Rumors, Murmurs

1. Might Congressman Cao be switching parties?

There is confirmed chatter amongst local Democrats that this may be in the works. It would certainly make things interesting and might help Cao emerge out of a primary if other contenders end up beating up each other instead of the incumbent. Really, though, I'm not sure there's much of anything Cao can do in one direction or another to retain his seat. It certainly helps to vote in the interests of the district, as he did when he finally voted for healthcare reform the other day. If Cao departs from the GOP, it would certainly feed into the GOP purge narrative that Democrats are keen on playing up.


2. What is Karen Carter Peterson up to?

She's definitely running for Congress but won't announce until after the Mayor's race or even later. The Chairman of the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee, James Gray, has already seemingly endorsed Cedric Richmond. This is of particular interest because Gray is the father of State Senator Cheryl Gray Evans, who is Karen Carter Peterson's BFF. That could make things weird. And what does this say about Cheryl Gray Evans ambition, or lack their of, for higher office? The KCP development may contribute to the reasons why we're not seeing the local Democratic establishment follow the lead of national progressive organizations and the Obama administration in praising Congressman Cao's vote for healthcare reform.


3. Is State Sen. Ed Murray really a front-runner for Mayor?

Yes, just take a look at his fundraising totals for the quarter. For the lazy, that's nearly six hundred grand. We'll get a better sense of what's going on after the official deadline for campaign finance reports later this week.


4. Might we find someone other than Charlie Melancon to run for Senate?

A trustworthy reader wrote the old gmail account about State Senator Eric LaFleur:

E:

He'd be the best candidate of the bunch. But his wife is pregnant with their second child, and she's due either this month or next. I don't think he'll be throwing his hat in the ring. It totally sucks, but I'd love to see Charlie get cold feet, which may be the only thing to make him reconsider. I think he's the Louisiana version of Obama ... young State Senator that gets young folks totally invested in government/politics again.

Not sure there will ever be such a thing as the Louisiana version of Obama but I'd love to hear more about Senator LaFleur.

Rep. Cao steps up

Joseph Cao voted yea on healthcare reform!

This couldn't have been easy. He was the only Republican to break ranks. I'm glad he did.

Though I am pro-choice and proud, the Congressman is clearly passionate about his side of that endless debate and at the very least, I respect the consistency with which he couched his reservations about healthcare reform in terms of the language around abortion.

On the other hand, Congressman Charlie Melancon voted no. It's getting harder to figure out how he'd be an improvement over David Vitter.

How about Joseph Cao for Senate instead? 

Here is his full statement:

Tonight, Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao (LA-2) voted in favor of the comprehensive health reform bill, H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Of his vote, Cao said: “Tonight, I voted to keep taxpayer dollars from funding abortion and to deliver access to affordable health care to the people of Louisiana.

Cao said: “I read the versions of the House [health reform] bill. I listened to the countless stories of Orleans and Jefferson Parish citizens whose health care costs are exploding – if they are able to obtain health care at all. Louisianans needs real options for primary care, for mental health care, and for expanded health care for seniors and children.

The bill passed the House at a 220-215 vote.

Cao said: “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.

Cao said: “I have always said that I would put aside partisan wrangling to do the business of the people. My vote tonight was based on my priority of doing what is best for my constituents.

H.R. 3962 included the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which will keep in place current federal law on abortion funding and conscience protections for health care providers.

Cao said: “Before the Stupak-Pitts amendment was adopted as part of this health reform bill, the bill failed to explicitly include the longstanding policy prohibiting federal funding of elective abortion and plans which include elective abortion.”

According to a letter from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops dated November 7, 2009, “The [Stupak-Pitts] Amendment will not affect coverage of abortion in nonsubsidized health plans, and will not bar anyone from purchasing a supplemental abortion policy with their own funds.”

Cao said: “Thank to the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, taxpayer dollars will not go to supporting elective abortions, and for thousands of my constituents, this was a top priority. By incorporating this amendment into the health reform bill, my colleagues and I made this bill better, and that is an achievement of which I will always be proud.”

Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond, the archbishop of New Orleans, said: “I am grateful to Congressman Cao for his courage and determination to defend life. I appreciate his work to prevent abortion from being included in health care reform and for protecting conscience rights of health care professionals. I – and, I am sure, many in New Orleans would join me – [I] appreciate Congressman Cao's commitment to the people of New Orleans."

Urgent! Tell Congressman Cao to vote yes on healthcare reform

The House of Representatives is going to vote on healthcare reform tomorrow. That's right, tomorrow.

At yesterday's Bachmann-inspired rally staged at the Capital, the House GOP leaders promised that not one Republican would vote for the bill.

The Republican leadership is going to be leveraging incredible pressure on their members, including Congressman Cao.

I just called Congressman Cao's offices in D.C. (202-225-6630) and New Orleans (504-483-2325) and asked whether or not the Congressman had planned to vote yes or no.

He apparently remains undecided.

I urged his staff to pass along my hopes that the Congressman will choose to vote yes.

Should Congressman summon the courage to vote in the interest of the public health of this district instead of the in the interest of a symbolic partisan rebuke, he will have my support against whatever sanction he may receive from GOP leadership.

This is our last chance to convince Congressman Cao to do what is right and to do what is wise.

Please let the Congressman know how important it is to you, this district, and the country that we increase access to care and lower costs.

It is time to be resolved.

Make sure the Congressman's staff gets your name. Make sure they know you are registered to vote in the 2nd district.

Tell them why you expect a yes vote out of your Congressman.

Washington Office 2113 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-6636 Fax: (202) 225-1988

.

New Orleans Office 4640 So. Carrollton Ave. Suite 120 New Orleans, LA 70119 Phone: (504) 483-2325 Fax: (504) 483-7944

WITHOUT A DOUBT

YES TO HIGH SPEED RAIL

Good luck with Governor Waaaambulance, Congressman Cao.

His administration was working toward high speed rail before he had a child-like reaction to being made fun of for previously opposing it publicly to score a one-off political point.

Are we done with Joe Wilson now finally?

House approves motion to disapprove.

I think that Congressman should be held accountable by their colleagues for violating Congressional rules of decorum. I think that's fair.

I think the way this was pursued was petty and counterproductive.

Basically, House Democrats witnessed one of the greatest speeches of the last twenty years, one that stated eloquently the financial and moral imperatives for healthcare reform, one that took back the reigns of the debate in stunning fashion.

They responded by focusing singularly on a sensational outburst of an uninformed no-name goofball and instead we're pretty much back where we started.

We almost were about to have a national conversation about the best way to reform healthcare.

Almost.

The House could have gone about censuring Congressman Wilson in a classier way. One would have been to just quietly hold the guy accountable for the breach of decorum the very next day without all the cable news grandstanding. The other would have been to have waited until near the end of the session after the sensationalism of the moment had passed.

In related news, Congressman Cao was one of seven Republicans to cross over and vote for the motion to disapprove Congressman Wilson. A number of progressive Democrats voted against the motion or as present, which I think is very interesting and maybe even admirable.

Feeling Bullish

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I thought this speech was brilliant in so many ways.

He avoided drawing hard lines in the sand on most of the specific policy proposals he personally favors.

But he drew several lines in the sand on the principles at stake here.

Either you're for participating in the creation and passage of a critically important but imperfect healthcare and health insurance reform bill or you're against it.

Either you're for working with the President to fix problems or you're against it.

He's putting his Presidency on the line.

Because if we can't fix healthcare, with all the general agreement there is on what the problems are, we're not going to be able to fix anything at all.

Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, corporate Democrat enemy number one of liberal progressives for his role watering down healthcare reform in the upper chamber, who stood steadfast against the public option in the face of hundreds of thousands of dollars of ads, said after the speech that it was a "game changer."

He's on board and will work with the President to pass the best bill they can.

Who else we got?

Max Baucus of Montana?

Olympia Snow of Maine?

Susan Collins of Maine?

Mary Landrieu of Louisiana?

George Voinovich of Ohio?

