“Bipartisan” health care legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives last Saturday. The quotes are necessary. This historic achievement was a result of a single Republican vote by a representative hailing from the most Democratic district in the nation, located 80 miles from Baton Rouge.Allow him to reintroduce himself. His name is Cao. The Obamacare/Pelosicare bill — depending on which right-wing nut you listen to — moves to the Senate with bipartisan support from the first Vietnamese-American member of Congress. In justifying his vote, Anh “Joseph” Cao — pronounced “Gao” — left the chamber feeling “both courageous and lonely,” according to the Times-Picayune. His vote was both courageous and lonely, but not nearly as lonely as he will feel in the lead-up to the 2010 midterm congressional elections.  The story of Anh Cao’s political career began with a freezer full of cash and an embattled veteran Democrat facing bribery and corruption charges. When voters in New Orleans were presented with the devil they knew, nine-term incumbent Rep. William Jefferson, they rebelled and voted for the devil they didn’t know. Boosted by antipathy towards Jefferson and an increasingly vast Vietnamese community in New Orleans East, Cao defeated the incumbent, 50 percent, to Jefferson’s 47 percent. The last Republican to represent Louisiana’s 2nd district left office in 1891. The district is currently 60 percent black and voted for President Obama in 2008 by 75 percent. Cao’s election was nothing short of heroic — if by heroic, you mean a completely expected, fluke anomaly. Cao didn’t win his district. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary and rode the wave of rage elicited by Jefferson’s indictment. When it came time for voters to elect a representative, they picked the one not named “Jefferson.” Many make the same argument about Obama, especially in reference to his Nobel Peace Prize win, which critics claim he won “for not being Bush.” The only difference here is the indictment Jefferson received, while justice still hasn’t knocked on the door in Crawford, Texas. Cao claimed after his “aye” vote that he was trying to represent the best interests of his district. But his vote came after the approval of the Stupak Amendment, which enhances already existing laws preventing federal funds to be used for abortion. After the Stupak Amendment passed, Cao believed he could, “in good conscience,” vote for the health care bill while expanding discriminatory language against women’s reproductive rights. Cao could, “in good conscience,” vote for the health care bill because women will be prevented from buying private health insurance to cover abortion if they receive a subsidy for insurance and be prevented from getting an abortion covered if enrolled in the public option. He also waited for the right moment, meaning after the bill received enough votes to pass even without his vote. This clearly indicates he didn’t support health reform at all (not wanting to be an even bigger black sheep) but wanted to salvage any chance of re-election in an overwhelmingly Democratic district. Now Cao has sealed his political future. The Republican establishment is furious and probably won’t support him in the 2010 election, given he’ll probably lose anyway. But his disingenuous vote for health reform, coupled with his vote for an unprecedented extension of anti-abortion law, combine into an insurmountable political Catch-22. Instead of actively fighting for the needs of his constituents — 20 percent of New Orleanians are uninsured — Cao made his political move after the bill was passed, ensuring he wasn’t responsible for extending health coverage to more than 36 million Americans. Republicans won’t support him. New Orleans Democrats won’t re-elect him. The “Cao” of some people.Eric Freeman Jr. is a 22-year-old political science senior from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_efreeman.
 
 
 
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