A Republican With a Conscience!!

He voted exactly how the people who elected him wanted him to vote. I clarified that in an earlier reply but I know I should have, and had intended to (OOPS!) state that in my OP. I should have made that distinction especially considering how Senator Joe Lieberman has been claiming he'll follow HIS conscience and go along with filibustering the bill in the Senate despite what HIS constituents want. In his case, it's not his "conscience" he's following, unless that's a new word for the big insurance companies in his state! Annie

The people are REALLY losing in many cases this time, especially if you look at the link Zeph supplied! Representatives with around 20% uninsured in their districts who have gotten half a million to over a million dollars in campaign donations from the health and insurance industries definitely put their donors over their constituents! Annie

As long as he was going along with the will of the majority of people that elected him that I don't see any issue with what he did. It is a catch 22 for him and a lot of politicans in both parties. Vote against the party...loose support from the party...vote against the will of the people....loose the peoples support. Everything works fine when the will of the poeple and the will of party are in agreement. But when they dont it can get ugly. Really ugly.Most politicans need the support of both to keep their jobs. So they have to walk a really fine line. That is why I hate the party system. It pits the will of the people against the will of the party and usually the people loose.

I forgot, if you haven't seen this as to how congress voted as well as how many in their district are uninsured :http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/votes/house/healthcare/index.html?hpid=topnews

Yes, I'm sure you can donate to those not in your district as long as you don't go over the limit. I've been thinking the same thing! Actually, I really don't care if he switches parties or not but it's for sure the "right-wing wing" of the GOP will put someone against him in his primary if he stays in the party. Thanks for the link. Isn't it interesting how many Representatives who took huge amounts from the industry and have 20%, give or take a little, of their constituents without insurance still voted against the bill? I guess that tells us who they care the most about...and it's NOT their constituents! Annie

Yeah did you notice how some of the people that voted against it have an uninsured rate of over 30% in their districts? It's shameful!

You said a mouthful...or should that be "You wrote a handful"...lol? Annie

Your opinion means every bit as much as anyone else's! Annie

Aww, your opinion counts. Don't let the righties get to you. I'm on another board where I sometimes feel out numbered by the lefties but I still get in there and voice an opinion. lol I'm not sure he'll be a shoo in for the next election though. But I do hope he gets his RINO butt out of the Republican party and into the party of donkeys.

He did what his constituents wanted. I really goofed by omitting that from my original post, didn't I...lol? Anyway, I do agree with you about the number of pages in all bills. Why can't they simplify things a LITTLE bit? Annie

"...On the other hand the health care bill is 2,000 pages of mumbo jumbo that takes a lawyer to decipher..." I agree, I've wondered for years why any bill has to be hundreds or thousands of pages long and why they can't be in plain language. Annie

Obama is busy trying to force credit card companies into putting their contracts into plain English so normal everyday folks can understand them. On the other hand the health care bill is 2,000 pages of mumbo jumbo that takes a lawyer to decipher. What an opportunistic hypocrite Obama is! Keep the masses ignorant so he can do whatever he and his party wants.

I just wonder how long he'll stay that way! Annie

And when they asked Obama about that jail thing he said something to the effect that there should be penalties for non compliance. So I guess he's in agreement with that Pelosi witch.

Thank you for clearing up my oversight! You're right, in fact he'd said he knew his constituents were in favor of the health care bill and I'd meant to write that but I guess I got ahead of myself. He was the only Republican not loyal only to his party. Some of the Democrats don't seem to be worrying about who they're loyal to! Annie

I suppose they realized that if everyone got health care, not everyone would get health care and that it would be portioned out. I mean I heard that the elderly would get short shift, and that there would be no employer paid health insurance. When there is universal health care that pays for every little visit and every aspirin or tylenol and bandage, there will be a lot of aspirins, etc. to go around, but when it comes for critical care, it will only be the most popular conditions that will get help. As for the abortion issue, Pelosi will make sure that it is put back on the table and they might sneak it in the back door. And besides there were no enough REpublicans in congress to present an alternative health care bill, but I did find this info. http://www.gop.gov/solutions/healthcare http://gopleader.gov/UploadedFiles/a_tale_of_two_approaches.pdf You just have to know where to look or should I say, want to look.

