Et tu, Brute?

From Politico:

Once a year, Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao gives the Washington establishment a little jolt.

In November 2008, the nationally unknown Vietnamese community activist captured a seat for Republicans in majority-black New Orleans, becoming an instant — albeit short-lived — celebrity for the GOP.

On Saturday night, 368 days later, he handed Democrats their only Republican vote on the centerpiece of their domestic agenda, a massive overhaul of the nation’s health care system that promises to enhance coverage for tens of millions of Americans and thousands of Cao’s constituents. Now he’s a bit of a cult hero on the left — a profile in courage, Democrats say — and television bookers were scrambling to find cell phone numbers for his aides Sunday.

There should be some form of punishment meted out by the Republican leadership for Cao's scandalous betrayal, if only a slap on the wrist. Many House Republicans attested that the health care bill of yesterday was the worst bill ever to pass before them for a vote. NO ONE who understands and cherishes the Constitution should have voted for this bill. It is to be expected that Democrats would vote for it, seeing as they neither understand or cherish the document, but rather seek to undermine and reconstitute it as something foreign to the founders' intent. But that a Republican would be so blind and off the mark on such a fundamental issue...incredible. But then again, Cao once "joked" that he could be a "closet democrat."