Cao Grows A Conscience; Will GOP Have A Cow?

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When Republican Anh “Joseph” Cao won a surprise victory last December in his House race against disgraced Democrat William “Freezer” Jefferson, no less a luminary than House Minority Leader John Boehner sent a giddy memo to Republicans entitled “The Future is Cao”.

Cao didn’t sound too impressed at the time:

“I’m a little bit mad at the Republican Party because they, like everybody else, ignored us until the very end — until they saw that we might actually win,” says Cao, pronounced “Gow.”

The party didn’t pony up any money until three weeks before the election, he says….

Endorsements were equally slow to come. Popular Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, an Indian-American and himself promoted as the future of the GOP, waited until three days before the election to back his fellow party member, Cao says.

After obediently toeing the party line when the House voted on the stimulus bill the first time, the Future of the Republican Party has now suddenly grown a conscience, and publicly declared his intention to support the compromise version of the bill even if he’s the only House Republican to vote “Aye!”

“I’m voting along what my conscience dictates and the needs of the 2nd Congressional District dictate, even if I were to be the only member of the GOP to vote for the stimulus package,” he said.

“Even though it is going to be a humongous bill, even though we will be in debt for years, I believe that more likely than not, I will vote for it because the 2nd Congressional District needs a stimulus package.”
[...]
“A lot of the provisions in the bill will be good for the district, because we need almost everything,” he said. “You name it, we need it.”

Of course, the 2nd Congressional District still needed a stimulus package back on January 28, when the House voted the first time. It was equally true then that a lot of provisions in the bill would have been good for his district. But maybe Cao still deserves some kind of pat on the back for daring to defy his party after being so prominently lionized by the party leadership.

Stand by now for the fallout from the likes of Boehner, Cantor and Limbaugh.

*** Update 12:17 p.m. ***

Surprise, surprise! Cao did not vote for the bill. Nor did any other Republican.

It passes by a vote of 246 to 183. One Democrat voted present, 7 voted against.

Long live bipartisanship!

Comments

  1. Bob says:
    February 13, 2009 at 12:25 pm

    Yeah, long live bipartisanship. It’s the Republican equivalent of taking their ball and going home. Trouble is, it’s no longer their ball.

  2. Willowspring says:
    February 13, 2009 at 12:52 pm

    THE DEMOCRATS OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES. THEIR BEHAVIOR, PUTTING EVERYTHING THEY DREAMED OF FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, INTO THIS STIMULUS BILL, WHICH WILL ONLY SADDLE OUR CHILDREN, AND GRANDCHILDREN AND ON WITH MONUMENTAL DEBT, IS NOT TARGETED . IT IS A BEHEMOTH THAT WILL ULTIMATELY DESTROY THE MIDDLE CLASS. AND GUESS WHAT, YOU FOLKS THAT VOTED THIS ENTIRE ADMINISTRATION IN SO THERE ARE NO CHECKS AND BALANCES, YOUR BENEFITS AND FOOD STAMPS AND HEALTH CARE AND ANY OTHER HAND OUTS YOU ARE NOW RECEIVING WILL BE GREATLY REDUCED TO PAY OFF JUST THE INTEREST ON THIS DEBT. NOW WHO SHOT THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT?

  3. Jobs Jobs says:
    February 13, 2009 at 7:06 pm

    This is not going to be a perfect stimulus package, lucky for you republicans. But the conservative, right wingers, extremists, neo-con philosophy does not work.
    This is not the rubber stamp congress like the rubber stamp congress Bush had eight years starting in 2000. In fact Bush had a rubber stamp congress that did not let the American people have a respectable dialog on the war against “Saddam in Iraq”. The war in Iraq should of been a war against “Al Queda terror” instead our sons and daughters got involved in war that made most of the Muslim world and Europe against America. It would of been better to remove Saddam thru the CIA maybe thru assassination. This could of prevented 4000 American service men and women from dying on a foreign land.
    The economy went the same way. Bush Administration was so convinced that nothing was wrong, that it did nothing to monitor it . The advice from conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, Phil Graham, Karl Rove had more of Bush’s ear than Laura Bush.
    Republicans lost track of true American interests. the use of only tax cuts for American people does not work.
    Democrats must try something different in trying times because so many people are hoping for something instead of doing nothing like the Republicans and Rush Limbaugh want. People in America elected representatives and Senators to run the U.S. Congress not Rush Limbaugh to run this country.

  4. Jobs Jobs says:
    February 13, 2009 at 7:07 pm

    Democrats must try something different in trying times because so many people are hoping for something instead of doing nothing like the Republicans and Rush Limbaugh want. People in America elected representatives and Senators to run the U.S. Congress not Rush Limbaugh to run this country.

  5. Rajan says:
    February 13, 2009 at 7:36 pm

    It is not clear what benefits will accrue to the economy of this country from this stimulus package. There are essentially two components in this package:
    1) Tax cuts and tax rebates
    2) Spending on infrastructure like highways, bridges, etc.

    Giving 500-1000 dollars to a family will only induce them to go out and buy some sundry items and consumer electronics from WalMart or Target. Almost all these items are imported from China, Mexico and other countries. Hence, buying these products may somewhat ameliorate the economic situation in those countries and certainly not here.

    As for the proposed spending on various infrastructure projects, unless the Government (at the state or the federal level) decides to execute all these projects directly without involving any private enterprises or contractors, they all will be non-starters. If any private contractor makes a successful bid for any such project, he or she will have to tie up needed working capital in advance. After all, the Government will pay the contractor only either after the project is completed or in instalments depending on the progress in the project execution.

    Here lies the crunch. The banks are not willing to advance any credit to medium and small scale enterprises and businesses.

    Hence, the main and most crucial problem related to the credit crunch must be sorted out before any of these ambitious plans are rolled out for execution.

  6. DaProfessor says:
    February 13, 2009 at 7:41 pm

    Ah yes … We have heard from a few “trickle-down” or nothing Republicans, whining about the lack of “sufficient” tax cuts for the wealthy. What else is new. Does anyone feel the ‘spray’ from the trickle-down of the past 8-years?

    Just once, when they whine and cry about spending, I wish they would be specific as to what they would cut. Don’t hold your breath, especially if the spending cut will impact their own backyard.

    Apparently the only spending cut these Republicans will support is the tax cuts for the wealthy. We do not have time to explain basic accounting to these folks but reducing taxes and raising spending as the Republicans have done for the past 8+ years INCREASES THE NATIONAL DEBT.

  7. steve says:
    February 14, 2009 at 5:29 am

    I suppose that private jet ordered by the Obama himself,to fetch a senator from Ohio from his mother’s wake so he could vote was ok? Never mind these nutcase democrat hypocrits yelling at the automaker CEO’s for flying. Yet they are doing the same thing.
    I know, I know the ends justifies the means. I also suppose the carbons released by Obamas jet was ok with Al Gore too?

    Scream “change” all you want left wing nuts, but nothing is changing. Politics as usual.