Eric Cantor Is the Democrats’ New Boogeyman

Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto AgencyRepresentative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader, has emerged as the new target for Democrats in budget negotiations with President Obama.

Just about everything having to do with the debt ceiling debate in Washington remains up in the air as negotiators continue in vain to seek some agreement — with the deadline fast approaching.

But Democrats appear to have settled on one thing: The person to blame is Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia.

Mr. Cantor, the House majority leader, has emerged as the the new target for Democratic scorn this week, even as he has upstaged House Speaker John A. Boehner as the primary voice of conservative Republican opposition to tax increases.

Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, denounced Mr. Cantor from the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, accusing him — among other things — of supporting a plan for Medicare that is “not balanced, it’s not fair, it’s not moral.”

Mr. Schumer’s communications team also trumpted quotes from Mr. Cantor’s high school yearbook: “I want what I want when I want it,” they quoted him saying. And the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is charged with electing more Democrats to the House, dug up an old nickname for Mr. Cantor during his time as a state senator in Virginia.

“True to his roots, he got the nickname ‘Overdog’ for his unflinching support of big corporations and the wealthy at the expense of the middle class,” the Democratic group said in an e-mail to reporters on Wednesday.

The decision to direct rhetorical fire at Mr. Cantor suggests that Democrats are anxious to put a recognizable face on the Republican opposition as fears grow about the possibility of a financial calamity if the nation’s ability to borrow is not increased.

And it reflects an odd political dynamic in Washington over the last few days that has made it difficult to demonize the top Republican leaders in Congress.

Mr. Boehner, the natural target for Democratic ire given his position as the nation’s top Republican and lead negotiator in the budget talks, has become a sometimes-partner for Mr. Obama.

The two men worked out a tax cut deal last December. They shook hands on a last-minute bargain to avoid a government shutdown in April. And they began private conversations early this month that initially gave the impression that the two men might reach a deal on spending and tax increases.

That bargain fell apart, but Mr. Obama continues to praise the speaker. In his news conference last week, Mr. Obama said that Mr. Boehner was acting in “good faith” and that he “has been very sincere about trying to do something big.”

That kind of talk takes Mr. Boehner out of contention as the face of the enemy. And Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, on Tuesday surprised official Washington by offering a fail-safe plan that Democrats praised as an alternative if no other deal can be reached.

That leaves Mr. Cantor, who has positioned himself in recent weeks as the most hard-lined of the Republican leadership when it comes to opposing a tax increase.

Mr. Cantor, an ambitious young member of Congress who has risen quickly through leadership, has all of the qualities to become the target of Democratic ridicule: He is absolute in his rhetoric, uncompromising in his policies, and appears willing to take the heat if necessary.

“Currently, there is not a single debt limit proposal that can pass the House of Representatives,” Mr. Cantor declared on Wednesday. The evening’s meeting at the White House ended with a verbal confrontation between the president and Mr. Cantor, according to people familiar with the meeting.

For Mr. Cantor, being cast as the Republican boogeyman by national Democrats is a double-edged sword.

In some ways, his advisers acknowledge that he can wear the criticism like a badge of honor that enhances his credibility among conservative voters in his district and with conservative colleagues in the House.

“When you are getting attacked and lambasted on the national level by the Democrats, it has a certain effect with base voters and online people,” said a Republican official on Capitol Hill. “They tend to like that.”

That kind of reputation could be particularly helpful if Mr. Cantor ever challenges Mr. Boehner for the speakership.

But there is a downside, too, for Mr. Cantor, especially if he harbors hopes of holding higher office in Virginia. Winning statewide usually requires earning the support of independent voters who could be turned off by the Democratic caricature.

Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for Mr. Cantor, wrote in an e-mail Wednesday night: “Eric Cantor has been in negotiations with Vice President Biden for the past 6-8 weeks and is meeting at the White House daily trying to come up with a solution to this problem. Others, like Senator Schumer are doing their best to derail any hope of a deal by lobbing false, partisan accusations.”

Will the Democrats’ attacks work to turn Mr. Cantor into the face of the enemy?

The Republican Party had some success in doing that to Representative Nancy Pelosi of California when she was speaker of the House. And Democrats managed to make former Representative Tom Delay of Texas famous for his reputation as “the Hammer” in the House. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich also became a household name of sorts.

But Mr. Cantor is not the speaker. And the debt ceiling debate may eventually fade in the memories of voters as Election Day approaches next year. It’s not clear that Democrats will have enough material to keep up the focus on Mr. Cantor.

But for now, anyway, they are trying.