Joseph Cao at his victory celebration, December 6, 2008 (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Representative Anh "Joseph" Cao (R-LA-2nd) did not change his vote by accident--and everyone, on both sides of the aisle, knew what he would do and why.
For one thing, by Cao's own admission, the Obama administration courted him for weeks prior to the vote on HR-3962--and all so that the administration could say, with a straight face, that their bill had "bipartisan support." Cao extracted two favors for his vote. Obama promised him some extra Federal funding and other support for his district:
Today, I obtained a commitment from President Obama that he and I will work together to address the critical health care issues of Louisiana including the FMAP crisis and community disaster loan forgiveness, as well as issues related to Charity and Methodist Hospitals. And, I call on my constituents to support me as I work with him on these issues.
And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised him the enactment of the Stupak-Pitts anti-abortion-funding amendment.
All of it, of course, might in the end come to nothing. Any promises of financial assistance from a government whose currency is already dropping like a rock must surely be seen as empty. More to the point, the Democrats have no intention of standing by the Stupak Amendment. The silence from Planned Parenthood is deafening, and strongly suggests that the fix is in, and they know it. And several House members have already said that they will have the Stupak language stricken at some point in the process, even if they have to wait for a Senate-House Conference to do it.
Most disturbing of all, the Republicans knew perfectly well that Joseph Cao would defect, even as they virtually swore, on the Capitol steps, that not a single Republican in the House would vote for HR-3962. Fox News quotes John Boehner as saying, "We've been working with him for months on this." Either the "working" wasn't good enough, or Boehner had already agreed to give Cao a pass.
Comments
Gen. Cao, remember these names, 2nd Lt. Charles S Johnson USMC and Sgt. Robert Bridges USMC. Lt. Johnson gave the order for his troops to advance and as he climbed out of his trench, he was shot several times in the back by a S. Vietnamese friendly. Sgt. Bridges took one in the thigh and one in the shoulder before killing that so-called friendly. Both were taken prisoner and tortured Lt. had his toenails pulled off and replaced with bamboo shoots and Sgt. knees were shattered. I met them years after they returned to the states. They never trusted another Vietnamese. After that yes vote I know what they meant...
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