Hey, Rangel! Just Take Your Payoffs in the Form of a Campaign Donation Like the Rest of Us!
Charlie Rangel may be having his ethics trial during campaign season, when we can all sit in front of the TV with our buckets of popcorn and be captivated by stories like this:
In one of the more important allegations against Mr. Rangel, the committee charged him with ethics violations for his solicitation of Eugene Isenberg, the chief executive of Nabors Industries, an oil company that was seeking a tax break from the Ways and Means Committee when he pledged $1 million to the Rangel Center.
Mr. Rangel met with Mr. Isenberg and his lobbyist to discuss the tax break, which the congressman previously opposed, in February 2007 — the day it was being considered by the Ways and Means Committee.
The tax break ultimately passed, with Mr. Rangel’s vote, saving Nabors more than half a billion dollars. Eleven days after the meeting, City College cashed a $100,000 check from Mr. Isenberg.
The committee charged that the interactions violated ethics rules because they could be construed as influencing the congressman’s vote. But Mr. Rangel and Mr. Isenberg have both said that the contribution was unrelated to the tax issue, and Mr. Rangel’s written response Thursday asserted that he never did political favors for donors, or anyone else.
You’ve heard of members of Congress wrangling over chairmanships and such. I think we need to invent a new term for when you change your vote after getting paid off: “Rangeling.”
At least, that’s how it seems to me today. I might change my mind tomorrow, after a meeting with a person I’ll simply call “Mr. Green.”
Some years ago, when I served on the CMA’s legislative commission, we had a retreat with members of the commission and Jesse Unruh, the “Big Daddy” of California politics. It was Jesse who gave us the full time legislature and began the death spiral of California.
Anyway, Jesse had an answer to Rangel-type troubles. He said he taught all new legislators his philosophy of politics. It went; “If you can’t eat their food and drink their whisky and f**k their woman, and still vote against them in the morning, you don’t belong here.”
Mike K (0ef8c3) — 7/30/2010 @ 7:29 amI will gladly pay you tomorrow for a hamburger you will give me today.
Dmac (d61c0d) — 7/30/2010 @ 8:04 amDmac, you saw that John Kerry “always intended” to pay the tax on his yacht, right?
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/07/30/kerry_says_he_always_intended_to_pay_tax/
Notice the different versions of what is going on over the past week. Sheesh.
Honestly, how can a politician be that dim? Appearances are everything with politicians, and does he not have a mirror?
Oh well.
Eric Blair (d7ba5c) — 7/30/2010 @ 8:37 amIf only Rangel had agreed to be paid in cupcakes … or Unicorns.
BJTexs (a2cb5a) — 7/30/2010 @ 8:39 amMr. Rangel and Mr. Isenberg have both said that the contribution was unrelated to the tax issue
Ban this sort of thing and we’ll never have to wonder if they’re telling the truth or lying.
In case you’re wondering “What is the Rangel Center?”, it’s part of City University of New York.
Named for U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel, whose congressional district includes The City College, the Center’s mission is to become a national center for the promotion of greater diversity in public service.
The Charles B. Rangel Center will be housed in a restored brownstone adjacent to CCNY’s main campus. The facility will include the C.V. Starr Library, a conference center, and offices for visiting scholars.
The C.V. Starr Library will consist of documents, archives and memorabilia from Congressman Rangel’s lifetime of public service. It will serve as a locus of sponsored research and conferences concerning barriers to full participation in public service by underserved minorities.
Subotai (821c7a) — 7/30/2010 @ 9:06 amC.V. Starr, the original founder of AIG, before he handed the reins to Maurice “Ace” Greenberg
ian cormac (e46147) — 7/30/2010 @ 9:08 amI reiterate:
AD - RtR/OS! (595de0) — 7/30/2010 @ 9:47 amIt is not what is going on in DC that is illegal that is so disturbing,
it is what is legal that bothers so many, so much.
I don’t want diversity. Diversity is a scam. I want only the best … not a mix of the “it-could-be-worse”, the “not-too-bad”, the crooks, and the “Ranglers. ” That is way too much diversity for me.
quasimodo (4af144) — 7/30/2010 @ 9:49 amThat needs to be repeated.
quasimodo (4af144) — 7/30/2010 @ 9:51 amEric, until the voters replace these sleazebags, the politicians look clever enough to me. John Kerry knows his voters.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/30/2010 @ 10:07 amthe problem is that cupcakes are very ephemeral
happyfeet (71f55e) — 7/30/2010 @ 10:15 amI have found
happyfeet (71f55e) — 7/30/2010 @ 10:15 amSad but true, Dustin. I still say the fellow is as dumb as a box of rocks. Maybe voters like that, sometimes. Smart isn’t always good. Reliable might be what they want.
What bothers me is the self-assumed aristocratic viewpoint of the man. But as you say, it’s up to the voters.
Eric Blair (c8876d) — 7/30/2010 @ 10:24 am$100,000 for $500,000,000? Not a bad rate of return for a bribe.
Jim (844377) — 7/30/2010 @ 10:27 am500,000%
See #9!
AD - RtR/OS! (595de0) — 7/30/2010 @ 10:44 amCharlie is a charmer. He could have made millions and millions selling just about anything to anyone. He is more about power than money. The money is only a byproduct of his need for power.
Huey (efe02b) — 7/30/2010 @ 11:00 amI still say the fellow is as dumb as a box of rocks.
No, he’s actually quite an arrogant assh-le, and I have a typical story to illustrate his sense of entitlement and condescension to the plebes. During my time in Assspen, when he came in for his fundraising tour during his presidential campaign, he raked in a couple hundred million from the idiots that live in 20,000 square foot mansions. That evening, he asked (along with his wife, Marie Antoinette) to be ushered in ahead of the regular folks who had been waiting for over 30 minutes in the freezing January air in order to see a movie that had just opened. His MO is well known, he’s always pulling that sh-t around Boston and the rest of the state. I believe they call him the “line jumper,” or words to that effect.
Dmac (d61c0d) — 7/30/2010 @ 1:24 pmRecession deeper
ColonelHaiku (ac3c3c) — 7/30/2010 @ 1:37 pmthan O previously thought
most unexpected
Semi-related: Someday, somebody’s going to have to ask Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack — who has a history of being led by his pocketbook — why he hired Shirley Sherrod for a USDA job (that she thought she could have as long as she wanted) within thirty days of she and her husband being awarded $13 million in a class action discrimination suit by the Agriculture Department.
L.N. Smithee (7162d4) — 7/30/2010 @ 3:17 pmLN Smithee that
ColonelHaiku (ac3c3c) — 7/30/2010 @ 3:29 pmwould require that our lib stooge
media do job
Dmac, every time I see that horse faced inbred John Kerry, I think of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CodmlmxpZeQ
Eric Blair (c8876d) — 7/30/2010 @ 3:46 pm“Clinton comptroller blasts government workers’ accrual of benefits at expense of private sector workers”
http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/30/clinton-comptroller-blasts-government-workers-accrual-of-benefits-at-expense-of-private-sector-workers/
ColonelHaiku (ac3c3c) — 7/30/2010 @ 4:29 pmL.N.Smithee: don’t think that will ever happen. It’s certainly an interesting question though. But as a Govt retiree, nothing the Government does surprises me anymore.
PatAZ (9d1bb3) — 7/30/2010 @ 5:10 pmWho does he have living in those 4 rent controlled apartments.How do spell concubines?In the hood i guess it is hos.
dunce (c5cd86) — 7/31/2010 @ 12:14 am