Joseph Cao became the first Vietnamese-American elected to Congress Saturday night. Isn’t it wonderful how a Vietnamese-American can run for Congress and be elected? Look how far America has come! Isn’t it great?! Nothing like this has ever happened before!
Now wait a minute. What’s wrong with the paragraph above? One word: racism.
It’s true: Representative-elect Cao accomplished a great and commendable feat indeed with his election, for it proves once again how everyone has a chance in America. However, I like to think this isn’t a new development. I’m not denying racism exists, but I like to hold to the idea that everyone is created equal and has equal opportunities in our grand land. Some, convinced that race was the major factor in Cao’s win, not his conservatism, will most likely come out in the following days and advocate “forced diversity”, an idea that we should handpick minority candidates for their PR and vote-getting benefits, but I would argue that in order to move the conservative movement forward, we should focus not solely on gender, race, or, to a lesser extent, age, but more so on the issues and experience each person brings to D.C.
[I do not believe Cao was picked for this reason, and I am only using his name because of his recent victory. I'm using this as an example to prove my point. This idea is also yet another big reason as to why McCain lost.]
If we begin to pick and choose candidates based solely upon their race, how does that make us any different than those who voted for Obama simply because he’s black? I am by no means saying our party should remain (or become, in all reality) the party of grumpy old white men (thank goodness we’re not). However, diversity is not, nor can it be, a forced concept. A more diverse party base will occur naturally as we return to our Conservative roots. We will attract minority voters. How is forcing diversity any different than artificially saving a bank or insurance company by propping it up with tax-payer dollars? Forced diversity is not the answer.
For our country to move past racism, we must not ignore, but respect, race and ethnicity, but it must not someone’s sole qualification for office. We’ve seen where that can take us. Many said it was racism not to support Obama, but, in the same vein, why was it not sexism to bash Palin? Disclaimer: I am from a mixed ethnic ancestry, which includes Native American, European, and Jewish forefathers. I’m also a white male, which supposedly means I’m an ignorant bigot. Not true, but yet another example of discrimination.
My point is this: voting for someone based upon their race is just as bad as NOT voting for someone based up on their race. It’s still racism.
I say this to the Republicans who think we should be actively and seeking out minority candidates for the simple fact that they’re not Caucasian. Minority candidates will come on their own once we get a clear message that actually appeals to voters (i.e. true conservatism).
Each person should be viewed for who they are, individually. This gender and racial stereotyping nonsense has to stop. We are all Americans, equally. You are no less of a citizen if you are in the minority or the majority.
Just ask newly-elected Representative-elect Joseph Cao, Conservative Republican. Oh, and by the way, he’s also a Vietnamese-American who emigrated here after the Vietnam War.
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I know I said some tough things in this article. If you’d like to discuss them further, or even put me on what you think is the right track, please leave a comment below. It was not my intent to lessen the importance of someone’s racial or ethnic background, but to point out that people have so much more to offer than their skin color or ancestry.
Tags: Congressional elections, election, Election 2008, Joseph Cao, Palin, racism, sexism
[This is an edited version of this post. I decided I'd tried to stuff too much into one article.]
Last night, Republican from LA-02 Anh “Joseph” Cao, whom I’ve mentioned here by name a few times before, won his bid for election to the U.S. Congress and defeated the indicted Rep. William J. Jefferson. Jefferson is accused of bribery, money laundering, and misuse of office. Cao will be a dedicated conservative, at least according to his campaign web site (See Ethics Reform and Public Safety and Economic Recovery). My biggest congratulations go out to Representative-elect Cao and his campaign staff and family. He’s exactly the type of man we need in Congress, especially from an area so fraught with corruption like New Orleans.
We had another victory last night in Louisiana’s fourth Congressional district. Republican John Fleming beat out Democrat Paul Carmouche with a 48%-47.7% margin. Carmouche has promised a recount, since less than 500 votes separate the two candidates. Provisional ballots have also not been counted, which could, but shouldn’t, tip this in favor of Democrat Carmouche. This win, coupled with Cao’s, was somewhat of a balance of power-swinger: Republicans now hold 6 out of the 7 seats in Louisiana’s Congressional Delegation.
I caught wind of Fleming’s bid for Congress late in the game, but I’m thinking I’m even happier for his election than for Cao’s, a man whom I respect (and whose campaign called me at 9:15 CT Friday night to travel to LA and help out in the office [I live in Southeast Kansas and said, "Sorry... do you have an online phone bank?!]) and admire. The more I look into Fleming, the happier I get. Take a quick look around his “Issues” pages, “National Defense” and “Republican Party & Conservative Values” in particular. The man campaigned on exactly what we have all been saying all along! Someone invite him to #TCOT! He mentions “radical Muslims” as one of the sources of terror in the world, a brave, but very true statement: the media won’t even call them “Islamic” any more. He also says we need to return to our Reagan-esque roots, that we got kicked out of Congress not because we were too conservative, but because once in power, we weren’t conservative enough! He sounds like my kind of Representative!
