If you had mixed feelings about Rep. Joseph Cao before last weekend, then chances are they shifted to either "love" or "hate" very, very quickly Saturday night.
Cao, who represents New Orleans' second congressional district, was the only member of the Republican party to vote in favor of the House health-care bill. That vote has drawn enormous criticism and support, along with a few new nicknames to throw his hat on.
We scoured the web and have found several examples of those who love the vote and see it as a signal of bipartisanship ("The Good"), as well as those who downright despise it ("The Ugly"). We cap it off with a couple interviews and some analysis that makes sense of it all.
THE GOOD
- MSNBC's Keith Olberman calls him a "rational Republican" and lauds him for considering the needs of his district over the needs of his party.
- Quin Hillyer with the American Spectator defends Cao's vote, saying he "stuck to his guns" and was representing a 75 percent Democratic district. And if that's not enough, he brings up a GOP favorite for an analogy: Ronald Reagan.
"Ronald Reagan understood that sometimes local issues prevail. He played the game brilliantly. Remember that to pass one of his big initiatives -- either the Reagan-Kemp-Roth tax cut or the major Gramm-Latta spending cuts, I can't remember which -- it was Reagan's willingness to horse-trade that led Democratic then-Rep. John Breaux of Louisiana to boast about some protection he got for the sugar cane industry. Asked if his vote had been for sale, Breaux cracked: 'No, of course it isn't for sale, but it is for rent!'"
- Michael Stickings, a blogger for the Huffington Post, gives one -- but not three -- cheer for Cao. He's pleased with the end result of Cao's vote but attacks his reasoning behind it. He goes as far as to say Obama "bought off" Cao because of his commitment to work together on community disaster loan forgiveness, a factor that was crippling many city projects in development like the LSU teaching hospital.
THE UGLY
- Mad Conservative is, well, mad about Cao's vote. Mad enough to put together a 19th-century style WANTED sign with Cao's face.
- The Washington Independent scoured Facebook for responses from Republicans. What name came up again and again? "Tratior."
- Rush Limbaugh coined a new term: "Cash Cao." That's in reference to Cao's admission that concessions from Obama were made, mainly in the form of forgiving community disaster loans, to secure his vote.
- The Freedom Post also keeps their new nickname for Cao short: Joseph "Mao"
- The Washington Examiner's Terry Hurlbut said Cao's intent to abide by the constitution in representing his constituents backfired, because he says the bill itself is downright unconstitutional.
THE ANALYSIS
- The National Review noticed that state Rep. Juan Lafonta and state Sen. Cedric Richmond were relatively quiet following Cao's vote -- because, as they put it, what would they have said? "I would have pushed the 'aye' button harder"?
However, Richmond did end up releasing a statement that denounced Cao for "blind partisanship" and that his vote came after Democrats had already secured the votes needed to pass the bill.
- The Atlantic takes a shot at explaining why Cao voted in favor of the bill. Among them: Cao faces a tough re-election campaign next year in a heavily Democratic district, a shift in Vietnamese-American politics, several Obama concessions in his district, the vote was largely symbolic and he wanted to surprise GOP leadership.
- The Washington Monthly has a story on Cao's vote that comes with an item about a memo John Boehner, the Republican House leader, published in December after Cao's historic defeat of former Congressman William Jefferson. The memo's title? "The Future is Cao"
"As House Republicans look ahead to the next two years, the Cao victory is a symbol of what can be achieved when we think big, present a positive alternative, and work aggressively to earn the trust of the American people," Boehner writes.
What a difference an "Aye" and a year makes.
- The Economist has the implications of Cao's votes on the Viatnemese-American political community, an often heavily right leaning group, and how it will juggle party politics while keeping the trust of their constituents, which are often mostly minorities.
"Any Vietnamese-American candidate who wants to win an election is going to have to make himself viable to the other minority populations who inhabit heavily Vietnamese-American districts .. But the Republican party has no room for any policy compromises that might play well to those voters."
- The Hill details the moments leading up to Cao's vote, which included a call from President Barack Obama and several unsuccessful nudges from Minority Whip Eric Cantor.
"When the time came for the vote on final passage, Cantor slid into the seat right of Cao to continue pressuring the freshman lawmaker to oppose the vote and deny the White House any bipartisan edge to its victory."
The account shows nitty, gritty politics at its best.
"As soon as the House started the final vote for the day, Cao voted and dashed out the side of the chamber, plugging his ears in jest when reporters approached to find out what happened."
- Fox News says Cao's vote comes after weeks of courtship from Obama.
"Cao said the Obama administration invested considerable time in him. He said President Obama spoke with him for "a period of a couple weeks" and that Obama's staff spoke with him "on a number of occasions."
THE INTERVIEWS
Not enough for you? Tough to please. Here are a couple interviews straight from the horse's mouth.
CNN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMz9zaMSJ6w&feature=player_embedded
FOX (Geraldo sighting!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXEeb0wchP4
MSNBC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ3RRE3gDwE&feature=channel
And for contrast, an interview in January, a month after his election win. CSPAN: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/283190-1
