House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said repeatedly on Sunday that the Republican party agrees that there is “too much income disparity” in the United States.
“We know in this country right now that there is a complaint about folks at the top end of the income scales, that they make too much and too many don’t make enough,” Cantor said in an appearance on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.
Cantor’s comments come a week after he had called Occupy Wall Street protesters “angry mobs.” While refusing to directly apologize for those comments , Cantor’s remarks on Sunday signify a significant shift in tone as protests against Wall Street grow across the country and the White House seeks to capitalize on the populist movement. According to a recent Time poll, 54% of Americans view the movement positively.
Cantor did not accept a challenge by host Chris Wallace to stand by his previous comments and instead said that many of the frustrations behind the movement were understandable.
“I think more important than my use of that word is the fact that there is a growing frustration out there across this country (that) too many people are out of work,” he said. “But … we have elected leaders in this town who frankly are joining in an effort to blame others rather than focusing on the [Democratic] policies that have brought the current situation.”
Republicans want to “promote income mobility and not excoriate some who have been successful,” Cantor continued. “We want success for everybody.”
