View Single Post
Old July 31st, 2010 #83
Joe_J.
Radio active
 
Joe_J.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Gone to work on the lemming sites against Big Jew.
Posts: 9,439
Blog Entries: 2
Default

Quote:
NEW YORK — Friends and political allies of embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel are noticeably quiet after the disclosure that the 40-year House veteran and dean of the New York congressional delegation may face serious charges from a House ethics panel.
Rangel, 80, told reporters Friday that he looked forward to a public airing of the charges next week and fully intended to fight to clear his name. But national Democrats, already nervous about the party’s prospects in the November election, had little to say publicly about Rangel’s plight.
It’s a particularly vexing situation for New York Democrats, who know Rangel well and have benefited for years from his campaign contributions and his advocacy for the state — particularly on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which he chaired before stepping down from the post last March.


To criticize Rangel would look politically expedient for these Democrats and could risk the ire of the Congressional Black Caucus and the many influential black activists in New York. But staying silent leaves them vulnerable to Republican charges that the party is not sufficiently tough on the ethical lapses of its members.
Another issue for many of New York’s top officeholders: a scheduled Aug. 11 campaign fundraiser for Rangel at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, hosted by outgoing Gov. David Paterson and chaired by most of the state’s Democratic party elite, including Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic candidate for governor, and Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-independent, was listed as a co-host as well.
Asked at a Buffalo event Friday about Rangel, Gillibrand said she still backed him and planned to attend the fundraiser.
"I support the chairman. He’s done a great deal of good for this country," Gillibrand said, which drew a blast from Republican David Malpass, who is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Gillibrand.
"By affirming her support for the ethically challenged congressman, Sen. Gillibrand has once again chosen insider Washington politics over the interests of New Yorkers," Malpass said.
Few others were willing to weigh in on Rangel’s behalf.
In an e-mail message, Bloomberg spokesman Jason Post said the mayor’s position had not changed and he would reserve judgment until evidence was presented by the ethics panel. A spokesperson said Schumer was still planning to attend the Rangel fundraiser, while a Cuomo spokesman said the campaign schedule had not been mapped out far enough yet to know whether Cuomo would be able to attend.
Also at issue for some New York Democrats: contributions Rangel has made to their campaign committees, which Republicans say are tainted.
Rangel made the vast majority of his contributions in the 2008 campaign cycle, before the ethics committee concluded he had broken House rules by accepting corporate donations for travel to the Caribbean earlier this year. After that, many Democrats gave Rangel’s money to charity.
Two New York House Democrats, Dan Maffei and Tim McMahon, have said they will keep the money they’ve received from Rangel.
"I talked to him last night, and his position hasn’t changed. We’re not going to give up money that came from the past," Maffei spokeswoman Abigail Gardner said.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/us...osition=recent
Quote:
Rangel has been stubbornly resistant to striking a deal that would avoid a public trial by the ethics committee. Proud and defiant, he so far has given no sign that he intends to do anything other than fight the charges, despite the desire of House leaders to avoid such a spectacle.
President Obama added to the pressure on Rangel to yield when he told CBS News on Friday: "I think Charlie Rangel served a very long time and served his constituents very well. But these allegations are very troubling, and, you know, he's somebody who is at the end of his career, 80 years old. I'm sure that what he wants is to be able to end his career with dignity, and my hope is that that happens."
The ethics committee, which has often been slow to move against fellow House members, now has outlined a serious, 13-count case against Rangel that will have to play out over the next few months unless the congressman changes his mind.
Now there is another ethics case brewing, this involving another senior Democrat and member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.). The Waters case involves her actions in helping banks, including one in which her husband had a financial interest, receive federal bailout funds. Politico reported Friday night that, like Rangel, she too has decided to fight the charges and proceed to a public trial.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews
__________________
The average kwan is of such low quality that he'd shoot himself if he had any self awareness.
-Joe from Ohio