Cao Compares Abortion To Slavery
Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao (R-LA), the lone GOPer to vote for any health care bill in the House, said he couldn't vote for the Senate version because of abortion language he said didn't go far enough, calling the procedure a "moral evil" akin to slavery.
"For me abortion is such a moral evil, at a par with slavery, that I cannot in good conscience support a bill that seeks to expand it," Cao told the New Orleans Times-Picauyne.
Comparing anything to slavery in politics is a risky idea in the first place. Doing so when one represents a district that is almost 60% African American, as Cao's New Orleans-based district is, is even more fraught with peril. Further, 21.7% of Cao's constituents are uninsured, one of the highest percentages of any lawmaker voting against the measure.
Cao came under intense pressure from both sides during the health care debate. He voted for the House measure in Nov., excusing himself from the House Min. Whip's office with just minutes to go before the vote closed to do so. As he voiced his opposition to the current measure, Pres. Obama personally asked him to reconsider.
He even took heat from his own brother, who had a kidney transplant. His brother wanted him to vote for the bill.
"That was one of the toughest conversations I've ever had in my life," Cao told the Times-Pic. "Right now I'm pretty much a tormented soul."
But Cao's likely opponent, state Rep. Cedric Richmond (D), pointed to another kind of pressure -- Cao's fundraiser last week with House Min. Leader John Boehner.
"I am deeply disappointed that after being thrown a fundraiser by Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner the week before the vote, Congressman Cao went against the will and health of his district by joining Congressional Republicans in voting against this historic and urgent legislation to reform our country's health care system," Richmond said in a statement last night.
"Let me be perfectly clear, there is no public funding of abortion in this legislation," Richmond added. "Congressman Cao's opposition is less a principled stance against fictional public funding of abortion and more a smoke screen to hide behind, as it was recently reported that his campaign contributions fell by 40% after his vote for the House health care legislation last year."
Cao already faced one of the toughest re-election bids of any incumbent this year. His vote against health care could help his contributions, but voting against the admin is not likely to go over well in a district that gave Obama a 75%-23% win in '08.
Rep. Cao, your ethics and understanding of the healthcare reform are totally warped. Where did you get your Catholic education? I attended a Catholic seminary for many years, like you. There was nothing in the reform package a good Catholic could not support. The Catholic Health Association, AMA, AARP and leaders of 50,000 religious sisters, and even your own brother, all supported the reform!
This man is a DISGRACE.
I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in order to take time to review the abortion language in the HCR bill; thinking, while his views on abortion were fairly extreme, he was an authentic, caring person.
Now we know that is the furthest thing from the truth.
As a DEMOCRAT with many ties to the New Orleans area I was even willing to support his re-election campaign if he voted YES on the bill.
But now? Given the No vote and these hateful, asinine comments I have only one thing to say to Rep Cao:
SHAME ON YOU REP CAO. YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO YOUR CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, TO YOUR FAMILY, TO YOUR STATE, AND TO YOUR COUNTRY; BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO THE MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF UNINSURED AND PEOPLE WHO ARE ILL OR PERISH FROM LACK OF INSURANCE. SHAME ON YOU REP CAO. SHAME ON YOU.
@Ethan
If you live your life looking for a politician who agrees with you on every issue while simultaneously voting his conscience every time, then you will be waiting a long, long time. Character and judgment should be far more important than a stance on any one issue. Disagreeing with a politician hardly calls for the petulant, childish rant you just went on.
He took a stand for something he believed in, even though he likely knew it would lead to his political undoing. Though I am staunchly pro-choice, I respect any man who is willing to tolerate and represent charlatans like yourself whose only method of expressing displeasure consists of yelling unsubstantiated drivel at him on the internet.
Shame on you for judging a man's character and motives without knowing him or how difficult his decision was.
Hey Justin, your comment is off base for several reasons, but I will stick to the substance, unlike what you did to me.
Suffice to say, you didn't read my comments. My reaction was NOT because he is anti-choice. It is because he compared abortion -- a legal medical procedure -- to SLAVERY.
If you want to defend that, then you are equally as pathetic as Rep Cao.
Slavery was once legal too, and Cao's comparison is apt. Name calling -- "you are equally as pathetic as Rep. Cao" -- does not amount to an argument.
I have no interest in supporting legislation that makes government BIGGER - good for you Congreeman Cao, for doing the right thing. This healthcare package is NOT what the American people need. We need strong leadership and hardworking elected officials who will stand up against Socialism and fix the existing health care coverage. Government was established with very specific duties, none of which include managing health care.
PlanetAlbany, I wasn't trying to make an argument. I was re-stating my point for someone who obviously didn't read it correctly the first time.
There can be no intellectually honest debate with someone so distorted as to think that. Clearly, anyone who does think that way is either deluded by religion or has no sense of the value of human life or both.
Ethan, you clearly are incapable of respecting other views on this topic. If someone believes abortion to be murder, as Cao clearly does, then it is an apt comparison. Your claim he "has no sense of the value of human life" only serves to illustrate how poorly you grasp Cao's view of abortion as murder.
Cao was hired to represent the people from the New Orleans area. He can and will be fired for his vote on the Health Care bill. I will be there picketing his office as many others from the state on Louisiana. He was hired to represent the people of our area and he clearly decided to disrespect his constituents and vote with the angry party of No!! I hope he feels complete with his job because we are completely over him.
Dear James, Etahn, and Dorothy let me explain it to you as if you were a 7 year old.
Abortion = Murder = "no sense of the value of human life" = Slavery.
Now does that help you some?
Dear Congressman Cao, I help put you in office, I think that you are far better than someone I used to respect that help that office. I have been living in this district 27 years and from what I can tell you do want to make it better unlike your predecessor. Please continue the hard work of having a conscious and standing for your core values.
coodles to Justin and Cindy
Marcos, I am a Catholic and former seminarian, like Rep. Cao. I am against abortion. There is no abortion funding in the healthcare reform. The leaders of 50,000 Catholic nuns supported the reform. Pres. Obama signed today an executive order ensuring all existing limits remain on federal funding of abortion.
So why are you against healthcare reform that will expand consumer protections, cover 30 million uninsured people, reduce the deficit and launch innovative medical cost containment programs?
What can women do? ...