'The future is Cao' said GOP House Leader Boehner

By Kyle-Anne Shiver and Lee Cary

When “Joseph” Cao was elected to the 2nd Congressional District in Louisiana, House Minority Leader John Boehner hailed him as representing the GOP’s future.

Cao was the only Republican to vote for the Pelosi healthcare reform bill Saturday evening.

According to the POLITICO, in a memo dated December 7, 2008 and addressed to House Republicans, Boehner wrote:

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. Joseph Cao is a Vietnamese immigrant whose experience in America drew him to the Republican Party and its traditional commitment to freedom and reform. Working with like-minded Republicans such as Governor Bobby Jindal, he took an aggressive stand against corruption, offering a principled alternative to what voters were offered by the local Democratic establishment. Shrugging off conventional wisdom, he ran as a reformer in a district hungry for new representation in Congress. And he won…

The Cao victory is a symbol of our future. In the two years ahead, House Republicans will demonstrate our commitment to reform by holding ourselves to the highest possible ethical standard - and, with new faces like Joseph Cao and John Fleming and the rest of the incoming GOP freshman class in our ranks, by presenting principled, superior solutions to the challenges facing our country.

Republican Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao: “a symbol” of the GOP’s future.

Attempts to contact the Press personnel in the offices of Boehner met with negative results. As did attempts to secure a comment from Cong. Eric Cantor’s office and the Republican National Committee.

According to a November 7 press release from Cao’s office:

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."

Nothing to concern us here – Cao got a “commitment” from Obama.

So with Republicans like Cao, who needs Democrats?