VA Hotel Evicts Paying Liberal Guests to ‘Avoid Confrontation’ with Eric Cantor
REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst
Don’t you want to know which hotel evicted people from their rooms and canceled their ballroom reservation just so Eric Cantor wouldn’t have to hear anything dissident during his stay? And don’t you want to hear what those people had to say?
It was the Holiday Inn Koger Conference Center in Chesterfield, Va., just outside of Richmond. ThinkProgress reports that three Virginia grassroots organizing groups had booked space in a separate ballroom at the same hotel where Rep. Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader, was holding an “advisory council” with pre-registered constituents. The liberal-leaning citizens said they had hoped to discuss with Cantor their concerns about unemployment and job creation after his scheduled event. The ThinkProgress article continues:
But just hours before the events were set to begin, the Holiday Inn canceled the groups’ ballroom and room reservations and ordered the groups to remain off of hotel property during Cantor’s meeting. According to organizers, hotel management falsely accused them of smoking in their rooms and used that as justification to cancel their reservations. However, a representative of Holiday Inn who only agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, said the hotel was seeking to avoid confrontation between the progressive groups and those attending the Cantor event.
Cantor said of the desperate Va. residents who had gathered to speak with him:
“I don’t see how that’s productive.”
Cantor also made the misleading claim that anyone who wanted to could have attended his pre-registration-required, closed-to-the-immediate public event. In fact, the event had only been advertised on the Richmond Tea Party Website.
The protestors’ purpose, according to Chesterfield NBC12 news, was to:
“Call on Rep. Cantor to end tax breaks and loopholes for CEOs, hedge fund managers and others, and make big, profitable corporations pay their fair share of taxes so America can invest in creating quality jobs here at home.”
These people are the voice of an America that is slipping ever further behind. They are desperate for jobs and desperate for lawmaker accountability. You can hear it in their voices.
Four different citizens recorded in the video at this link had this to say:
“We are losing our homes, we are losing our health, we are losing our families, and we are losing our minds.”
“I need a job, I need to get Cantor to help us get construction jobs going.”
“We have over 40,000 unemployed people living in this district; we cannot get a meeting [with Cantor] by phone, in person, we cannot get a town hall meeting – and now we can’t get into the advisory council.” (Said by an elderly woman.)
“We the people can’t get an interview or a meeting with Cantor – and it was us, the people, who put you in office!”
Please remember that Cantor was not willing to entertain talk from people without jobs or calls to accountability when the polls open on Tues., Nov. 6, 2012.
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Author: Liberal Lamp Post
2:45 am
What really stuck in my craw about this story was the fact that the hotel (aka a GOP lackey)wanted to “protect” Cantor from having to deal with those who disagree with his policies and otherwise venal behavior. Keep him from we “unwashed masses”, right? This sends chills up my spine, because it reminds me so very much of the sort of thing that used to be the typical practice in the old USSR. (In fact, I think that’s what Putin would prefer today.) The GOP, always quoting the Constitution (often incorrectly)wants to ban dissidence? Guess they’re more concerned with the Second Amendment, bypassing the First (except when they try to make the nation into a [fundamentalist]“Christian nation”.)
1:09 pm
Hey, PeoplebeforeShills, where did you get any evidence that the people who were paying customers were unemployee? They were not! You and your Teapublican “shills” are the modern day Brown Shirt goons and pawns of the American Corporate Fascists…no different that those who wallowed in hate and ignorance; those who helped put Hitler in power.
1:42 pm
I’m calling the hotel to make a complaint.
RICHMOND-KOGER SOUTH CONF CTR
1021 KOGER CENTER BLVD RICHMOND , VIRGINIA 23235 UNITED STATES
Hotel Front Desk: 804-3793800 Hotel Fax: 804-3792763
Peace,
Tex Shelters
1:40 pm
Tell everyone and their uncle not to stay at a Holiday Inn until they make restitution and apologize.
Peace,
Tex Shelters
9:02 am
How do the unemployed have money for hotel rooms?
It’s interested that the groups claiming to represent the people can only attack a political party instead of solving an issue. This is no different than the crap the tea party pulled. It’s the wealthy exploiting the fools for their own agenda.
Holiday Inn had every right to kick a group out that was planning to start crap in its hotel.
The unemployed, in particular the 99ers, have begged for help protesting at the Capitol against both parties. Nope, no help with that, but it’s no issue exploiting them to further a party’s political agenda.
Cantor should be confronted but it should not be done by some paid political shills; it should be done by the people.