It's NOT that they "removed that part about paying for elective abortions" because ABORTIONS WERE NEVER GOING TO BE PAID FOR TO BEGIN WITH!! The Hyde Amendment prohibiting federal funds being used to pay for abortions has been in effect for decades. However, yes, he was in favor of the Stupak Amendment which actually goes much further but many people apparently don't realize that. There ARE many districts with Republican Representatives where there are poor and uninsured constituents but even when they were in power NO REPUBLICAN even tried to pass any health care reform. Annie

"I suppose they realized that if everyone got health care, not everyone would get health care and that it would be portioned out. I mean I heard that the elderly would get short shift, and that there would be no employer paid health insurance. When there is universal health care that pays for every little visit and every aspirin or tylenol and bandage, there will be a lot of aspirins, etc. to go around, but when it comes for critical care, it will only be the most popular conditions that will get help." The elderly won't be affected in any bad way and the bill actually gives incentives for employers to offer health insurance, so what you've "heard" is pretty much all bogus. "As for the abortion issue, Pelosi will make sure that it is put back on the table and they might sneak it in the back door." It's never been ON the table and it can't be "sneaked in the back door" because there is already an existing law against federal funds paying for abortions! "And besides there were no enough Republicans in congress to present an alternative health care bill, but I did find this info. http://www.gop.gov/solutions/healthcare http://gopleader.gov/UploadedFiles/a_tale_of_two_approaches.pdf You just have to know where to look or should I say, want to look." They did present that alternative bill and it was voted on. I posted about it recently. Annie

Alright, Taskr, I guess you got me...lol! I never said he's a saint or that he's NOT a politician, did I? Thank you for giving me credit for some intelligence, by the way, even if it wasn't exactly sincere. I was watching the vote as it happened as well, by the way. In all fairness, you must admit Cao was literally between a rock and a hard place. If he'd voted against the bill he'd have ensured himself not getting reelected but by voting for it he's ensured that the GOP will fight tooth and nail against him, even though if they run a "conservative" in the primary and that person wins that will pretty much guarantee a Democrat will gain back that seat. When you wrote, "They basically got together with Pelosi and the democratic leadership who told them "We have enough votes without you so you can vote against it to placate your district" knowing full well that it will pass anyway," did you mean the Democrats who voted "nay" were really for it? I seriously didn't see it that way! Annie

WOW! talk about trying to have both ends in the middle. The guy is a pretty good player for a rookie isn't he?

"Thank you for giving me credit for some intelligence, by the way, even if it wasn't exactly sincere." I was sincere in that I think you understand how the game is played in Washington. The "blue dogs" are a joke. They vote with republicans just enough to make sure their vote is meaningless and in this case it was a republican who waited till the vote was ALREADY OVER to ensure his vote was meaningless. "even though if they run a "conservative" in the primary and that person wins that will pretty much guarantee a Democrat will gain back that seat." I totally disagree with you. I'm sure you're referring to the NY 23rd. As you know the GOP didn't run a "conservative" they ran a democrat with an R next to her name and wasted almost a million dollars on her campaign before a 3rd party conservative stole enough of her support to make her irrelevant and she endorsed a democrat, showing her true colors. In that case the GOP was more concerned with having the R than having someone who stood for conservative values. It was just a handful of high profile republicans like Pawlenty, Palin, and Thompson who endorsed the conservative since they cared more about pertinent issues than the letter R.

No, I don't get anything so easily confused! What "tax raises for the middle class" for the middle class are you referring to? "...don't buy health insurance and you could go to jail" is one way in which many people seem to be confused because that is totally misleading! I realize there are many members of Congress that don't have consciences but I'm not going to paint them all with that broad a brush. Actually Cao is "new" to politics and especially to Congress so who knows, there may be hope for him! Annie

You know, if I didn't like to DISCUSS and DEBATE things I wouldn't be here and I have no problem whatsoever with those who disagree with me or even point out my own mistakes. However, I can do without the disrespect and the sarcasm. Now, I suppose I COULD say "NEWSFLASH", the Senate hasn't even voted yet and then the bills will go into conference so nothing, including how it will all be paid for and when it will go into effect, is carved in stone. DUH... Gee, it's fun to pretend I'm back in junior high! Annie

You know, if I didn't like to DISCUSS and DEBATE things I wouldn't be here and I have no problem whatsoever with those who disagree with me or even point out my own mistakes. However, I can do without the disrespect and the sarcasm. Now, I suppose I COULD say "NEWSFLASH", the Senate hasn't even voted yet and then the bills will go into conference so nothing, including how it will all be paid for and when it will go into effect, is carved in stone. DUH... Gee, it's fun to pretend I'm back in junior high! Annie