Posted on 08/14/2009 6:13:20 AM PDT by Ebenezer
In a public forum defined as much by passionate declarations on abortion as by statements about health care policy intricacies, U.S. Rep. Ahn "Joseph" Cao, R-New Orleans, said Thursday that he "leans" toward supporting the House Democrats' vision of a medical system overhaul provided it won't pay for procedures to end pregnancy.
"The word is 'leaning,' " he repeated to about 150 people gathered at an Irish Channel Neighborhood Association meeting, the first of four planned public forums for Cao during the August recess.
Besides the abortion caveat, Cao further tempered his statement with his concerns about how major policy changes affect the federal budget, future deficit projections, the larger economy and Medicare recipients.
"These are issues that concern the president as well," Cao said, adding one of his many references to the complexity of the proposals and his continued struggle on a decision.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
He will almost certainly be a one-term congressman. His district elected him only because of the corruption of his predecessor. He is trying to do a dance here and be all things to all people. It’s not going to work.
I’m not so worried about this guy. He represents New Orliens. I’m not just talking about the suburbs. He represents the hood itself. It is rated D+28 by Charlie Cook. It is the most Democrat district and the only exclusively major inner city represented by an R. It was only because of the Jefferson scandal and they will probably get it back anyway even in a good year for us.
So it doesn’t bother me so much. I just look upon it as no worse as having a democrat with an R by his name just to annoy the Dems that we officialy captured on e of their districts. I never had high expectations for him. The problem is the RINO’s in R+ districts that support this crap.
[He ended up representing a majority african-american district, but he’s fairly conservative. And a freshman member of the house.
No matter what he does, he’s screwed.]
Who cares? Any representative more concerned with his own re-election than doing what is right for the American people doesn’t deserve re-election.
Maybe he will run as a Palooka Republican.
That means he’s there to take a fall, and from what I read from another reply on another thread yesterday,
he gets to keep all the money left over from his campaign funds.
so if you don’t campaign very hard, don’t buy a lot of ads, then you have a lot of money left over and it’s all yours.
So some Republicans just are there to supply a warm body for the Dem to run against.
They deliberately lose. Then, apparently, go home with the leftover $$.
Cao knows that he will catch hell for going against Obama on this, so he brings up the abortion issue, which was smart. Though Black voters will, generally, vote for the Black candidate, if there is one, Black voters are rather conservative, on the social issues.
Also, I agree, KILL THE BILL should be the goal, and I also agree that we can not trust the Dems, they will stick the bad stuff back in again, at some future date -—
I do think that the libs in Congress will revolt if we can make the final bill less liberal.
Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District is heavily Democratic and has a black majority population. Back in November, it wasn’t so much that people there voted for Cao as they did against the now-convicted “Dollar Bill” Jefferson.
Before the healthcare “reform” issue surfaced, there were already calls among the district’s black Democratic equivalent of the “good ol’ boy” establishment to recall Cao. If Wishy-Washy Joe ends up voting against Obamacare, the recall movement may come back with a vengeance.
Had hopes for this guy, but seems he’s hopeless.
He’s a step up for politics as usual in New Orleans but this news is very disappointing. But, his constituancy consists of the New Orleans Katrina victums and poor communities so I guess all bets are off that he will follow a conservative path in the future. I guess we will have to wait and see.
guess he’s set his sights on Jesse Ventura’s record for “Shortest Political Career”...
Had hopes for this guy, but seems he’s hopeless.
+++++++++++++
Did he vote for Crap and tax? Reichert (R) WA-8, voted for CRAP and now has announced he’s voting ‘no’ on HR3200. What’s with these Rs?
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
And watch out for the provision against funding services to illegal aliens. My mom brought up this point, and perhaps others here have also - providers just will have a don't ask, don't tell policy and then guess what’ll happen? And who will foot that bill???
Do we trust anything these socialists tell us?
I say NO, NO, NO, NO...emphatic NO!
He ended up representing a majority african-american district, but he’s fairly conservative. And a freshman member of the house.
No matter what he does, he’s screwed.
I understand what you're saying, but no one forced this man to run for office, and the political leanings of his constituency were hardly a secret.
If he'll be screwed no matter what he does, he could at least make an effort to explain to his constituents why this bill is a bad idea, even for them.
Unless, of course, he doesn't think government takeover of healthcare and a large chunk of the economy is a bad idea.
But, as long as it covers MILLIONS of illegal aliens, it's ok?
The Democrats control the House 256-178 and one vacancy. Cao will not be the "deciding vote." The real issue is whether the Reps can remain united like they were on the stimulus bill. The Dems must own this monstrosity lock, stock, and barrel.
Level-headed people should not buy into cosmetic changes such as eliminating the “death panel” provisions or mandatory coverage for abortions. The bill as a whole is a socialist nightmare and must be opposed in its entirety.
In any event, who can guarantee that the death-panel/abortion provisions will not return in the future as proposed amendments? Kill the whole thing now!!!
Joe must have never kept a personal budget.
Or maybe he can’t add numbers once they get past a TRILLION or so.
++++++++++++++++
This is the problem with CONGRESS, really the whole Federal mess, frankly. What a bunch of pathetic, irresponsible, malfeasant losers (except for *maybe* 75 of ‘em - and I’m counting both Houses.)
But, as long as it covers MILLIONS of illegal aliens, it’s ok?
+++++++++++++
And he’s OK with
—end of life death marketing, paid for by guess who?
—Bias against Senior and young children in health delivery based on some socialist calculator
—forcing masses of people onto the public plan once it’s unveiled now or into the future
And the biggest thing he’s OK with:
—Trusting anything, anything out of this crop of clowns, will be done as advertised.
Traitorous wretch!
Your analysis is 100% on target.
We can hope that he recognizes that as a temporary incumbent there's absolutely nothing he can do to avoid a rout next time, so he is free to vote his conscience.
But he did take an oath to represent his constituents' wishes, not those of us here on FR. We can't ask him to act like an arrogant dictator & haughtily ignore them. He has to at least pretend to be working for them, for pete's sake. If the shoe were on the other foot, we'd all be screaming bloody murder, and with complete justification.
Hopefully, however, he sees or at least will eventually see that doing the right thing for his constituents' progeny constitutes a higher moral imperative and he'll vote against the barbaric monstrosity that this bill truly is since no matter what he does, he will not be re-elected in that majority-black democratic district.
The Dems must own this monstrosity lock, stock, and barrel.
+++++++++++++
Including all the blue dog dems like Rick Larsen who will be fighting for their lives in 2010!
I still hope we can sink it frankly - but I’ve heard a lot of sentiment toward RAMMING it down, lately. So get ready folks.
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