“Cao Goes to Washington” is a documentary about former Congressman Joseph Cao that was shown in the Pollack Theater on Nov. 12, directed by political documentarian, S. Leo Chiang, regarding Cao’s battle between the Affordable Care Act and the Republican Party.
Chiang took those in attendance on a personal journey into Cao’s election into office in New Orleans, as a Republican Asian Congressman, from a place where a majority are Democratic, as well as African American. Views saw his struggle for reelection after voting “nay” for the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) during the second voting for the House of Representatives.
Cao’s initially voted for the ACA, which he explained, “The people down here need it, my people need it, and the needs of the people for outweigh the party.”
While the people of New Orleans supported him, Republicans were disgruntled, and the Democrat’s claimed he was in the wrong party.
However, as the documentary unfolds, the audience learns that Cao is a Republican because he is conservative especially about pro-life issues. When the second round of voting commenced, Cao realized that the provisions for abortion were not changed and he took to the podium, to exclaim why he would not support the ACA and cast his vote “nay.”
The Republicans officially succeeded in having a 100 percent “nay” vote against ACA. This, however, we learn hurt Cao’s re-election for a run for a second term.
Ann Babeuf, a communication major, said, “Congressman Cao was sincerely interested in helping people but cast his vote in favor of the healthcare initiative with imperfect information. When new information became available to him, federal funding for abortions and he voted “nay” during the second round, he appeared indecisive and lost the confidence and support of the public.”
Chiang showed the lack of confidence Cao’s supporters had for him during the documentary. Chiang was trying to show the every day life of a Congressman and what challenges he [Cao] faced.
Proctor and Presenter of the Film, Dr. Michael Phillips-Anderson, assistant professor of communication said, “It is always hard to say what a director or other author was trying to do, but from Mr. Chiang’s comments in the Q&A it seems that he wanted the audience to see the pressures put on members of Congress to please their constituents, parties, and funders.”
Phillips-Anderson continued, “I think he also wanted us to see how Cao, as the only non-white Republican member of Congress tried to find his place in the party.”
This message was seen throughout the documentary, because Cao is a conservative but he was in support of same-sex marriage
The picking and choosing and lack of confidence in Cao can be seen by the President and why he has yet to win over the public on ACA.
Philips-Anderson said, “Obama convinced people the ACA is a good law, the answer has to be no. Obama seemed unprepared to advocate for the law after it was passed or at various stages in the roll out. He knew there was significant opposition, some of it deliberately misstating the features of the law.”
Phillips-Anderson continued, “The public seems to not like the law, but also seems to want several provisions of it (coverage for pre-existing conditions, kids staying on parents plan until 26). The President has failed to persuade people that this law is the best way to achieve those goals.”
The film was eye opening to all who saw it since it really went up close and personal with a Congressman and showed it is by no means an easy job.
Chiang explains that members of Congress needing to please many people, the public is not as merciless, as he explained during the Q&A session. Chiang believes that this is why the Republican Party, along with Cao, struggles so much. Chiang said, “It is hard to make it work to be liberal for a state and too conservative for the city.” This was in direct reference to Cao being Congressman in New Orleans, but Chiang also gave those thoughts about the Republican Party.
IMAGE TAKEN rom www.asianweek.com
