Do New Orleanians have to put up with the bullying of the Party of No? (Maybe not.) PLUS: Sir Sleazebag found!

When he defeated indicted Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson, Donklephant asked, "Is Anh Cao A Model For A New Republican Party?"

Donklephant blogger Justin Gardner wrote:

No doubt many GOPers will call Cao a RINO if he doesn’t toe the party line, but this is the type of guy who can bring independents and moderate Dems back into the Republican party. And I hope Obama finds an ally in Cao from time to time when they’re trying to solve difficult problems that require common sense solutions over partisan jockeying.

Fingers crossed.

Well, it doesn't appear to be working out that way. Howie writes:

When it looked like a few House Repugs might break ranks with their party's obstructionist leaders, I mentioned that Anh Cao, the Repug from New Orleans, was most likely to vote yes -- since he said he would for the good of his constituents. Then House Repug Whip Eric Cantor got a-hold of him and persuaded him that there are some goods that are gooder than his constituents'.

Now BayouBuzz reports:

Louisiana Congressman Cao Faces Recall Petition Over Stimulus Vote

Congressman Joseph “Anh” Cao, a Republican, who defeated William “Bill” Jefferson, is facing a recall petition because of his vote on the Barack Obama stimulus package. The recall has been initiated by a group of ministers.

Cao had indicated that he would be voting in favor of the controversial legislation but instead voted against it.

Papers have been filed with the Office of the Louisiana Secretary of State which started the process, requiring sufficient signatures to force a recall election for the office held by Representative Cao.

Cao represents a majority African American community, many who were outraged by Cao’s vote. Cao made national news with his victory over Bill Jefferson.

One elected official, State Representative Juan A. LaFonta, Democrat of District 96, told Bayoubuzz that he does not know about the existence of the petition but that he would sign it.

“We don’t need Cao to be Steve Scalise”, said LaFonta. Scalise is a Republican who represents a neighboring conservative Congressional District. “People are starving and Cao needs to represent the people of the district”, LaFonta said.

Cao is Vietnamese and has been hailed by many in the media as a new face of the Republican Party.

The group of ministers who filed the petition want to make sure that he faces a recall, which could be a very daunting act, if not impossible act, in Louisiana based upon the state’s history.

HOWIE ADDS:

I hope Anh Cao gets recalled, not just because he's a Republican but because he put his obstructionist party's wishes ahead of the interests of his own constituents and ahead of the interests of the United States. Today's NY Times focuses on GOP hypocrisy around the country as more and more Republican members of Congress who, like Cao, voted to obstruct, are now celebrating the parts of the Stimulus Bill they like. Take Michigan's Twittering idiot Pete Hoekstra for example -- who doesn't seem to understand Twitter at all and who gave away state secrets on it a few weeks ago:

Representative Peter Hoekstra of Michigan sounded almost giddy on Wednesday in a post on the microblogging Web site Twitter: "If you know of someone thinking of buying first home, now may be the time. Stimulus incentive is very generous! Up to 8k! Check it out."

Mr. Hoekstra, who also voted against the bill, appeared less optimistic last week. "House passed spending bill. I don’t believe it will work," Mr. Hoekstra wrote on Twitter. "Hope we’re wrong but I don’t think so."

BULLETIN: BILLIONAIRE SIR SLEAZEBAG FOUND!

The Washington Post reports today:

Allen Stanford Found in Virginia

FBI agents found R. Allen Stanford, the suspected mastermind of a $9.2 billion financial fraud, in Fredericksburg, Va., and served him with court papers, authorities said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Stanford, his three companies and two associates with fraud Tuesday after determining that he was allegedly misleading customers in the sale of certificates of deposit and other financial products.

Federal agents raided his office buildings in Houston, a judge froze his assets and a receiver was put in charge of his companies. But Stanford, a billionaire who spends much of the year in Antigua, where the bank at the center of the alleged fraud is based, could not be found.

The lawyer representing him in the SEC investigation had weeks earlier ended his association with Stanford and disavowed any earlier statements.

The investigation into Stanford has focused on what the SEC has called "impossible" returns on his investment portfolio, generating questions about whether he was running a Ponzi scheme.

The SEC has worked with criminal authorities on the case, but no criminal charges have yet been filed against Stanford. The SEC often files civil charges before criminal charges are filed.

But remember, since "Sir Allen" isn't under any kind of criminal indictment, he wasn't arrested. He was merely served the papers. Apparently he did surrender his passport (though if he can make his way to, say, Antigua, of which he more or less owns a chunk, it doesn't seem likely that he'll be turned away for want of a passport), but then he was and sent on his way.

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