We just lost in a D+28 district.(The Dem was a crook and that is why we lost)

[ccharles000]

http://www.swingstateproject.com

RESULTS: LA SoS | Associated Press

11:54PM (David): In the end, Cao wins 50-47.
11:22PM (David): So LA-02 is D+28 (old PVI). There is no district that is as red as this one is blue - UT-03 tops out at R+26. This reminds me of IL-05 in 1994 (1990s PVI: D+11) - corrupt Dan Rostenkowski got beaten by the unknown Michael Flanagan, who got soundly thumped by Rod Blagojevich two years later. Hopefully whoever beats Cao in 2010 will be a bigger upgrade over Jefferson than Blago was over Rosto.
11:15PM: The AP calls it for Cao! LOL!
11:04PM: Damn, looks like we fell short. Fleming leads by 350 votes with 100% of precincts reporting.

[Zynx]

1. And we should have. That's an irresposible headline. He was a crook.

[MercutioATC]

2. I don't know the candidates involved, but there ARE nightmare Dems.

In the last Mayoral election in my city (2006) I voted for the Republican. Why?

1) He's been the Mayor for over 20 years and he's doing a great job.

2) The Dem that ran against him ran the sleaziest campaign I've ever seen. Misrepresentations, half-truths, innuendoes and lies.


Perhaps the Dem candidate was just not somebody that even regular Dem voters could stomach?

[Occam Bandage]

6. This should jog your memory.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/05/21/jefferson.search/index.html

[MercutioATC]

8. Ah yes. I remember now.

As blue as the district is, he deserved to lose.

[camera obscura]

3. I just posted this in GD :) have to say I'm not sorry to see him go. Just wish he'd been primaried.

[stahbrett]

7. In the first primary election, 75% of Dems voted against him

Unfortunately, he finished in the top 2, leading to a runoff on the federal election day last month (our elections were delayed due to Hurricane Gustav, so we just got to the general election for this race today). In the party primary, he finished in the top 2 along with a political novice who was white and female, and she lost badly to him. I don't think she ran a very good race.

[Pirate Smile]

4. Well, I'm glad he is gone. It is too bad we couldn't have primaried him out

but, hopefully, it is a seat we win back in two years with a good candidate.

He should have retired two years ago but, for some reason, these guys, like Stevens, think it is all about them and are perfectly happy to lose what should be a safe seat for their side. Selfish bastards. Good for us in Alaska, bad for us in Louisiana - but I'm glad he is gone - it is just too bad that this was the only way to get rid of him.

[Occam Bandage]

5. Good. We're a better party without him.

I only wish we had expelled him.

[CalGator]

9. winning the seat back in '10 will look good in the midterms, too

Midterms don't usually go well for the party in power, but this will be a lock pickup if Dollar Bill is in the pokey and can't ruin our chances again.

[Not the Only One]

11. Yep, sometimes doing the right thing is painful.

We should have purged him out earlier, but this cancer has now been cut out.

[Hippo_Tron]

10. Cao is apparently a community organizer

If he wants an actual future in politics and doesn't just want to be a placeholder he should consider becoming a Democrat or at least an Independent. The Republicans clearly do not value his chosen occupation.

[Two Sheds]

13. He won't become a Dem

He had Steve Scalise, the weasel GOP Congressman from District 1 at his party. I think of Joseph Cao and I say to myself, "you put a smile on Steve Scalise's face and for that I cannot forgive you."

Cao is the first Republican I've voted for in a while and it will probably be the last for even longer.

It was all about getting Jefferson out. He was a disgrace to New Orleans and to the Democratic Party.

[Bjorn Against]

12. We didn't lose anything, Jefferson lost.

I don't want to think of Jefferson as one of us, I am glad he lost even if that does mean a Republican took his seat for the next two years. It should be easy to win that seat back in 2010, and when we do get it back I think it is safe to say we will have someone who is a hell of a lot better than Jefferson.

[grantcart]

14. It was a defeat of those who advocate using freezers as safes

all one of them.

[WonderGrunion]

15. Congratulations to Cao in this year of firsts

Cao is the first Vietnamese American elected to congress. Congratulations to him for shattering yet one more barrier in this historic election cycle. Too bad he's a pub.

