Published: December 29, 2008 09:16 pm         

Louisiana may find new type of Republican

EDMOND — “I have seen the future and it works,” American journalist Lincoln Steffens wrote from Moscow several years after the Russian Revolution of 1917. But Steffens was wrong, and the system that was imposed on Russia by that upheaval collapsed ignominiously in 1989.

But the national Republican Party may glimpse its possible future as a viable national party in the state of Louisiana. Several weeks ago, the 2nd Congressional District in that state, which includes almost all of the City of New Orleans and parts of suburban Jefferson Parish, elected Republican Vietnamese immigrant Anh Joseph Cao to the U.S. Congress. That district has an African American majority, and was held by William Jefferson, who is facing trial in federal court in Washington, D.C., on charges of bribery and extortion.

Several years ago, an FBI raid on Jefferson’s suburban Washington home netted $90,000 found hidden in a freezer that were allegedly unlawfully obtained by the Congressman from an African leader, Justice Department officials have said. Despite Jefferson’s legal problems, it was thought by many observers that he could not be unseated by a political novice like Cao whose only previous political contest was an unsuccessful race for the Louisiana state legislature several years ago.

Cao, who is 41, is the son of a South Vietnamese military officer who was imprisoned by the Communists after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975. He is married to Kate Hoang, a pharmacist, and they have two young daughters. The future leader arrived in the U.S. with several of his siblings when he was 8 and settled in Houston. He received an undergraduate degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and then entered the Jesuit seminary in Grand Coteau, La. He was awarded a Master of Arts degree in philosophy from Fordham University as part of his Jesuit training, but he subsequently abandoned his study for the priesthood and entered Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans.

While Cao was a law student he also taught philosophy at Loyola’s undergraduate college. After he completed his legal training he opened a legal practice in New Orleans specializing in immigration law. Cao also has served as an adviser to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops on issues such as immigration. The Congressman-elect speaks French, Spanish, Vietnamese and English, and those linguistic skills helped him build a successful law practice servings immigrants throughout the New Orleans area.

New Orleans East, which is home to much of the Vietnamese community of that city, and where Cao’s home and office are located, was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and he has played a role in that area’s redevelopment. That neighborhood is similar to Oklahoma City’s Asian district, with markets that feature exotic Asian foods and aromas and noodle shops run by smiling Vietnamese men and women. Cao told the voters during his campaign that the issues they faced — the need for adequate health care for all citizens and for federal funds to assist in the rebuilding of New Orleans — confronted all residents equally regardless of their race or political affiliation. He also pledged to bring federal resources in the fight against crime in the New Orleans area, and said that he would work with all law enforcement officials in the area for that purpose.

It is thought that as an immigration attorney Cao will be supportive of immigration reform of the type that was proposed by President Bush several years ago but rejected by the then-Republican majority in Congress. Cao’s successful effort to appeal to African American voters by stressing issues that affect their daily lives may serve as a model for other Republican office seekers throughout the nation.



WILLIAM F. O’BRIEN is an Oklahoma City attorney.

     

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