The New Guy of Florida?

What are you all going to do? Who you with? What side are you on?

--

Senator Landrieu's statement after the speech:

“President Obama’s speech tonight was very much needed to keep Congress on track to find a solution for the health care challenges facing our country. It was a sincere and heartfelt effort to unify Democrats and reach out to Republicans to forge common ground and build a broader coalition. Moving this debate forward will take principled compromise and an approach that draws from the very best ideas – regardless of political party.

“The President rightfully focused on the need to lower health care costs for families, businesses and the government. If Congress does not find the resolve to pass health care legislation, people will not be able to afford the insurance they like or get the quality coverage they need, and the federal government will not be able to balance its budget.

“Skyrocketing health insurance premiums and unstable costs have hurt even our most successful small businesses and stifled job growth at a time when our economy needs a jolt. Insurance reform and the new insurance exchanges that the President highlighted are excellent solutions to giving consumers and small businesses greater choice, and with it, competitive prices in a market-based approach.

“The coming weeks and months will produce a spirited debate. But as the President said, the time is now for improving health care. Our current system is unsustainable and is costing our nation more than $2 trillion a year. Louisiana and all of America simply cannot afford the status quo.”

This sounds like she's is ready and willing to vote for healthcare reform even if it includes a public option triggered four years from now with the launch of an insurance exchange and I hope that my interpretation of her position is correct.

It is shameful she hasn't been a strong advocate for healthcare reform. I don't think it's politically risky to contrast oneself with David Vitter's position. I think there is way less downside risk if one is a fierce supporter of healthcare reform but a lot of potential benefit. Conversely, hanging back until the last minute before ultimately voting for healthcare reform, which is what I expect the Senator to do, would seem to be to carry all of the downside risk without any of the potential benefits.

It was cowardly, especially given that she's not even up for reelection for another five years.

--

Congressman Cao told the Times-Picayune he was "relieved" by Obama's assertion that there would be no funding for abortion in the healthcare reform bill.

That's important. At a forum last week in New Orleans East broadcast by WBOK, Cao insisted that there was federal funding for abortion in the bill over the objections of the crowd.

As a result, Tracie Washington posed a hypothetical question to the Congressman, which he clearly answered. Even though the abortion myth has been debunked by nonpartisan fact checkers for weeks prior to the President's speech last night, Washington wondered whether Cao would support the bill if it had everything he wanted but didn't include additional specific language pertaining to abortion.

She asked if abortion was a deal-breaker.

And Cao said yes.

So Congressman Cao's statement to the Times-Picayune is very encouraging. I would strongly urge him to become that rare Republican advocate for healthcare reform from here on out. I don't expect that but I would applaud him loudly if that's what he ends up doing.

Overslept

Did Cedric Richmond declare his candidacy this morning?

Update: Politico says yes.

Real World: Westwego

Last night I went to Congressman Joe Cao's town hall event in Westwego.

It was pretty uncomfortable.

Nobody flew off the handle and there were no gun shows. It certainly wasn't the worst of the worst. The small auditorium was probably 75% against. He took maybe ten questions but only one from someone in support of healthcare reform.

I'd never heard Congressman Cao talk off-the-cuff for such a long period of time. His explanations of the healthcare reform proposals were kind of disjointed. I'm not sure how much of that is related to his accent and how much of it is related to his lack of confidence about his knowledge about what's actually included in the HELP bill.

For instance, he then went on for awhile about how he was worried that illegal immigrants might be exempt from the individual mandate, which of course is a ridiculous argument because if you're worried about benefits going to undocumented workers, you certainly wouldn't want them in the mandate system, which would make them eligible for subsidies, the insurance exchange, or the public option.

Besides:

House Bill: "No Federal Payment for Undocumented Aliens." According to America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, Page 143, Line 3, Section 246: "No Federal Payment for Undocumented Aliens. Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States." [America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, accessed 7/22/09

Favorite question from audience member:

"I guess I understand that we need some kind of reform. But why does it have to be a bill."

Cao cracked a nice smile at that one. Because that's how laws are made, my dear.

