Charles Rangel's ethics -- Or Lack Thereof.
Charles Rangel's ethics
The House Ethics Committee has been investigating U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., for two years, and it is expected to bring forth more details this week of the charges against the 20-term congressman who until recently was chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Already alleged is that Rep. Rangel failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets, failed to pay taxes on a Caribbean villa, accepted Caribbean trips from corporate lobbyists and used official stationery to raise money for a private center that bears his name at the City University of New York.
The last thing Democrats need on the eve of what's shaping up to be a bruising mid-term election campaign across the country — and at a time when polls suggest that voters well may be inclined to “throw the bums out” — is the spectacle of one of their own being dragged through the mud in an ethics scandal. As for Rep. Rangel, he remains wildly popular at the age of 80 in his Harlem district. Other Democrats, however, are on shaky ground, and they wish that Rep. Rangel and his problems would just go away.
Rep. Rangel, of course, is entitled to be considered innocent until proven guilty. However, the allegations against him are very serious. And isn't it ironic not just that the congressional career of Rep. Rangel's mentor and predecessor — the late, fabled Harlem preacher and civil rights leader Adam Clayton Powell Jr. — was upended by ethical scandals, but that Rep. Rangel's main opponent in New York City's September Democratic primary is Adam Clayton Powell IV?
History may not repeat itself here. But of what there is no doubt is that, in the midst of a recession that has cost millions of Americans their jobs and sometimes their homes, many people are simply in no mood to tolerate members of Congress who abuse their many privileges for personal gain.
The House Ethics Committee has been investigating U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., for two years, and it is expected to bring forth more details this week of the charges against the 20-term congressman who until recently was chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Already alleged is that Rep. Rangel failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets, failed to pay taxes on a Caribbean villa, accepted Caribbean trips from corporate lobbyists and used official stationery to raise money for a private center that bears his name at the City University of New York.
The last thing Democrats need on the eve of what's shaping up to be a bruising mid-term election campaign across the country — and at a time when polls suggest that voters well may be inclined to “throw the bums out” — is the spectacle of one of their own being dragged through the mud in an ethics scandal. As for Rep. Rangel, he remains wildly popular at the age of 80 in his Harlem district. Other Democrats, however, are on shaky ground, and they wish that Rep. Rangel and his problems would just go away.
Rep. Rangel, of course, is entitled to be considered innocent until proven guilty. However, the allegations against him are very serious. And isn't it ironic not just that the congressional career of Rep. Rangel's mentor and predecessor — the late, fabled Harlem preacher and civil rights leader Adam Clayton Powell Jr. — was upended by ethical scandals, but that Rep. Rangel's main opponent in New York City's September Democratic primary is Adam Clayton Powell IV?
History may not repeat itself here. But of what there is no doubt is that, in the midst of a recession that has cost millions of Americans their jobs and sometimes their homes, many people are simply in no mood to tolerate members of Congress who abuse their many privileges for personal gain.
Labels: News reporting
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 12:33 PM
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