"Despite ethics cloud, Rangel tries to soldier on; N.Y. Democrat is election-year liability to some" by Larry Margasak, Associated Press | July 6, 2010
WASHINGTON — Just about everyone likes Charlie Rangel.
Republicans pump his hand, Democrats put their arms around his shoulders and women of all political persuasions give him pecks on the cheek.
Spend some time with the 80-year-old congressman from New York City who has been striding the Capitol’s halls for four decades on behalf of residents of Harlem and there’s little evidence he has become someone to avoid because of an ethics cloud expected to darken in days to come.
Colleagues in both parties still gravitate to the gravelly voiced, outgoing, backslapping Rangel four months after fellow Democrats persuaded — and Republicans hounded — him to relinquish one of the most powerful jobs in Washington, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee....
What is he still doing there?
Behind the scenes, it’s a different story.
I love lying, two-faced politicians and s*** MSM, don't you?
A few Democrats have returned money that Rangel raised for them.
Then it REALLY IS SERIOUS!
His influence is sapped.
His wife, Alma, warns him not to be naive about the glad-handing.
“You know,’’ she tells him, “they’re putting you on.’’
How did it come to this?
Rangel follows in a trend of Ways and Means chairmen such as Democratic Representatives Dan Rostenkowski of Illinois and Wilbur Mills of Arkansas who waited decades to become congressional titans, then lost that stature through ethical lapses....
Translation: Black, white, whatever, it DOESN'T MATTER!
Politicians are corrupt, self-serving PoS!!!
Nervous about losing House seats this year, Democrats persuaded Rangel to step down after the House ethics committee concluded in February in a relatively minor case that Rangel violated the chamber’s rules on gifts. The committee said Rangel should have known that corporate money paid for two trips to Caribbean conferences. Rangel insists he didn’t know.
I'll bet the place will smell better when Charlie is gone.
CORRUPTION STINKS, you know.
More ominous is an investigation into activities far more likely to touch the nerve of voters: Rangel’s failure to pay taxes on income from a Dominican Republic vacation villa; his rent-subsidized apartments in New York; using official stationery to raise money for a college center bearing his name; and his belated disclosure of assets revealing he was far richer than people thought.
But he is SERVING YOU, Harlem!
Yup, DIDN'T PAY HIS TAXES as he RAISED YOURS!
Rangel dresses immaculately, his gray hair neatly combed back, the color matching his mustache, and his pocket handkerchief matching his suit. He walks with a spry step....
He looks and acts just like a Harlem pimp.
--more--"
Also see: Around AmeriKa: Heading Up to Harlem
Related: 8 House members face ethics review on funding
"20 black lawmakers move to curb ethics procedures
WASHINGTON — Stung by a series of inquiries, nearly half the members of the Congressional Black Caucus want to scale back the aggressive ethics procedures that Democrats trumpeted after gaining control of Congress.
Representative Marcia Fudge, a Democrat of Ohio, and 19 fellow black lawmakers in the all-Democratic caucus quietly introduced a resolution last week that would restrict the powers of the independent Office of Congressional Ethics. The office, formed by Congress in 2008, is run by a panel of private citizens....
Some lawmakers have complained that the increased transparency of the office is unfair to lawmakers who are ultimately cleared of wrongdoing....
--more--"Like I said, all PoS.
