House Majority Leader Eric Cantor abruptly canceled a speech Friday at the University of Pennsylvania that had become the target of Occupy Philly and other groups. Hundreds of protesters gathered at Penn nonetheless, carrying signs and shouting slogans. 
 
 Cantor (R., Va.) was scheduled to speak at Penn's Wharton School at 4:30 p.m. but backed out earlier in the afternoon, indicating that it had been his understanding the speech would be open only to people affiliated with the university. 
 
 In a statement, his office said it "was informed last night by Capitol Police that the University of Pennsylvania was unable to ensure that the attendance policy previously agreed to could be met." 
 
 Cantor "appreciated the invitation to speak with the students, faculty, alumni, and other members of the UPENN community," according to the statement. 
 
 The university in turn issued a statement saying it "deeply regrets" that Cantor canceled and suggesting that there had been no change in the attendance policy. 
 
 "The Wharton speaker series is typically open to the general public, and that is how the event with Majority Leader Cantor was billed. We very much regret if there was any misunderstanding with the majority leader's office on the staging of his presentation," the university said. 
 
 Ron Ozio, a spokesman for the university, declined to elaborate. 
 
 Cantor was to speak on income inequality and how to increase opportunities for success. A copy of his speech was posted on the website of the Daily Pennsylvanian, the student newspaper. 
 
 "There are politicians and others who want to demonize people that have earned success in certain sectors of our society. They claim that these people have now made enough and haven't paid their fair share. But pitting Americans against one another tends to deflate the aspirational spirit of our people and fade the American dream," Cantor's text read. 
 
 The Twitter account @OccupyPhilly, which has about 6,500 followers, raised the possibility of a protest at Cantor's speech on Monday, and the idea quickly gained traction. A Facebook event page for the protest was created that evening. 
 
 Mike Morrill, executive director of Keystone Philadelphia, a liberal advocacy group, said he learned of the cancellation when he arrived on campus around 1 p.m. 
 
 Morrill said the protesters expected to demonstrate outside Huntsman Hall while Cantor spoke inside. There were no plans to disrupt the speech, Morrill said. 
 
 Many of the protesters marched from the Occupy Philly base at City Hall to University City. 
 
 Mixed in with Penn students and university police, the protesters shouted call-and-response chants such as "Eric Cantor, can't you see / What this movement means to me?" 
 
 Suneal Vishupad, a Wharton freshman, said he thought the protesters were "misguided" in taking their dissent to the business school, even though the main target of the protest was Cantor. 
 
 "I definitely understand the anger," he said. "But they have to realize that corporate greed is not taught at school. If you spend time at this school, never is greed, unfairness, and immoral behavior ever taught or propagated." 
 
 Vishupad said he felt "disappointed" that Cantor canceled his speech, saying he wanted to hear the "meat of [Cantor's] ideologies" instead of the "sound bites on the news." 
 
 A student studying in Huntsman Hall when she heard the ruckus outside called it a distraction. 
 
 "I think it's a little too much to bring the protest to a college campus," she said. 
 
 Sean Kitchen, a protester and a member of the Occupy Philly outreach committee, said Cantor's cancellation "shows cowardice." The group later stormed into Huntsman, surrounded the lobby, and shouted: "Eric Cantor, come out, come out, wherever you are." 
 
 On the balcony above, one student held a sign directed at the protesters with the message "Get in Our Bracket," to which the protesters responded in unison, "Shame! Shame! Shame!" 
 
 The student later said the sign was a joke intended to persuade the protesters to leave. "I respect their right to organize, but this isn't the right time and the right place. These aren't the people they're mad at. These are students." 
 
 Contact staff writer Quan Nguyen at 215-854-5626 or qnguyen@phillynews.com. ||||| House Majority Leader Eric Cantor , R-Va., has canceled his planned speech today in Philadelphia at the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia; a collection of liberal groups and unions – including Occupy Philadelphia – planned to target him with protests. 
 
 "The office of the majority leader was informed last night by Capitol Police that the University of Pennsylvania was unable to ensure that the attendance policy previously agreed to could be met,” Cantor spokeswoman Laena Fallon said in a statement. 
 