A high percentage audience questions were phrased in terms of how wrong it is that "lazy" people would get health insurance on the backs of "hard-working" people.

One of the more disappointing moments came when a woman went on a long and inarticulate rant about how because the Obama administration is answering emails with questions about healthcare reform, their should be some sort of investigation. This is the latest Fox News fear-smear. Cao should have knocked it down but instead said he'd have to look into the woman's claims.

Cao's office also collects email addresses and answers questions via email.

After the event, I walked up to the stage to ask the Congressman if he was still "leaning" toward supporting the bill. If he said yes, I was going to thank him.

But instead he just hedged a whole bunch. He backed off. He wouldn't say he was leaning toward it.

At some point or another he's going to have to say what he believes. He's going to have to vote on this at some point very soon. We're all going to know about it.

So he might as well just come out now and say what it is he's going to do for his constituents on this.

Make a decision and live with the consequences.

Seriously.

--

After the event I stayed around for a little while and discussed my thoughts on the bill with some of the anti-reform folks that were there. It's amazing how people react when you start telling them the facts. When you explain that we have the highest costs in the world and the 37th best outcomes, when you explain how taxes already pay for people's healthcare except only at its most expensive point - the ER, when you inject a little reality into things... well, it just confounds people.

It made me feel bad. We're so far apart on what the basic facts are.

People are being taken advantage and they're being lied to. It's a shame.

Questions for Congressman Cao

I'm in Pittsburgh and unfortunately will be missing Congressman Cao's event tonight in my Irish Channel neighborhood.

Thursday, August 13th
Neighborhood Association Meeting
Irish Channel Christian Fellowship
819 First Street
New Orleans, LA
7pm-8pm CST

Here is what I would ask him about healthcare if I could.

1. Does Congressman Cao support extending the opportunity to create living wills to medicare recipients?

2. Does Congressman Cao support an individual mandate that would require all Americans to carry health insurance?

3. Does Congressman Cao support expanding medicare eligibility and/or increasing subsidies to help poor people afford insurance?

4. Does Congressman Cao support requiring employers to contribute to the health insurance costs of their employees?

5. Does Congressman Cao support changing incentive systems to reward quality of care over quantity?

6. Does Congressman Cao support regulating the private insurance industry to prohibit companies from denying coverage for preexisting conditions?

7. Does Congressman Cao support health insurance exchanges where consumers could compare costs and benefits of different insurance plans?

8. Does Congressman Cao support establishing a public option insurance plan to compete with the private insurance industry?

9. Does Congressman Cao believe that the House is proposing the creation of 'death panels?'

Congressman Cao has developed the habit of not taking positions on issues (think stimulus) before he votes the reactionary position with his Party's leaders. It is important that meeting attendees make a real effort to force Mr. Cao to explain what he believes, how he plans to vote, and why.

"Completely Destroyed"

Charity Hospital or Congressman Cao's shot at reelection?

Link!

Caontext

Councilor Stacy Head's elitist checkout commentary aside, there's a much more comprehensive picture that puts those comments into an even more unfortunate context.

Though I've often vehemently criticized certain comments she's made and more importantly, policies that she's championed, Councilor Head earned a lot of respect from yours truly because of her work ethic and the lengths she goes to provide effective constituent representation. More respect than I ever thought I could possibly give her after the stances she took on housing.

But there's not much excuse for all this.

Ya know, when you hold yourself to a higher standard...

I received these early yesterday afternoon.

UPDATE:

Publishing items with personal email addresses of people I don't know without permission violates my own personal comfort level. I was too hasty earlier so I've decided to take down those emails. Essentially, Stacy Head was receiving extremely detailed communications on the mechanics of the Cao campaign. She was not responding to them in a particularly substantive way and was redirecting them away from her official council email account. But there may have been some questionable activity involved.

UPDATE II:

ABC26 actually already published the same emails minus the addresses. You can go check 'em out there. Link! And here I'd thought I may have broken one... ha ha on me.

