Rep.Cao, District Loyalty, and the Health Care Bill

The Washington Post reports that Rep. Joseph Cao of Louisianna was the only 1 of 177 Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the democratically backed health care bill. Although this vote was cast after the 218 votes necessary for enactment had been placed, Rep. Cao had defied his party's expectation and strengthened the bill by giving it much needed bi-partisan support.

It has been said that Rep. Cao’s election as a Republican representative of an overwhelmingly democratic district that had seen no Republican representatives since 1890, was fortuitous. The situation required Rep. Cao’s choose between voting in the interest of his mainly African American, two-third Democrat constituents and being loyal to his party.

In this Madisonian system where varied election time scales and districts are to act as a check, Rep. Cao's vote serves as an example of an internal check on the Republican Party. The diversity of constituencies Republican house members represent means that in situations like these they are pressured to vote against the general stance of the party. Had Rep. Cao voted against the health care bill, it would have severely weakened his campaign for 2010 Congressional Elections.