Obama-tilting GOP congressman is surprised that Obama has endorsed supporting his Democratic rival—and didn’t even give him a heads-up

Tim W. writes:

There are a lot of stupid Democrats in both houses of Congress (Patty Murray, Alan Grayson, Sheila Jackson-Lee … ), but this Republican from New Orleans sets the record for political cluelessness. He’s Congressman Joseph Cao, who is of Vietnamese ethnicity. He was elected in something of a fluke in 2008, defeating scandal-plagued incumbent Democrat William Jefferson, who was subsequently convicted on bribery charges. This is a normally Democrat district, but Jefferson’s obvious guilt (he’s the guy who kept his bribe money hidden in his freezer) and a low black turnout, an aftermath of Katrina, allowed Cao to narrowly win.

Cao has voted for the Obama agenda more than any House Republican. He even voted for ObamaCare when it passed the first time, though he voted against it the second time due to the pro-life provision being gutted by the Senate. All these liberal votes were cast in hopes of winning over black voters, as black turnout this year is expected to be closer to normal now that many Katrina exiles have returned to New Orleans.

But, as reported at Fox, Cao is hurt and offended that Obama has taped a TV ad for his black Democrat rival, Cedric Richmond. He expected Obama to endorse him, or at least give him a courtesy call explaining why he was supporting the Democrat. Talk about being naive! The funny thing is, Obama is so politically radioactive that no candidate other than Richmond has asked him to do a TV spot. The only areas where Obama remains popular are inner city districts where the Democrats are so safe they don’t even bother to run many ads. This district in New Orleans is unique, being a heavily black district where Katrina lowered the black turnout for a couple of years, but where a strong Obama-driven black turnout this year could turn the tide. But Cao doesn’t get it.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 05, 2010 11:30 AM | Send