[Uzybone]

16. Cao was just on CNN

he actually admitted that he wanted a lower turnout because that was the only way he could win. I'm glad Jefferson is gone, like others said, I only wish we had expelled him first.

[Jennicut]

17. Mr. I had tons of cash in my freezer is finally gone. He should have been disbarred though

Why we let criminals or people indicted to run again is beyond me, Rethug or Dems.

[political_Dem]

18. I hate to say this, but with Cao, we have another Jindal in the making.

I'm glad that Jefferson is gone too, but we're encouraging GOP strongholds by just these little efforts.

The GOP system starts from the very bottom: from school boards and commissioners to the Presidency.

We give them an inch, they take a long mile.

It is best to nip them in the bud before they ever have a chance of grabbing power.

Whenever you think about voting in a Republican, think about that little fact. Or how else do people like Palin slip into positions that they are not qualified for?

You'll be sorry later for giving even the most benign Republican a chance.

[mvd]

20. I agree - nothing to celebrate IMO

Is he as conservative as Jindal? I know it's good to have any kind of corrupt Congressperson out, but I hope he's a one termer.

[Two Sheds]

21. LA is a GOP stronghold but the 2nd district is not and can't be...

the turnout on 11/4 was more than twice the turnout yesterday. Now that "someone else" has the "black" seat in Louisiana, you'll see a much bigger turnout in 2010 which means that Cao is on borrowed time. Not only is that district heavily African-American, the whites in that district tend to be much more liberal than whites elsewhere in the state. It was those liberal whites who turned Jefferson out of office as well as low turnout. Another factor are the supporters of other black pols in the 2nd CD. I guarantee you lots of them voted for Cao b/c they assume, rightly, that they'd beat him in a 2 person race.

[political_Dem]

22. And maybe not.

Cao is like Jindal, because they have the potential to represent the new face of the GOP. As long as there are people of color to act as a shield to hide the blatant racism in that party, Republican money is going to keep on funding Cao to keep his seat.

It's not that simple unless the Dems in that district can find quality people who can get that seat back at all costs.

When Mr. Obama was voted into office, he exposed a very dire vunerability in the GOP: that without communities of color, they won't get as far as they used to. So, by pitting communities of color against each other, they stand of chance to squeeze into traditionally held Democratic/Minority seats by putting in their own candidates of color.

Most folks of color can see through this GOP sham. But there are other folks in the dominant culture who can't because they see the GOP candidate of color as someone who "breaks barriers" even though their position may be as odious as the rest of the Republicans in the party.

I mean, how else did Jindal become governor of LA despite that fact?

Nobody in the dominant culture wants to be known as a racist, even though some don't even want to examine their feelings or fight the privilege that they have received.

[Hippo_Tron]

23. All of the money in the world won't save Cao

The only way he could possibly win again is if there is a weak challenger and that will not happen. Democrats all over New Orleans have been making their plans for months to try and grab Jefferson's seat once he's finally out.

Obama simply has to make one visit to the district to endorse the Democrat and Cao will be history.

[political_Dem]

24. I hope so. And I hope that this is done before the GOP realizes what potential they have in Cao.

It's a little too late with Jindal.

[ShadowLiberal]

25. Yep, only way Cao can win again is by getting another corrupt & in legal trouble opponent

And there's almost zero chance of that happening.

[brooklynite]

19. LIkely to be a one-termer, like Nick Lampson...

...especially if he joins the Republican minority in opposing the Obama Administration's initiatives.

[political_Dem]

26. CBS NEWS: Boehner--"The Future Is Cao"

For people who think that Cao is going to lose his seat that easily when he runs for it again, that might be the case.

But, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, the Republicans are starting to notice the potential they have in Cao--as evidenced in Boehner's remarks. He's their "person of color" of the hour and the "future of the GOP":

As reported in http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/08/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4653978.shtml">CBS News:

But Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) insists there's something more. In a memo to colleagues called "The Time is Cao," Boehner says that Anh "Joseph" Cao's win over Jefferson in a heavily Democratic district points the way out of the wilderness. The House GOP focus, he argues, ought to be ethics, ethics, ethics.

"The Future is Cao" reads the subject line of Boehner's memo. "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," offers Boehner.

See what I mean? Cao's not going away quietly--especially if the GOP finds him to be a resource who can be exploited for their own ends.