WHAT DOES REP CAO'S VOTE TELL US?

GET THE FACTS BEHIND THE NEWS? "I had to make a decision, and I felt that last night's decision (Health Reform bill) was the right decision for my district, even though it was not the popular decision for my party," Rep Cao, 42, said of his vote late Saturday. Rep Cao represents a low income district in New Orleans.

The Obama administration and Republican leaders, such as Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, lobbied Cao throughout Saturday. He made his decision as the voting came to a close and cast his "yes" vote as the Democrats passed the 218 votes needed for the bill to pass. The final tally was 220-215.

The first Vietnamese American in Congress, Cao fled Vietnam with two siblings when he was 8, according to his House website. Cao said he did not make any deals with President Obama in exchange for his vote. Cao has pushed for more aid to New Orleans to help the city recover after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and has supported Obama's actions to help Louisiana rebuild.

What does it tell us WHEN IT’S NEWS THAT A CONGRESSMAN VOTES HIS CONSCIENCE BY VOTING FOR A BILL THAT HE BELIEVES WILL HELP THE PEOPLE IN HIS DISTRICT DESPITE THE WISHES OF HIS PARTY? What does it tell us about a party that wants a congressman to vote against a bill that he feels will help the people in his district? What does it tell us about a Congress that is so absorbed in party warfare that it has forgotten the reason for its existence, namely to help the citizens? What does it tell us about a country whose citizens are so self centered they can only see their own selfish interests and never care or look at what’s best for the whole country?

In this particular case, though the idea applies to both parties, an examination state by state reveals that in states that that have the highest % of uninsured,their representatives are the strongest objectors to the health reform bill The Health Reform bill will make possible the purchase of insurance with gov’t help if necessary. These states are southern, mountain and Tx ,Ok, Ks. Statistics show that uninsured people are less healthy because they wait too long to seek medical help to avoid the cost. When they do seek medical help it is often in high cost emergency rooms. Harvard researchers published an article in the American Journal of Public Health. They said 45.000 people die each year as a result of not havinginsurance.
So why don't the representatives in these states vote for the Health Reform bill?