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Heard on the Hill: Schumer’s Roger Ebert Moment

Who has questionable taste in inspirational movies? Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) says he thinks it was House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) who chose to rally GOP troops by showing a clip from the Ben Affleck action flick “The Town” — a selection that raised eyebrows because of its allusions to violence.

At a meeting of House Republicans on Monday night, leaders showed a scene from the movie in which Affleck’s character, a bank robber, enlists a friend’s help to go on a mysterious errand. “I need your help. I can’t tell you what it is. You can never ask me about it later,’” Affleck’s character says. The friend agrees, and in a scene apparently not viewed in the meeting, they beat up two men and shoot one in the leg.

That apparently got the House GOP frosh fired up.

But Schumer, speaking during a Tuesday press conference, made it clear that he believes Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) isn’t the one who chose the odd selection. “We think Speaker Boehner is a good and reasonable man,” he said. “Evidently it was Eric Cantor who chose the film, in fairness to Speaker Boehner.”

Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring tells HOH: “Yeah, Sen. Schumer is wrong. Shocker. Sen. Schumer was all over TV. Not a shocker.”

“I’m sure the good people of New York are comforted to know the Senator is focused on the important issues like what movie clips are viewed at meetings rather than the national debt,” Dayspring adds.

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