If you are unemployed during this election cycle, you need to be prepared for both sides exploiting you while doing nothing to solve the job crisis.
11:48 am
Once again the wealthy Tea Party uses their money and influence to shut people down and block their voices from being heard.
Clearly the “blocked” hotel suites were being rented by progressive, non-profit groups who are trying to HELP the unemployed – the unemployed themselves are not renting the rooms.
This is a private business siding with a wealthy candidate – who in turn exclusively represents the interests of wealthy billionaires. Why are the progressive groups being blocked from the hotel and not Cantor? Why are they considered trouble makers “starting crap” and not the Tea Party people?
5:36 pm
If Holiday Inn was within its rights, it wouldn’t have to lie about the reason for eviction.
8:07 am
“How do the unemployed have money for hotel rooms?”
Gee, that’s difficult…..hard earned savings maybe?
4:19 am
Cantor like all Republican representatives is bought and paid for by corporate interest,tea party or no.This ‘pretty boy’ has his eyes on the presidency in the future and must be stopped now.
10:00 pm
here is a list of hotels that IHG is affiliated with : InterContinental Hotels & Resorts®, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts®, Hotel Indigo®, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Express by Holiday Inn®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites® , ANA Hotels & Resorts®.
and a website if you want to leave a message with customer care : http://www.ihg.com
9:49 pm
When will people learn that the only constituents that Cantor represents are the corporate ones. Unfortunately for Cantor, the corporations can’t vote – yet – but the 40,000 unemployed citizens in his district can. Hopefully, they’ll get the vote out against him. Maybe that Holiday Inn can host a wake for him on election night. I’ve got a feeling they won’t be seeing many progressive dollars in that joint for a long time. They better take what they can get.
3:57 pm
To Contact Holiday Inn’s Parent Company .. here is their US Office contact info::
Americas office
InterContinental Hotels Group
3 Ravinia Drive
Suite 100
Atlanta
Georgia 30346-2149
US
Telephone +1 770 604 2000
11:02 pm
Guess what? I travel alot, sometimes staying at Holiday Inn / express. Not anymore. In fact never again, and I will make sure my colleagues, friends and family do the same. Too many choices out there to support such backwater politics. You lose.
3:16 pm
Shame on you Holiday Inn and shame on you Eric Cantor. I hope the voters in Cantors district of the great common wealth of Virginia vote his LAME SORRY ASS out of office.
5:56 am
I hope they get sued! What they did was illegal or at least unethical. Who the hell does this soul shriveled dweeb think he is and what is so so afraid of. If by some perverse fluke he became Pres. what would he do? Turn the WH into his own personal fortress?
5:55 pm
No, e’ll probably speed up the production of the FEMA camps, and round us all up for execution, the reason being that we are non-productive members of society. Or, just not rich enough.
2:26 pm
Various agencies of the Commonwealth spend big $$$ at this hotel for meetings and conferences. Your tax dollars at work.
2:19 pm
This is awful! We the people are slowly losing our say, when WE are the one that get these people in office. And they turn their backs on us, when we are desperate to get a job, so that our families may survive. They kick us to the curb! America The Home Of The Free is becoming less free. What happened to the people’s say?
6:00 am
You just said it…we the people put these heartless, soul shriveled hypocritical parasites in office…we the people can also kick them to the curb with the rest of the trash!
5:56 pm
And, We the people have the right to remove said people from office if we deem them unfit to serve.
2:15 pm
@Anna, people’s say? The voting booth-never before w/exception of getting the votes for women and minorities has the right to vote become so important. The GOP party & the Koch Brothers are doing everything to block people in registering to vote or making the process so difficult to do so. It is up to the rest of us to not permit this. Encourage everyone to vote and go online to newspapers site if anyone you know of has trouble or being blocked to register to vote. The right to vote in this country is so fundamental and important. Get out the vote. Rremove these people who cater only to the corporations. Let the corporations pay those salaries not the taxpayers.
2:05 pm
I hope they sue them. Holiday Inn sucks anyway and I’ll never stay in another one. I may stop and go in and tell them that though!
1:51 pm
Sue the hotel
1:45 pm
Here’s hoping the place gets a bad bedbug infestation!
1:54 pm
And may they all go into Cantor’s nose.
4:15 pm
Your comment just made my day, junkwaffle. :)
5:38 pm
Wow…….have you seen the size of that nose…..thats a lot of bedbugs
9:13 am
Now that is funny!!!!! I can’t stand Eric Cantor! He is just another corporate goon!