Good morning, Mr. Congressman-elect, and congratulations. I was happy to vote for you and I'm very happy you won your race in our extremely Democratic district.
But I'm also sad that, for you to win, Rep. Cao had to lose. He is a good man, a man of conscience and has been, by and large, just what he was elected to be: a representative of our district, the most diverse and interesting place in this lovely land.
There is a quality Rep. Cao brought to his office that I hope you will emulate: humility.
Mr. Cao knew from day one that his election was a fluke, that his chances of enjoying more than one term as Louisiana's congressman from the 2nd district were on the none side of slim-to-none.
Knowing that, yet wanting, as any pol does, to hold his seat, he set out purposefully to listen to his constituents. He held more telephone-linked town halls, mail and phone surveys and other constituent outreach measures than any politician I've ever seen in our state. He bucked his party (the only one to do so, mind you) in voting for the president's stimulus bill because he knew it would be best for his constituents. Though he failed to do so again on the health care reform bill, I trust his word that that vote was one of conscience, based on his (however misinformed) beliefs on how that bill might impact the availability of abortion.
In short, Mr. Cao has acted as though his office was a true public trust, one that was granted to him by an accident of history and which he was expected to earn, every day, every vote.
Sir, as I said earlier, I am deeply happy that this most Democratic seat has returned to our party's hands, and I was proud to do my part to make that possible.
But, please, if you can take one thing from how Rep. Cao has conducted himself in office, and make that your own, let it be that humble, grateful knowledge that no office is granted, that no official is entitled to his position. In our marvelous, unlikely system, the greatest are, by design, the servants of the least. He governs best who hears equally the voices of those who didn't elect him, but whose lives are equally in his hands.
That's all for me for now, sir, other than to repeat my congratulations on your victory.