Posted on 12/17/2008 9:26:20 AM PST by NYer
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- If his recent whirlwind tour of Capitol Hill was any indication, Anh "Joseph" Cao knows he will be in for the ride of his life over the next two years.
Little known in early December except to those in his close-knit Vietnamese community in New Orleans, the Republican attorney who once studied to become a Jesuit priest rocked the national political landscape Dec. 6.
He upset nine-term U.S. Rep. William Jefferson in the state's heavily Democratic and African-American 2nd Congressional District to become the first Vietnamese-American member of Congress.
Cao's victory certainly was aided by the legal cloud over Jefferson, who faces 16 public corruption charges after the FBI found $90,000 in marked bills in his freezer and connected him and several of his relatives to a bribery scheme. That case will go to trial early in 2009.
Cao, 41, also was helped by extremely low voter turnout in the general election, which was delayed by more than a month. The election was late because Hurricane Gustav hit the area in September and forced postponement of the primary elections.
Jefferson had won the delayed Democratic primary Nov. 4, the date of the presidential election, when nearly 163,488 people cast votes. With only one race on the ballot for the Dec. 6 general election, only 66,846 voted, and Cao won by a margin of 49.6 to 46.8 percent.
Cao was not surprised by the results. He spent a week in early December touring Capitol Hill and getting the red-carpet treatment from Republicans buoyed by his unlikely victory.
"A lot of people were surprised at our win, but I was not because I had a very strong group of supporters," said Cao, a parishioner of Mary Queen of Vietnam Church in a section of the city's Ninth Ward known as New Orleans East.
After Hurricane Katrina Cao helped in a legal battle to close a New Orleans East landfill where hurricane debris was being dumped.
Cao was 8 years old in 1975 when he immigrated with his brother and sister to the U.S. three days before the fall of Saigon. His father, a South Vietnamese military officer, was sent to a communist "reeducation" camp for six years.
After living in Indiana for four years, Cao moved to Houston for high school and earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Baylor University in 1990. He then entered the Society of Jesus at Grand Coteau, La., beginning what would be six years of religious training.
"I grew up in a very religious, Catholic environment," Cao said in an interview with the Clarion Herald, newspaper of the New Orleans Archdiocese.
"All of my family have been very devout Catholics. When I visited my grandmother in Chicago, I would ask her to take me to daily Mass," he said. "She would ask me to recite the rosary with her. A lot of my religious training came from my grandmother."
As a Jesuit scholastic, Cao earned a graduate degree in philosophy from Fordham University in New York and did anti-poverty work in Mexico and overseas. He also taught philosophy at Loyola University New Orleans. Both universities are run by the Jesuits.
Cao said his discernment, especially with spiritual direction from Jesuit Father Tom Stahel, eventually led him to feel he would better serve the poor by becoming an attorney and possibly entering politics.
"When I was in Mexico helping the poor, I had a struggle with the issue of poverty and of evil in the world," Cao said. "I told my spiritual director about my struggles, and basically he told me that God sends good people to help with human suffering -- people like Gandhi and (the Rev.) Martin Luther King (Jr.). I thought the best way I could effect social change was to go to law school and into politics."
After leaving the Jesuits in 1996, Cao met his future wife, Hieu "Kate" Hoang, in 1998 at a Marian festival at Mary Queen of Vietnam. They married and have two daughters, Sophia and Betsy. His wife, a pharmacy graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana, is quitting her job at a Walgreen's pharmacy to move to the Washington area.
"This is just amazing," said Auxiliary Bishop Dominic M. Luong of Orange, Calif., the former pastor of Mary Queen of Vietnam and the first U.S. bishop of Vietnamese descent, who witnessed the Caos' marriage.
"He was very involved in the church in the choir and with catechism classes, and he was very community-minded," he said. "We persuaded him to go to law school to help the community. I'm rejoicing with the entire Vietnamese community. This is an honor, and it does say that this is really a country of opportunity."
Father Vien The Nguyen, the current pastor of Mary Queen of Vietnam, admitted he was shocked that his parishioner had pulled off the upset.
"I think his first thought of running for this position came when we were fighting against the landfill," Father Vien said.
In a strange way, Hurricane Gustav may have been a blessing in disguise, even though it flooded Cao's home for the second time in three years, Father Vien said.
"If the election had been on Nov. 4 it probably would have been impossible for him to win," he said.
Cao said he would do his best to reach out to African-American voters, who comprise 66 percent of the district. His priorities are coastal restoration, strong levees, health care, education and economic development.
"I have the belief that what I'm doing is God's will for me in my life at this time," Cao said. "I approach this process, in many ways, to serve as an instrument. I feel strongly that with the help of God we will successfully contribute to the rebuilding of New Orleans."
Viet Ping.
He sounds like an admirable man and he has a great looking family.
Tốt nhất của may mắn để Congressman Cao.
Beautiful family. I wish them well.
Cao probably understands the dangers of the Left more than anyone. Cao for president! He can't be any more unqualified than B.O.
Thank you for your service to our country! It was a time when young men were drafted after HS but could not vote until 21. Those, like yourself, who returned home, were never properly honored. My gratitude for your service.
Cao was 8 years old in 1975 when he immigrated with his brother and sister to the U.S. three days before the fall of Saigon.
Evacuation from the roof of the U.S. embassy in Saigon, April 29, 1975.
I vividly recall those evacuation flights, filled with children whose parents wanted them to know freedom. Mr. Cao's father, if he is still alive, must be so proud of his son.
Please pray for Mr. Cao. He will need many prayers!
Once again, 1st and 2nd generation immigrants are proving to be motivated, hard working new Americans.
In many ways. The Vietnamese-American community in New Orleans wasted no time in repairing their homes and businesses after Katrina. They're not all sitting around waiting for the federal government to come in and do it all for them, like many of William Jefferson's supporters have chosen to do. It is a stark contrast.
In general, the media doesn't mention Asian Americans very often. Could that be because those people tend to be industrious, hard-working, and worst of all - appreciative of American culture (check out the names of the various members of the Cao family)? I'd say so... none of those attributes are "worth reporting" in the bizarro-world of today.
There's something else, too... Asian-Americans are nearly immune to the "race card". The late sheriff of neighboring Jefferson Parish, LA, Harry Lee, was a Chinese-American and an old-school Democrat who succeeded in a very conservative area. Harry managed that because he was perhaps the least politically-correct elected official on the continent. Racially-tinged allegations surfaced against him with regularity, but he just laughed in his accusers' faces. The media doesn't quite know how to deal with that, so they steer clear.
Lamh Foistenach Abu!
What a beautiful family.
Hopefully, Mr. Cao can be a beacon of light to his district, which comprises most of New Orleans and is 64% black.
Before “Freezer King” Jefferson, the district was represented by Hale and Lindy Boggs, who were liberal but at least were honest and pro-life.
Cam on anh vi ping.
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