Earlier this week, the Times-Picayune profiled the district’s new congressman Joseph Cao (R-LA), who beat out the indicted Democratic incumbent William Jefferson. As the first Vietnamese-American in Congress — and the only non-Hispanic minority in the GOP caucus — Cao is generating considerable excitement within his party for being able to capture a Democratic district.
Before his victory, almost no Republicans were paying attention to Cao. None of the Republicans in Louisiana’s congressional delegation donated to his race. “They just ignored me,” said Cao. “The message was, ‘Why waste our time?’”
Now, however, he is a conservative hero. On Sunday, House Minority Leader John Boehner issued a memo titled, “The future is Cao.” Boehner wrote that the “Cao victory is a symbol of what can be achieved when we think big, present a positive alternative and win the trust of the American people.” Even former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has offered his services. According to a Times-Picayune report earlier this week, Gingrich has volunteered to be Cao’s liaison to the African-American community:
By midmorning Cao was interrupting an interview to take a call from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who offered good wishes and, Cao said, counseled him “to reach out to the African-American community.” Cao said Gingrich offered to act as a go-between.
ThinkProgress spoke with Cao’s spokesman Murray Nelson, who wouldn’t confirm or deny the Times-Picayune report or the extent of Gingrich’s involvement. Nelson stressed that he personally has “great respect” for the former Speaker but said that it wasn’t necessary for Gingrich to “show” them how to do minority outreach, since they had been doing it for some time:
Although it’s very nice and we appreciate and continue to work with the former Speaker in that regard, we already are reaching out to the African-American community. We’ve already attended an NAACP organizational meeting. We went to a Christmas party last night and had the best time. [...]
Within the district, we have plenty of people we partner with and work with to get into the community. … It’s not like the Speaker would be coming down here to show us how to do it. He’s done it.
ThinkProgress contacted Gingrich’s spokesman for a response, but we did not receive an answer.
D’OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!
December 12th, 2008 at 1:49 pmThere simply are not enough drugs on earth to help you understand Newtie. I guess this is all part of his effort to slide into the 2012 ticket. I wonder who pays this idiot or does he just print his own money to keep going?
December 12th, 2008 at 1:51 pmWow. That’s mighty white of him.
December 12th, 2008 at 1:54 pmHaving Newt “reach out ” to the black community is like showing up to a NAACP meeting in KKK robes.
It can’t get any lower than that.
December 12th, 2008 at 1:55 pmWhat’s next, Bill Bennett lecturing us about morality?…Oh, wait…
December 12th, 2008 at 1:56 pmOh wowie, I bet the African American community are jumping for joy about now.
¶ AIO
December 12th, 2008 at 1:56 pmNewt only offered to “to reach out to the African-American community” because, in his mind, black people are “them”. And you have to talk to “them” differently.
Either that or Newt thinks that there isn’t a single black person in that Louisiana District who voted for Cao.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:00 pmAs a thank you to Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Cao offered to
December 12th, 2008 at 2:05 pmbe a liaison to Mr. Gingrich’s ex-wives.
Yeah, like republiscum have really tried to help the African-American community in the past…they sure are not about to do a turnabout now.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:11 pmHow embarrassing….for him.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:13 pmYou should warn people before you post something like this — I damned near had a combined heart attack/gut splitting from the laughter.
Actually, there is one thing even more absurd that this: What if Newtie offered to do outreach to teh gays?
December 12th, 2008 at 2:14 pmNewt got jungle fever, much like strom thurmond.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:24 pmHe like da ho’s wif junk in dey trunk.
Photo Caption: Newt and his black friends.
h/t Stephen Colbert
December 12th, 2008 at 2:29 pmThought it was The Onion site for a second. More coffee please.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:32 pmlol, newt. how appropriate.
crawl back under your rock “newt”.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:43 pmIs Newt pretending to be Bill Clinton? Has his obsession with the Clenis pushed him completely over the edge?
December 12th, 2008 at 2:45 pmNewt is sooooo good with relationships that he’s the best person to have reaching out to others.
/snark off
December 12th, 2008 at 2:47 pmBy midmorning Cao was interrupting an interview to take a call from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who offered good wishes and, Cao said, counseled him “to reach out to the African-American community.” Cao said Gingrich offered to act as a go-between.
Excuse me (vomiting sound)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HA!!!
Excuse me again.
Get the F@&% outta here. Newt Gingrich will only reach out to the African American Community if he can grab their (our) necks.
I for one will Pass, and those of us who are informed on Mr. Gingrich and his hostilities towards minorities (except the oxymornic Black Repuppetcans) will pass also. We dont want anymore of that Trent Lott “nigra” outreach. I dont see how Michael Steele, Arm-strom (I Know its suppose to be Armstrong, but I’m not buying hes not the grandson of the late rapist Strom Thurmond) Williams, Ken Blackwell, Ward Connerlly, Colin Powell (until recently), Clarence (I hate myself and my black skin) Thomas, Condi Rice, etc…. can sleep with those that wanna show them off when company comes by, but keep them out of power (J.C. Watts anyone, really anyone, have you seen him?)
There are NO, NONE, ZERO, Black members of the House of Representatives, so how the hell is Mr. Gingrich gonna use a Vietnamese member who they didnt back to make inroads to the Black community?