With Saturday night’s two victories, we have gained one seat in the House of Representatives and held another, bring the Democrats net gain down one.
Main point: Yes, we won two major battles last night in electing two more Conservative members of Congress (at what point do we drop “Republican” and “Democrat” in the U.S.?), and yes, we have reason to celebrate, but we should not think we have reformed the party enough or that we are by any means yet ready for 2010 midterm elections just because we’ve now won three special elections. We still have plenty of work to do, and it begins on the grassroots level, as I have mentioned many times before. The point I’m trying to make is that we can never let down our guard, we can never believe the job is finished, even if we elect a Republican majority in 2010. We must be always reforming, always looking for ways to eliminate pork and government waste. We must protect the helpless and punish those who hurt them. Government must grow smaller. That is the future of the Republican Party, with the Conservative Movement steadily at the steering wheel.
Tags: #TCOT, Congress, Congressional elections, Conservatism, Conservatives, election, Election 2010, John Fleming, Joseph Cao, Louisiana, obama, Palin, Patrick Ruffini, Paul Carmouche, Reagan, Restoring the Conservative Movement, terrorism, William J. Jefferson
It’s official, Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) has won re-election after a hard-fought general election campaign and subsequent run-off election, and hallelujah! But, that’s old news by now. What’s just emerging, however, is the reason for it: us. Dedicated, grassroots conservative Republicans are the reason Saxby won (not to mention a little help from Gov. Sarah Palin, one of my personal heros). You see, it wasn’t the powers that be that won this election as much as it was regular, everyday Americans like you and me who cared enough about their country to donate a few bucks or make a few calls (also not to mention a few concerned PACs: HuckPAC, National Republican Trust).
The point is, this is our strategy for 2010. It obviously does not involve putting up moderate or even liberal Republican candidates for election to any office. We’ve seen how that can go. Our plan for 2010 must be built from the bottom up, with the ideas and full-fledged support of committed Americans like us. No more of this “accept the bailouts and deal with it” mumbo jumbo. The conservative movement must be the steering wheel of the GOP, although we shouldn’t be married to it. (from our friends at The Next Right and Patrick Ruffini, author of RebuildtheParty.com).
We’ve got a lot of work in front of us, but the 2008 season isn’t even over yet. Louisiana’s Congressional elections are still later this week (Saturday, December 6). ) LA-06 (Joseph Cao, whom I’ve mentioned before) and LA-04 (John Fleming, whom I haven’t) are up for grabs. If you can make a last minute donation to either campaign (Cao, Fleming) or even just Twitter about them (including their links), it would help (while you’re at it, follow @calebhays for my updates).
In the end, congratulations to newly-reelected Senator Saxby Chambliss on a landslide of a victory. We need your voice in the U.S. Senate, but I urge everyone not to lose sight of our bigger goal: restoring America and the conservative movement in the GOP. Rebuilding isn’t a one day process. It’s a slow journey that happens every single day, with bumps in the road and harsh setbacks, but I believe we will prevail.
Tags: 2010, Congress, Congressional elections, Conservatism, election, Election 2008, GOP, HuckPAC, John Fleming, Joseph Cao, LA-04, LA-06, Louisiana, mccain, National Republican Trust, Palin, run-off election, Saxby Chambliss, Senate
As we continue to march forward toward Inauguration Day, I’d like to remind everyone of some very important races still to take place, namely the December 2nd run-off election (next week) that involves Sen. Saxby Chambliss and the December 6th Congressional election in LA-2 that involves HuckPAC-sponsored candidate Joseph Cao. Both are leaders we need in Washington to help promote true-blue conservative (read=American) values. I’d like to encourage everyone to donate something to both the campaigns, whether it be a monetary donation (Saxby, Cao), or a donation of your time in the form of phonebanking (HuckPAC for Saxby, GOP.com for GOP candidates).
Also, please remember Sen. Norm Coleman. He, as you (hopefully) know is also in the battle of his life in the form of a Florida-style recount in Minnesota. The Al Franken campaign is willing to try anything and everything to win this seat, and that means the Coleman campaign must rack up the legal fees. We can help them offset some of these unforeseen expenses here by donating to his campaign, as well.
These two Senators (Saxby and Coleman) are the only two standing between us and a filibuster-proof liberal Democrat majority in the upper house. That means we should be operating in crisis mode- Senators are elected for six years! Do we really want a liberal Democrat President having the added benefit of an undivided Senate? Didn’t think so.
We’re a right of center country. A conservative majority will rise again, but in the meantime, we must prepare the way for that to happen again in 2010. One the best sites to get you motivated is RebuildtheParty.com where they list a return-to-our-roots party platform that takes us right back into the heart of conservatism- something most Republicans think should happen. Check it out, and let me know what you think. I’m ready to back them 100%.
Tags: Al Franken, Conservatism, Gallup, GOP.com, HuckPAC, Joseph Cao, Norm Coleman, RebuildtheParty.com, Saxby Chambliss