Another Year, Another Deadline

Last year around this time, I was blogging quite a bit about a poorly conceived policy that proposed to evict residents of FEMA trailers.

Councilor Stacy Head was out front pushing these evictions even though the continued use and sometimes abuse of formaldehyde-laden FEMA trailers had almost everything to do with the lack of affordable housing and almost nothing to do with people being too lazy to fix their homes. A decent compromise was reached when Cynthia Hedge-Morrell proposed a compromise that exempted the more heavily storm-damaged Districts D and E from that deadline.

FEMA ultimately extended that deadline as well - to the end of February and then again to May 1st. That's this May 1st. But as the article behind that link indicated way back in February, it was already likely that the enforcement of the May 1st deadline would result in evictions of a few thousand of our neighbors.

May 1st is now just a week or so away.

The truth is that people need to get out of these trailers. Many of them have dangerous levels of formaldehyde. But a cancerous trailer is better than the street.

FEMA caseworkers were put out there to inform people of the upcoming deadline but I'm not sure what kind of actual assistance they were able to provide.

I'm not an expert on these programs but I think that if you opted into the trailer program, it means you weren't involved with DHAP (Disaster Housing Assistance Program) or with other housing choice vouchers to get an apartment. The waiting list for Section 8 assistance is endless, and there's no cutting the line.

If I were to venture an educated guess, I'd say that the vast majority of people still inhabiting FEMA trailers are not just being lazy about home renovations or finding their own alternative housing. Rather, I imagine a huge percentage of current trailer inhabitants are senior citizens on fixed incomes. Another chunk of people have been victims of contractor fraud and waiting on litigation or otherwise do not have money to get their house up to livable standards.

Now, ideally, none of this would matter. The city would have a decent enough affordable housing supply that the thousand or so senior citizens could be given rental vouchers or whatever else and that would be the end of those awful trailers. But HANO only today announced a plan to begin renovations that should have been immediate priorities three years ago.

The rental market isn't nearly as bad as it was twelve months ago, but that doesn't indicate that a significant amount of affordable or subsidized housing has suddenly become available. Especially when we're talking about folks living purely off of their social security checks or families struggling with medical issues, etc.

FEMA will likely have to extend it's deadline once again as a result. Unless it's suddenly acceptable to throw senior citizens onto the streets. I hope that's not the case.

Senator Landrieu and Congressman Cao need to step up and make sure that nobody falls through the cracks.

In Case You Didn't Notice

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the 2010 budget resolution.

Charlie Melancon did the right thing and voted for it even though I'm sure he was getting lots of pressure from his more conservative constituents.

Everybody else from Louisiana voted against it, including the increasingly indefensible Joe Cao.

He's constantly talking about how in the middle he is and how much consideration he's giving to these things but increasingly it seems like he's just blowing smoke. He also voted against the Republican alternative budget (known as the Rep. Ryan April Fool's Joke).

I'd like to know exactly what kind of budget Mr. Cao would prefer.

His nay vote against this budget really ticks me off.

What exactly does Mr. Cao stand for on any national issue of substance? So far, he voted for SCHIP. That's the only matter on which he's actually taken a stand against the embarrassing paramilitary shell of the Republican Party to do something productive for the people in his district.

What is SO objectionable about healthcare reform?

Mary Landrieu, Charlies Melancon, and Anh Cao are mulling over President Obama's budget proposal, which promises to make significant down payment on healthcare reform and sets up a program to control harmful pollution and spur the development of renewable resource technology.

I love this budget proposal. I think it is exactly what the country needs right now.

I need affordable health care options. So do tens of millions of my American neighbors. And our country needs to get off of foreign oil. Our industries and businesses are going to need to adjust to environmental realities.


This is a prudent and moderate proposal that will help this country emerge from this crisis with a stronger social safety net and a robust new green jobs sector.

This budget puts mechanisms in place to do these things. But our Representatives are still sticking their fingers up into the wind.

And guess what?

The people of this nation are in favor of it and this new President's agenda by huge margins.

But they really need to hear it from us. The conservative talk radio crowd makes phone calls and sends letters. We need to our voices to be heard over theirs.