Fail, miserably
RIP
December 12th, 2008 at 2:54 pmSGT Stephen R. Sherman
C CO 1-5 IN (STRYKER)
KIA 3 Feb 2005
Mosul, Iraq
Sounds like a plan. Send him to East Oakland, Watts, Compton, Harlem, just to name a few and see how long he lasts.
Anyone stupid enough to believe he would do ANY good in the AA community are truly crazy.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:55 pmThe look on his face seems to be “Is there a camera getting this?”
December 12th, 2008 at 2:55 pm“It’s okay… I speak jive.”
December 12th, 2008 at 2:57 pmTired Of Fighting Says:
You mean there are no black GOP members of the House of Representatives.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:58 pmI don’t know much about Cao’s politics, but he’s a self-confessed moderate. Not a conservative, as the GOP is so vainly hoping for.
That said, I applaud the guy. Jefferson’s crooked ass got rightly kicked out office.
December 12th, 2008 at 3:11 pmSo is Vietnamese ‘the new black’, or is it the other way around?
And does this mean Steven Colbert will now be looking for a new Vietnamese friend to replace his black friend ?
Is Cao now the anti-Obama?
How does Bobby Jindal feel about all this?
Is there really room in the Republican ‘Big Tent’ for more than one minority at a time?
Find out, in next weeks episode of “America’s Next Top Republican Minority Great Dark-Skinned Hope-Model”!!!!
December 12th, 2008 at 3:12 pmoctamethyl Says:
He like da ho’s wif junk in dey trunk.
Wow, racist and sexist in the same post. Nice.
December 12th, 2008 at 3:17 pm” “They just ignored me,” said Cao. “The message was, ‘Why waste our time?’” ”
This quote is indicative of the entiore repuke “movement”. They don’t give a rat’s ass about you until you are of use to them. for example, winning a congressional seat
December 12th, 2008 at 3:18 pmEugeneDebs Says:
Thanks I was typing to fast, plus wiping the tears outta my eyes,
RIP
December 12th, 2008 at 3:25 pmSGT Stephen R. Sherman
C CO 1-5 IN (STRYKER)
KIA 3 Feb 2005
Mosul, Iraq
For more, First Draft had commentary on this story on Tuesday.
December 12th, 2008 at 3:28 pmIs it me or does it seem like Newt is running around everywhere begging for some kind of job, any job that anybody will give him? He’s starting to sound utterly desperate for some kind of role to play in the Republican party.
December 12th, 2008 at 4:02 pmEugeneDebs Says:
You mean there are no black GOP members of the House of Representatives.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
_________
Where’s J.C. Watts when you need him, eh?
December 12th, 2008 at 4:03 pmJust more proof that Newt’s got quite a sense of humor… like the time he served his ex-wife w/ divorce papers while she was recovering from surgery. That Newtie… such a banana…
December 12th, 2008 at 4:10 pmThis would be like a hardcore Nazi trying to give swastika armbands at a Jewish community center.
Newt just isn’t an agent of hate, he is just as ignorant as he’s ever been.
December 12th, 2008 at 4:23 pmJust what, exactly, does the Republican party have to offer African-Americans?
The GOP’s positions on most issues are detrimental to African-Americans and other minorities. The GOP hates public schools. They hate affirmative action. They support legacy placements for their own children, but oppose efforts to recruit minority students to Ivy League universities. They let New Orleans drown. They were against the Civil Rights Act before they were for it. Lincoln wouldn’t recognize his own party were he to come back to life today. The old, segregationist Dixiecrats swarmed en masse to the GOP. My goodness, where does it end?
An African-American Republican is no better than a gay, Log Cabin Republican. In both cases, the minority is siding with those who work against their interests.
Oh, and Cao… the new Vietnamese star of the GOP? He’ll be forgotten before the Inauguration. Besides, he only won in his district because he ran against a corrupt (and convicted?) Democrat. No way he’ll win re-election when a different Democrat runs against him. Besides, will the hard-core racist and nativist base of the GOP truly embrace an Asian like Cao? Or a South Asian like Jindal in LA? Doubt it.
December 12th, 2008 at 4:30 pmWhat is this with 1) specifically Newtie’s repeated offers of being liason to the African American community ? and 2) in general, the dumbest repubs publically offering to fill Obama posts ? (see the previous TP news item for Mitt Romney wanting to be car czar).
And can I be blunt enough to ask if anyone has asked why Newtie (the whitest of the white) seems to think that Obama would need a liason to the African American community ?
You might not have heard this, but I have heard rumors that Obama may possibly be black.
December 12th, 2008 at 9:56 pmThats like a black widow making amorous advances.
December 14th, 2008 at 11:03 pmThe reaction among politico pseudo intelectuals was first EWWWWWWW in a kinda creepy kinda way as well as “black liason” what the heck is this fat old white man talking about; then a cautious warning of good luck to Cao.
The Borgen Project (www.borgenproject.org) has some good info on the annual costs of addressing global poverty.
Eliminating global hunger: $19 billion
Providing education to every child: $12 billion
Providing access to water and sanitation: $15 billion
Reversing the spread of AIDS/Malaria: $23 billion
Government defense budget: $522 Billion per year
January 20th, 2009 at 1:07 pm