Rangel steps down!

Rep. Charles Rangel has temporarily stepped down from his post as Chairman of the House Ways and means Committee.

Link:www.nydailynews.com... tml


Will he be back in that capacity?

Mods: Can this be moved to the ' breaking political news ' forum?

[edit on 3-3-2010 by butcherguy]

Trying to post link again....

www.nydailynews.com...
This one works.

[edit on 3-3-2010 by butcherguy]

This from the link:

["My chairmanship is bringing so much attention to the press, and in order to avoid my colleagues having to defend me during their elections, I have this morning sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi asking her to grant me a leave of absence until such time as the ethics committee completes its work," Rangel said.

It was far from certain the Harlem Democrat will ever get his gavel back.

The committee said last Thursday that Rangel, 79, unknowingly went on two corporate-sponsored junkets two the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008.

Read more: www.nydailynews.com... xzz0h8brx2Zb]
Doesn't really sound that rosy for Charlie.

He's taking a "leave of absence". I think any Congressman who is guilty of a blatant ethics violation like Rengal is, should be FIRED. We'd have a whole new Congress in about 6 weeks!

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic
That position seems to have it's share of problems.

Remember Dan Rostenkowski?

He played the Chicago style politics for quite some time before he left in disgrace!

When you've got people knockin' on your door offering you this sort of stuff in return for "favors"... It's hard to say no, I suppose...

No excuse of course, he should at the very least resign not only the chairmanship, but his houseseat... Seems unlikely that'll happen.

Originally posted by seagull
No excuse of course, he should at the very least resign not only the chairmanship, but his houseseat... Seems unlikely that'll happen.

I read that as "housecat". Thanks for the giggle.

What are the chances of the ethics board making him resign? Or is this all for show?

reply to post by cjcord


Ethics committees are essentially rubber stamps for the leadership of the house(cat), or senate. If the leadership wants you gone, you are... If not...they'll find a way to ignore any negative findings.

Now I hear that Pete Stark has left the seat after only ONE day!

Any bets on how long the next one lasts?

Amazingly, Rangel just thinks that he can saddle right back up again as chairman after the 2010 election cycle.

What a perfect illustration of the out of touch reality that some of these clowns live in. Sure Chuck, they'll hold the spot for you

Did he call DIBS before stepping down? If not, he is SOL!!

The story on the news is that Pete Stark did not want to give up the chairmanship of a sub-committee that he held before.

Sounds like people in leadership of congress can't seem to make a decision!

Originally posted by butcherguy
reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

 

That position seems to have it's share of problems.

Remember Dan Rostenkowski?

He played the Chicago style politics for quite some time before he left in disgrace!

He did leave in disgrace. But also left with full pension benefits and six figure pension. He served 15 months in prison and Clinton pardoned him in 2000.

Crime does pay sometimes.

Rangel is just another sleaze bag politician. I saw the news conference where he threw his staff under the bus, saying it was their fault. That he didn't know what was going on. Ignorance is no excuse.

Good. One less communist to worry about.

reply to post by bg_socalif
Yep, that's Chicago politics at work.

Wasn't Bills wife from Chicago before she moved to the boonies?