THE EARMARK

U.S. Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA) is in a lot of trouble as he stares down 2010 campaign season.

For starters, he’s a Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic New Orleans district.  His seat is the top target of the Democratic House Campaign Committee, according to the Swing State Project.  And just today Roll Call, the newspaper of Capitol Hill, ran the headline “Cao Most Vulnerable Member in ‘10.”  Folks, this is Bob Taft territory that we’re entering.

But not all hope is lost because Rep. Cao has a strategy, and it’s the same one that propelled him to victory in 2008:

1. Wait until your opponent is indicted for taking half a million in bribes, racketeering, money laundering and obstruction of justice.
2. Cruise to victory!

Now it’s true that Cao can’t fully implement said strategy until $90,000 cash is found in top challenger Cedric Richmond’s freezer, but hey — it’s still 14 months until the election, people!  Maybe Richmond is still out buying the aluminum foil.

And once Cao’s plan comes to fruition, the seat should be his for the next 235 years, after which it will return to a freshly-paroled William Jefferson.

Boy, it’s tough to be former U.S. Representative William Jefferson (D-LA) these days.  First of all, the guy has federal agents rooting around in his freezer, screwing up his color-coded Swanson’s Dinner collection.  Then, he loses his Congressional seat to some 41-year-old Republican named Anh Cao.  And then to literally add insult to injury, irresponsible bloggers accuse him of looting a Rite-Aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina!

Well, today things got even worse.  Because now Jefferson is headed to prison for the crime of falling victim to a Nigerian “phishing” scam.

Former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana was convicted Wednesday on 11 of the 16 corruption charges against him.

Jefferson, a 62-year-old Democrat, was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 4, 2007, on corruption charges, about two years after federal agents said they found $90,000 in his freezer. Authorities said the cash was part of a payment in marked bills from an FBI informant in a transaction captured on video.

Jefferson was accused of using his congressional clout between 2001 and 2005 to solicit and receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes for himself and his family in exchange for promoting products and services in Africa, especially Nigeria, and elsewhere.

Now, this is something that could happen to anyone.  You’re going through your inbox, see an unusual message from a gentleman with an exotic name, and the next thing you know you’re swept up in the African blood-diamond trade!

Now sure, Jefferson was naive for falling for those Nigerian email scammers, but should the guy really go to jail simply for trying to make $8.5 MILLION dollars american IN CASH to support his family?

The maximum sentence for Jefferson is 235 years in prison, which if awarded will certainly serve as a warning to other Congressmen who may be tempted by unsolicited emails from African royalty: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.