election.

Saunders' candidate is a retired military intelligence officer, and the strategist promised that Powell's campaign would focus on "social justice for all people, that includes gays and women. And we're going to shout that from the rooftops."

"We don't want to just beat [Cantor], we want to ruin him," Saunders said. "He shorted U.S. Treasury bonds. He bet against the United States of America while he was majority leader for his own financial portfolio.. .. Cantor was taking bets against his team."

Saunders was referring to a 2011 Salon report charging that Cantor was personally invested in a fund that “aggressively ‘shorts’ long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, meaning that it performs well when U.S. debt is undesirable.”