Call 'em up in D.C.

Rep. Melancon: (202) 225-4031

Rep. Cao: (202) 225-6636

Sen. Landrieu: (202)224-5824

We Must Pass Obama's Budget

I supported Barack Obama not just because I thought he could win an election, but because I actually wanted to see his policies and programs put in place. He said what those policies were on the campaign trail and now he's trying to implement them as President. He's keeping his word.

The budget he proposes is extremely ambitious. It sets up the country to finally deliver on some really important things, namely alternative energy and comprehensive healthcare reform.

Green jobs and healthcare coverage that costs us less green.

We need these things, we want these things, we deserve these things. Short term and long term.

But it's not just up to him. This is democracy. It's also up to us.


Right now, right-wing naysayers (who can point to no viable alternative plan) are putting pressure on moderate Democrats to water down the budget bill by stripping it of its most important and prudent provisions.

And we're on the front lines here in Louisiana.

The President needs the support of Representative Charlie Melancon and Senator Mary Landrieu, but both of them are waffling.

We need to put pressure on our elected officials to support the Obama budget.

Republican activists are very good about writing letters and making phone calls. I think that sometimes we don't think that these things don't make a difference. In reality, they do.

It takes very little time to make a phone call.


Rep. Charlie Melancon:

Washington, DC Office 404 Cannon House Office Bldg Washington, DC 20515-1807 Phone: (202) 225-4031 Fax: (202) 226-3944
Houma 423 Lafayette St, Ste. 107 Houma, LA 70360 Phone: 985.876.3033 Fax: 985.872.4449	Gonzales 1201 S. Purpera Ave. Ste. 601 Gonzales, LA 70737 Phone: 225.621.8490 Fax: 225.621.8493
Chalmette 8201 W. Judge Perez Dr. Chalmette, LA 70043 Phone: 504.271.1707 Fax: 504.271.1756	New Iberia 124 East Main Street Suite 100 New Iberia, LA 70560 Phone: 337.367.8231 Fax: 337.369.7084

And since he claims to be a closeted Democrat, let's also add Rep. Cao to the list:

Washington Office 2113 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-6636 Fax: (202) 225-1988

.

New Orleans Office 4640 So. Carrollton Ave. Suite 120 New Orleans, LA 70119 Phone: (504) 483-2325 Fax: (504) 483-7944

Sen. Mary Landrieu:

	Washington, DC 328 Hart Senate Building United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Voice: (202)224-5824 Fax:(202) 224-9735 Email Senator Landrieu
New Orleans Hale Boggs Federal Building 500 Poydras Street Room 1005 New Orleans, LA 70130 Voice: (504) 589-2427 Fax:(504) 589-4023		Baton Rouge Room 326, Federal Building 707 Florida Street Baton Rouge, LA 70801 Voice: (225) 389-0395 Fax:(225) 389-0660
Shreveport U.S. Courthouse 300 Fannin Street Room 2240 Shreveport, LA 71101 Voice: (318) 676-3085 Fax:(318) 676-3100		Lake Charles Hibernia Tower One Lakeshore Drive Suite 1260 Lake Charles, LA 70629 Voice: (337) 436-6650 Fax:(337) 439-3762

Just take a moment. Three phone calls a day until this budget is passed.

Bad Cao

Lame!!!!

Newt Gingrich loves courting Louisiana pols.

Cold Case

Following up on a tip, I called Congressman Cao's Washington office to ask how many open constituent service case files were inherited from Congressman Jefferson's office. I'd been told that it was a comically low single digit number.

I was able to speak to Cao's new Chief of Staff, Clayton Hall.

I asked him to confirm that what I'd heard.

But before he answered that question he described a little bit about how open constituent service cases are supposed to be handed over. It isn't just a manila folders changing hands. Rather, the outgoing staff sends a letter to the relevant constituent to ask whether or not to transfer the open case to the next Congressman's staff. Some say yes and others say no.

After putting me on hold to get the exact number of open cases transferred from Jefferson to Cao he came back with a precise answer:

"Zero."

