Four years ago Nancy Pelosi said:
“Democrats intend to lead the most honest, the most open and the most ethical Congress in history.”
And instead we have been treated to four years of corruption….The latest and greatest?:
The charges against Rangel include allegations that he sought donations from companies such as New York Life Insurance Co., American International Group Inc., and private foundations related to such businesses as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., to help fund construction of an academic facility carrying his name. He obtained $8 million in donations for the Charles Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of New York.
~~~Rangel, 80, is accused of improperly using the official House stationary letterhead to send more than 100 solicitation letters to potential donors that were prepared by his staff during their workday. Enclosed was a 20-page “glossy brochure” that requested a $30 million donation over five years or $6 million a year, according to the 40-page charging document released by the ethics committee.
Which he is choosing to fight instead of taking a plea deal…not a good thing for the Democrats and that makes me smile.
Well, now Obama is giving him, as Allah put it, the Corleone kiss:
“I think Charlie Rangel served a very long time and served– his constituents very well. But these– allegations are very troubling,” Obama told Harry Smith in an interview to be aired on the “Early Show.” and first broadcast on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
“And he’ll– he’s somebody who’s at the end of his career. Eighty years old. I’m sure that– what he wants is to be able to– end his career with dignity. And my hope is that– it happens.”
And Charlie is none to happy about that kiss:
[A] person close to the Rangel tells POLITICO the embattled Democrat “doesn’t give a damn about what the president thinks about this” and won’t step down
But wait kiddies….it gets better!
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has chosen to go through an ethics trial, like the one lined up for New York Rep. Charles Rangel, rather than accepting charges made by an ethics subcommittee, a source familiar with the process tells POLITICO.
The back-to-back trials of a pair of black lawmakers represent an unprecedented use of an ethics adjudication system that has rarely been used by House members accused of breaking House rules.
Waters’ case revolves around allegations that she improperly intervened with federal regulators to help a bank that her husband owned stock in and on whose board he once served.
Can you guess what the response is going to be about Charlie and Maxine?
Yup, you guessed it:
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have complained that the OCE has unfairly and disproportionately targeted them, and many have signed onto a legislative effort to de-fang the office.
Now, as I said above…this all confirms what we have known for many years about the Democrats in charge and while I don’t think either Waters or Rangel are much smarter then a bag of rocks I have a sneeking suspicion that in their wormy little minds this they believe this to be a legitimate tactic to drive black voter turnout in November.
If it is, I don’t think it will work, since this election will be local in nature but I wouldn’t past these two to have this in mind.
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Often we are told about how Rangel occupied more rent control apartments than he was entitled to. I think a better question is: Why did he have any at all? As wealthy as he was, he certainly could have afforded to pay “full boat” and leave the rent controlled apartments for his poorer constituents. As if he gave a rat’s patoot about them!
Just a small sampling of what is wrong with our government these days….Unfortunately this isn’t just a Dem/Liberal issue, it crosses both aisles….
As much as I hate to say it, I think that term limits is the only way this problem may be corrected and I’m not convinced that will work…
Rangel didn’t just get crooked in the last couple of years, he’s been that way FOR years yet the people kept re-electing him…In a sense giving us the gov’t we asked for…..
For me term limits is an admission that as a country we just do not have enough people who either care or are intelligent enough to do the right thing…I’m not sure term limits would clean the place up but it’s obvious the current method of being able to vote these people out every 2 to 6 years is not working…
What a great day it will be in MI and the country when John Conyers is charged and placed on trial for his ethics violations. He can join his wife, Monica, who pleaded guilty to bribery, in prison when she stops playing games with the court. We’re all hoping it’s soon so we can wave good-bye . Crooks…generations of just da*n crooks.
I am afraid that it will be the same old- same old for Charlie- the committee has recommended a “reprimand”. That is all, for all 13 counts, any ONE of which had either you or I done this, would have been some serious jail time.
As far as I can determine, this is an evasion of approximitely 1 million plus in cash that he should have paid in taxes- if you add the interest for all those years, that is a LOT of money.
He should go through the trial, and if found guilty, should pay ALL the money, and go to prison.
He is, like all on Capitol Hill, a “Public Servant” which is supposed to mean that not only does he serve “at our pleasure”, but he is not supposed to steal from us- would you keep employing someone who was a proven thief? Not if your intellectual quotient is greater than room temperature, you do not.
And it is the same for Maxine Waters, or John Conyers- it matters not what COLOR they are- a thief is a thief, and a thief needs serious jail time, not coddling by their “peers”.
Heck, one might even be reluctant to get too close to someone with such serious character flaws- and yet, the Congress takes care of its own.
No wonder they have an 11% approval rating.
11% apporoval rating but re-elected too many times by their constituents.
That does not speak not very well for the Voters in their Districts.
The House Ethics Committee is just a bad joke. No sworn testimony so no
criminal charges filed. It is a travesty.
The same Maxine who thinks Castro is a hero and a leader who set up a Utopia that should be a model for the United States.
It is amazing how wealthy you can become after 40 years in congress and it is so expensive to lice in DC: Charley must be very good with his money.