 “Wharton is an educational leader in innovation and entrepreneurship, and the majority leader appreciated the invitation to speak with the students, faculty, alumni, and other members of the UPENN community,” she said. 
 
 (PICTURES: Scenes From the Ground at Occupy Wall Street) 
 
 An organizer of the protest, Jamie Mondics of Keystone Progress, said that her group and others will hold their planned rally, regardless. In an accompanying statement, Keystone Progress Executive Director Michael Morrill said, “We will still be here, and we’re wondering why Eric Cantor canceled. It appears he does not want to have a conversation with the 99 [percent]." 
 
 Cantor has been critical of the Occupy Wall Street protests that have erupted around the country. 
 
 Follow National Journal on Twitter. ||||| You've probably heard of Dave Brat by now. He's the economics professor who just made history by being the first person to beat a House majority leader in a primary. 
 
 But you might not know about Zachary Werrell, his campaign manager who turned 23 last month, interviewed for the gig at a Panera restaurant and has been sleeping on the couch of his mentor. Werrell spoke with the Washington Examiner over the phone from the boisterous Brat victory party. Here are highlights from that conversation: 
 
 On what stands out about Brat from the campaign trail: 
 
 “He’s just a very happy, nice, affable person. When you see him, you don’t get any bad vibes. He’s just a very positive, upbeat person.” 
 
 On how Cantor’s negative ads affected Brat’s win: 
 
 “It was a huge part. We just harnessed it. You just stay positive and you tell the truth. You stay factual, you don't get mean, you don't get nasty. As Dave said at the 7th District convention, 'I'm not running against Eric Cantor as a person, I'm running against Eric Cantor on policy, it's nothing personal.' And that's the truth.” 
 
 On Brat’s strategy for the general election: 
 
 “At this point, what works, works. You just tell the truth, you be positive, you talk about the issues.” 
 
 On their primary strategy: 
 
 “The focus was 100-percent grassroots. Grassroots, grassroots, grassroots, grassroots, grassroots.” 
 
 What else? 
 
 “Face-to-face positive interaction. That’s what you do. We had dozens of people knocking every day — not every day, sometimes only one person. But we had a few spectacular volunteers that, I don’t even know how they managed to hold down a job, let alone volunteer all those hours for us.” 
 
 On their ads: 
 
 “We had some Internet ads, and money started coming through so we threw that [TV] ad up about a week ago. As the money came, I did my best to spend it as fast as I could. And then over the last few days it was coming in faster than I could even spend.” 
 
 On their fundraising surge toward the end of the race: 
 
 “Eric Cantor's flip-flopping on amnesty made it very easy to label him as a flip-flopper. And then that got national attention when Eric Cantor said, Let's make a deal with Obama' the Friday before the primary.” 
 
 And that comment had a big impact on their money? 
 
 “It helped with the media. Every time [Brat’s] name was mentioned in the media, the money rolled in.” 
 
 And amnesty was a big part of Brat’s earned media? 
 
 “That was a huge driver of a lot of it. Like with Laura Ingraham’s stuff — amnesty. With Mark Levin, his big pet peeve — amnesty. Etc, etc.”
– Eric Cantor canceled a planned speech today on the gap between America's rich and poor after learning it was going to be open to the public—and that Occupy protesters planned to show up in force. Cantor had been due to speak at the Wharton Business School in Philadelphia but pulled out when "informed last night by Capitol Police that the University of Pennsylvania was unable to ensure that the attendance policy previously agreed to could be met," reports the National Journal. Cantor apparently thought it would be open only to students and people associated with the university. Despite his no-show, the protest was still going on, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. "We want make sure Rep. Cantor knows he can run, but he can't hide," said an organizer. Outside Wharton, chants were going up: "Eric Cantor, can't you see what this movement means to me?" and "Get up, get down, there's a revolution in this town!" The Daily Pennsylvanian has the text of what Cantor was going to say here. Cantor has previously walked back comments referring to OWS protesters as "mobs."