by Julia Torres Barden, special correspondent

Republican Congressman Eric Cantor was originally scheduled to be interviewed at his recent Republican Roundup event. Due to the country’s financial crisis, Cantor was unable to attend his own event because of negotiations surrounding related bailout legislation passed by Congress within the past few weeks. This interview was conducted via telephone on Oct. 8.

Energy Independence

“I filled up my own gas tank a few days ago and it was $3.43 per gallon. It is imperative that we stop sending $700 billion dollars a year overseas to foreign oil producers because 60 percent of that goes to producers in the Middle East and Africa, most of whom do not have America’s best interests at heart. So we do need to make sure we are very serious in trying to expand the energy supply here at home. I am for offshore drilling – in ANWR, accessing the oil shell in the western United States – to buy us some time to get us to the point of which we can be energy independent with alternative fuels. I am very enthusiastic about increasing our reliance on nuclear power. Nuclear power has come a long way. It is a safe method and as we see, allies such as France, [which] is about 87 percent nuclear-reliant so that is something we know how to do and we ought to be doing it. We can also explore the options of reprocessing the waste. Beyond that, fuel-cell technology, electric cars, natural gas – all of these would do a lot to try and get us off a reliance on foreign fuels and more towards the development of alternatives. Wind, solar and clean coal also have a place [in the exploration of alternative energy].

Education

“I’m a big believer in our public school systems. I also believe that parents really need to be in charge of their children’s education. We can’t leave it to others to educate our children and I’m very much for increasing accountability at the local level and the school level. I’m for hiring principals at the school level to allow them to compete for more funds because it’s the principals, and the parents that they work with, that know what is best for their schools. I’m in favor of [the] principles behind No Child Left Behind - again that we ought to be holding our schools accountable, parents ought to be given the information that they need to ensure that their children are getting the quality education that they’ve been promised. If their children are stuck in non-performing schools, they ought to be given the resources and the tools to go out and find the education that their kids deserve. As far as NCLB is concerned I have always been for allowing Virginia to have a lot more flexibility. Some of the implementation of NCLB just don’t make any sense to me. However, I am a big believer in the principles behind NCLB.”

Illegal Immigration

“The federal government has fallen down on its job of enforcing the law at our borders. It is unacceptable on a variety of levels that our law enforcement has been faced with a real dilemma. That’s why I have formed the task force, Alien Criminal Enforcement, together with some of my colleagues in the Virginia delegation, to make sure our law enforcement is given the same tools that those at the federal level have as far as being able to identify who is in their jails illegally - who is in this country illegally - so then the proper steps can be taken. [Immigration] is a real problem at the federal level. However, frankly, we are a country that has been built by immigrants and I am a firm believer in the fact that we are the Statue of Liberty to the world and we should be very clear that we are for legal immigration. “

Iraq War

“The execution of the war has not been what many would have hoped, including me. I do however think that, after the surge was implemented, we have seen a dramatic decrease in violence. We have essentially given the Iraqi government an opportunity to run itself so that it can begin to be a democratically functioning body. We don’t want to sacrifice the progress that we have made in the region in terms of trying to make it safer for our democratic allies in that region, especially the state of Israel.

With regards to a timetable

“I’ve never thought we should have 535 commanders-in-chief. We have a commander-in-chief in this country, the President of the United States, he has commanders on the ground who he listens to and the folks at the Pentagon who are much better equipped to make the decisions having the information in real time of what’s going on on the ground. Along with continued communication with Congress they are making the decisions that I think ought to impact the timetable. I do not support reinstating the draft.”

Favorite place in Midlothian?

“On the Swift Creek Reservoir in Brandermill.”

Favorite movie?

“The Year of Living Dangerously.”

How do you spend time with your two sons and daughter?

“We see movies, but because my children are athletes we spend a lot of time watching my younger one’s golf tournaments, My oldest is at the University of Virginia so we see UVa football games. My daughter is at the age where I’m lucky if she wants me around! I enjoy campaigning with my daughter and she’s got her learner’s permit now so I spend a lot of time with her running errands and trying to stay close.”