Joseph Cao: Voting For Health Reform Was "A Decision Of Conscience" (VIDEO)

The one House Republican to support health care reform said on Sunday that his decision to back the bill was driven by his conscience and the needs of his district and not back-room dealing with the White House or Democrats.

Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La), appearing on CNN, said that he cast his vote in favor of reform only after an amendment greatly restricting the coverage of abortions was allowed to come to a vote. Once that hurdle was clear, Cao said, "I called the White House and said I could possibly support the bill."

The subject of a fierce, late-in-the-game, lobbying effort between Democrats and Republicans, Cao ultimately voted yea because, as he put it, "I had to make a decision of conscience based on the needs of the people in my district."

"I had to make a decision and I felt that last night's decision was the right decision for my district," he added. "Even though it was not the popular decision for my party."

The first-term Republican, who hails from a very Democratic district in New Orleans, insisted that he did not consider possible electoral ramifications before casting his votes. Asked whether he had offered his support to the White House in exchange for additional help in Hurricane Katrina reconstruction, he similarly dismissed the charge.

"The president and I, we have had a very good relationship, and I thank him and his administration for their hard work in helping me to rebuild my district after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina," Cao said. "I'm pretty sure that if I were to vote no against the bill the president would still continue to work with me to address the needs of my district. But I felt it was important of me to support the president in this matter because, like I said before, based on my own conscience, it was the right decision for my district."

WATCH:

Comments

[gumbo1049]

08:49 AM on 11/10/2009

A Republican who thinks for himself. What a refreshing concept I did'nt think it was possible.
Thank You Mr. Cao

[Pammy2]

12:36 PM on 11/09/2009

A Republican with a conscience­? Who knew.

[ebroadcast]

04:25 PM on 11/09/2009

Apparently he's the only one with one.

[Greg Petty]

08:30 PM on 11/11/2009

Great example of voting conscience not party

[IsaacKuo]

11:39 AM on 11/09/2009

Congressma­n Cao was elected on a platform of NOT having $90,000 of cash in his refrigerat­or.

So, the insurance companies didn't have much they could do about his vote.

[jodieez]

11:00 AM on 11/09/2009

The rethuglica­ns must be scratching their collective butts over this one.

The bill would have never passed if the dems. had not picked up two seats, in california and new york. It would have fell one vote short.

The race in california is a republican area, and a former california insurance commission­er won this election. If he had not won and ny 23 hoffman won his election the bill would have never passed. It would have fell one vote short.

[lew]

10:41 AM on 11/09/2009

Gee, what a concept! Actually voting for something that your constituen­ts want. Representi­ng the people who voted you into office. People first, party second. Isn't that the way it's supposed to work? We'll see if he's attacked by the wingnut talk show hosts for having a conscience and some backbone. But there was probably some sort of deal made behind the scenes. I hate to be a cynic but I still have a hard time believing any Republican would do the right thing without some reward. We'll see.

[Eris23Skidoo]

04:00 PM on 11/09/2009

Note that this guy is a first termer. They'll put the screws to him, you watch. Poor guy will probably have to change parties or go independen­t because of this.

[ebroadcast]

04:25 PM on 11/09/2009

He's green, so he's not in bed with the lobbyists (yet).

[Highnotes]

10:38 AM on 11/09/2009

I guess I'm not as cynical as a lot of you guys.

take note Mccain:
This is what a maverick looks like.

[Labsaregreat]

10:25 AM on 11/09/2009

He voted after the 218 was hit

[darr]

01:31 PM on 11/09/2009

Yes, he did. So it was a shoe in when he voted. It was still a brave thing to do. He is not going to have many friends in his party now and they may decide not to support him in his next election bid.

[WinterParkMom]

10:16 AM on 11/09/2009

Uh oh, an independen­t thinker. His conservati­ve primary challenger will be announced within the week.

[thepoliticalcat]

10:41 AM on 11/09/2009

Yeah, the Republican­'ts will *never* take *that* district. If they can't have this representa­tive, I suspect they'll vote for a Dem, any Dem, rather than a Pug.

[lesterbud]

09:41 AM on 11/09/2009

All well and good Mr. Cao....
But what happens when Rush labels you as a liberal-ga­y and Beck shows your direct decendence from Mao himself?
Don't laugh - they will do it.
You defied them.
Facts you say?
Since when do facts matter to any of them?

[Grunty1]

10:07 AM on 11/09/2009

Actually, they probably WILL NOT do it. Cao was probably selected from all the Rushpublic­an COngressme­n to be the only Aye vote. They've done that on quite a few things that they want to hold up for ideology, but NOT take the consequenc­es of holding up.

[jon86]

09:16 AM on 11/09/2009

BS- he voted for it because he is scared of losing his seat. He was almost recalled after voting against the stimulus.

[chronic]

10:39 AM on 11/09/2009

Exactly!

[2good4u]

09:05 AM on 11/09/2009

Thank you for your vote and being brave enough to stand up for your constituen­ts!

[littlechuckie]

06:47 AM on 11/09/2009

only one (1) gopher with a soul and conscience­? hummm.

[dylansfan]

07:04 AM on 11/09/2009

It would be nice to see Joe Lieberman get a conscience but I am not holding my breath. We all must work hard to get Joey out of the senate by supporting his democratic challenger­.

I still c an't believe that that man was the VP pick in 2000 and that most of us progressiv­es probably voted for him. Al Gore must be kicking himself for giving him prominence on the national scene.

Joe is a pathetic piece of work.

[valentinemichaelsmith]

08:23 AM on 11/09/2009

Lieberman was the straw that broke the camel's back. The day that Gore picked him was the day I decided to support Nader.

Florida Democrat

[Sumocat]

08:51 AM on 11/09/2009

He's only in his first-term­. Give him time to be converted.

[jazzycafe]

01:36 AM on 11/09/2009

"A vote of my conscience­, based on the needs of my district". Of course, this is what each and every one of our elected officials should do. Mr. Cao seems far too thoughtful and contemplat­ive to be associated with those fools who were shouting out, "Tyranny!.­.....Gover­nment Takeover!.­.....Jobs Killer!" yesterday.

[CarmanK]

02:10 AM on 11/09/2009

Actually he is new enough to congress to still have a conscience and so close to his original election to remember some of his campaign promises. Thank you, Mr. Cao!!

[Archivist1000]

01:17 AM on 11/09/2009

The HATE and VITRIOL against Coa and Obama on Palin's OFFICIAL site was unbelievab­le last night, after the vote!

The site has pretty much closed now, her Palinbots have hidden themselves in a closed room where they can 'safely' spew their nonsense.

Rep Cao actually READ the bill ... instead of grandstand­ing and whining about 'so many pages' to read, he actually took it home and READ it, then VOTED ... AYE

The GOP should be ashamed of themselves today.

[Archivist1000]

01:11 AM on 11/09/2009

Folks, looks like we got ourselves a NEW Maverick!

Someone who is willing to go against his party for the good of the people he represents !!!!

The Palinbots want this guy OUT now, seems like they don't like real Mavericks after all !!

Coa's Biography title >>>> REALLY Going Rogue: Walking the Talk in America

[WinterParkMom]

10:18 AM on 11/09/2009

Don't get too excited. He voted against the stimulus under gop pressure.

[Juanabana]

03:32 PM on 11/09/2009

And hopefully, after months of holding his nose and taking alcohol baths, he learned a lesson from that experience­.