Jefferson's staff told Cao's staff that they had closed all of their open case files. And I suppose that that's entirely possible.

But it's kind of hard to believe.

Generally, a Congressional office has a hundred or more ongoing constituent service files open at any one time. The 2nd Congressional District, because of all the individual issues people have with different federal agencies, would generally have more open cases than most other districts. New Congressman also receive a high number of inquiries at the beginning of their term. So while it's hard to pinpoint precisely what a "normal" caseload would be for Cao, right now the number of open cases in the hundreds.

Gotta Give It Up

Congressman Cao is slaying these FEMA assholes.

Question

If Governor Bobby Jindal believes that New Orleans schools have been "reinvented" post-Katrina sufficiently enough that he considers federal stimulus money for education in Louisiana to be wasteful spending but Congressman Joe Cao voted against the stimulus because apparently he believed it didn't include enough for schools, then what are we supposed to believe?

Cao: New Orleans Shafted!

Given how little we know about precisely how the stimulus will work around the nation, to start making job projections for individual Congressional districts seems silly, more so when one realizes that so much of that the allocation of much of each state's haul is still up for negotiation between governors and legislatures.

So I wouldn't get too indignant about the details of this article in today's Times-Picayune. The problems in New Orleans are so vast that a more direct infusion of federal attention is to be expected, and it is highly unlikely that more stimulus money would have been procured at the cost of special attention later.

Nonetheless, Joe Cao would have you believe that the real reason he voted against the stimulus package was that it didn't include enough jobs for the 2nd Congressional, which does indeed rank last on the Obama administration's estimate of jobs created or saved per district. On Monday, he unveiled this line in an op-ed penned to the Times-Picayune. Yesterday, he was flogging this talking point at a joint event held with Steve Scalise at the Port of New Orleans.

However, we know very well that the jobs per district number is misleading. More useful would be a calculation of jobs per capita or per 100,000 residents. The 2nd Congressional district lost a huge percentage of its population as a result of, well, you know.

But that's not really the important point.

The questions I have are:

Where the hell was Joseph Cao when the stimulus bill was being written?

Was he on the phone daily between the Regional Planning Commission, the Regional Transit Authority, the City of New Orleans, the Recovery School District, the State Department of Transportation and Development, and the Port of New Orleans?

Was he talking to traditional friends of New Orleans in Congress like Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Judicial Committee Charmian John Conyers, Committee on Education and Labor Chair George Miller, or Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Barbara Lee?

Was he working with other fiscally conservative moderates who were working on maximizing returns for Louisiana and New Orleans like Rep. Charlie Melancon or Senator Mary Landrieu?

Did he try to leverage his highly coveted vote as a Republicam moderate to try to win extra spending on projects important to his district? The Democrats were bending over backward to try to get some GOP support. Did Joseph Cao try to use that?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Cao went the other way. He didn't put the pressure on Democrats to tailor the bill to help his residents.

He got pressured by conservative wing nut Republicans. He's alternatively had Newt Gingrich, Steve Scalise, Eric Cantor, and others whispering into his ears while stepping on his feet.

Take this revelation from the Politico:

He told reporters an hour or two before the vote that he was strongly considering a vote in favor of the stimulus measure after rejecting an earlier version – “At this point, I’m leaning ‘yes,’ but I’m not absolutely certain.” He reasoned that his heavily Democratic district could use the money with many of his constituents still struggling to rebound from Hurricane Katrina.

Beforehand, Cao acknowledged that Republican leaders had put “pressure” on him to oppose the package, and the party’s chief deputy whip, California Rep. Kevin O. McCarthy, stood near Cao during the entire vote.

“They encouraged me to vote ‘no,’ but they understand the needs of my district,” Cao said.

Does Joseph Cao understand the needs of this district?

Something tells me that the deregulation/kill government/fundamentals are strong/let'em drown crowd doesn't understand the needs of this district AT ALL. Nobody representing the leadership of the Republican Party has any credibility to talk about the needs of New Orleans.

So Joe Cao better decide quickly who precisely he's representing.