EON

Anh “Joseph” Cao, became the only House member of the GOP to vote for Health Care Reform on Saturday.

In a vote late Saturday night, Representative Cao – a vulnerable freshman in a Democratic district still devastated by hurricane Katrina – broke ranks, casting the lone Republican vote for the legislation.

“I have always said that I would put aside partisan wrangling to do the business of the people. My vote tonight was based on my priority of doing what is best for my constituents,” he said in a statement after the vote.

On CNN, Rep. Cao said he “had to make a decision of conscience based on the needs of the people in my district.”

So who is Anh Cao?

Well ccording to Wikipedia, Anh “Joseph” Quang Cao (Vietnamese: Cao Quang Ánh, with Cao pronounced /??a?/ “gow” in English; born March 13, 1967) is a New Orleans lawyer and the current U.S. Representative from Louisiana’s 2nd congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party. On December 6, 2008, Cao defeated nine-term Democratic U.S. Representative William Jefferson with 49.6 percent of the vote to Jefferson’s 46.8 percent.

Cao is the first Vietnamese American, as well as the first native of Vietnam, to serve in Congress, and the first Republican to serve in his district since 1890; his district usually votes overwhelmingly Democratic. Cao is the poorest member of Louisiana’s delegation (including the state’s two senators) in Congress: as of 2009 his assets were no greater than $195,000 and his potential liabilities mounting to $215,000, including student loans for himself and his wife.