Jefferson Loses

by hilzoy

CNN tells us that "Dollar Bill" Jefferson will have to pick up his freezer and go home:

"Nine-term Democratic Rep. William Jefferson, who has been battling scandals and a federal indictment for the past three years, appears to have lost his bid for re-election.

Louisiana Democratic Rep. William Jefferson has been embroiled in a bribery scandal.

Republican challenger Anh "Joseph" Cao, an attorney and community organizer, has defeated Jefferson in the 2nd Congressional district race, according to The Associated Press.

With 79 percent of precincts reporting, Cao had 52.9 percent of the vote to Jefferson's 43.2 percent."

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

Comments

[wonkie]

Goody here, too. Is there any hope that Cao is a moderate Republican? I'll go see what I can find on yahoo.

[wonkie]

Well all I have discoverd so far is that he is a former philosophy prof, an immigration lawyer and endorse by something called the Alliance for Good Government.

[KCinDC]

Cao was a community organizer? And they let him into the Republican Party? Has anyone told Palin?

And is the Louisiana Republican Party going Asian? First an Indian-American governor (elected to the House first), and now a Vietnamese-American House member (I'm a little surprised he's the first in the country)? It's good to see they're not conforming to stereotypes about Southern conservatives.

[Enlightened Layperson]

Better late than never, I guess.

[Devin]

A Hitchhiker reference? Wow, just when you think this site can't get any better.

[Gary Farber]

"...and now a Vietnamese-American House member (I'm a little surprised he's the first in the country)"

Given the historic settlement of Vietnamese in Louisiana, I can't think of a more likely place. Even Seattle would come up somewhat second. It's just the most obvious place in the U.S. to anyone familiar with the Vietnamese diaspora.

Eight years ago, for instance, the writing was on the wall. And fishing folk fish. 30,000 Vietnamese immigrants is noticeable. It's an old story.

Anywhere else would have been surprising, whereas this isn't at all.

[KCinDC]

But the district is (or was) only 2.7% Asian, so even though it's where a lot of the Vietnamese settled, they're still far outnumbered by the other Louisianans there, who might not have reacted well to the influx of immigrants. That's why it's a little surprising.

But the mild surprise I expressed wasn't directed at the location anyway. I was just surprised that a Vietnamese-American hadn't been elected to the House earlier, in Louisiana or anywhere else in the country.

[Geoff Robinson]

Jefferson was controversial for entirely the wrong reasons but perhaps lesson is that identikit candidates are best : Jeff Merkley won Al Franken hasn't (yet).

[SeeMoreGlass]

Devin: my thoughts exactly.

[jonnybutter]

Oyster , a NOLA blogger, is always worth reading anyway, and he's got some stuff on this race.

Good riddance, Bill.

[Bob In Pacifica]

I've heard Cao is an anti-choice zealot.

Better the politician's hand in my pocket than in my pants.

[Neil the Ethical Werewolf]

Well, Jefferson wasn't great on social issues himself. Really, having him out of the way so a non-corrupt Dem can win in 2010 is a plus.

The one thing that can be said on Jefferson's behalf is that his ideas about asset allocation were superior to our top investment bankers. For that, he will be missed.

[Bernard Yomtov]

About time for Jefferson to go pole a pirogue down the bayou, unless he gets sent up the river instead.

[Slartibartfast]

Wow, just when you think this site can't get any better.

Jefferson is now, hopefully, somebody else's problem.

[oyster]

Thanks to jonnybutter for the kind words and link.

Joseph Cao is a person who put himself in the right place at the right time. He won a low turnout election against a vulnerable opponent by assembling a coalition of conservatives, Vietnamese, and Dems and Independents who were disgusted with Dollar Bill.

Cao is certainly anti-choice, but he's extremely moderate on issues like immigration. He's a political babe in the wilderness who will have to perform heroically in order to get re-elected in 2 years. The Jefferson political machine has been now completely dismantled and the benefits of this for local and state Dems are enormous. Trust me on this. This was an important victory for New Orleans, and I'm saying this as a lifelong liberal Democrat who voted for the Republican, Joseph Cao.

Naturally, Cao won't be an exemplar of liberal voting excellence, but he won't be a tool of the hard right, either, as many are fearing. He's surprisingly liberal when it comes to a number of issues (environment, immigration, bilingual education), and he will be under strong pressure to vote in accordance with the prevailing sentiment of his district.

[Oyster Tea]

Oyster, So you're the guy who got my chosen screen name....

[ThirdGorchBro]

Cao will probably be a one-term representative, like the guy (Lampson? I'm too lazy to look it up at the moment) who replaced Tom DeLay. Same situation, parties reversed.