Breaking: Rangel, Wrangled
[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; send your tips here.]
Breaking news, Charlie Rangel has been convicted by the ethics panel:
A House ethics panel has convicted Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) on 11 of 13 counts of violating House ethics rules.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the adjudicatory subcommittee and the full House ethics committee, announced the decision late Tuesday morning following an abbreviated public trial of the 20-term lawmaker and less than a day of closed-door deliberations.
“We have tried to act with fairness, led only by the facts and the law,” Lofgren said. “We believe we have accomplished that mission.”
The panel will recommend a punishment, then the full ethics panel will have to convene a sanctions hearing to decide whether to agree to the recommended punishment or determine another one. Serious sanctions — including formal reprimand, censure or expulsion — require a vote on the House floor. Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote, while a reprimand, which Rangel refused to agree to in July, or a censure would need just a simple majority.
As they say, read the whole thing.
Racists.
Joking aside, the most egregious fact in all of this is what he is pleading ignorance of tax violations, but he once headed the Ways and Means Committee, which writes tax laws. Hey, Rangel, we’ll make a deal with you. I think my fellow Americans will agree to this. We will let you plead ignorance of our over-fraking-complicated tax code, if you guys let us do the same.
Deal?
[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]
Trying to keep the black man down.
Next up, Maxine Waters!
Torquemada (a8a9b2) — 11/16/2010 @ 9:58 amTorq
> Trying to keep the black man down.
> Next up, Maxine Waters!
Did you mean to imply that Waters is a man? 😉
Aaron Worthing (b8e056) — 11/16/2010 @ 10:03 am#3, Man in the generic sense like “Man inhabits this planet.”
But she may have Fe-nis for all I know much like Charles Schumer has a man-gina from what I see.
But Maxine is one piece of work. Her and Sheila Jackson.
I know we should not wish people ill but when people specifically work to do things to hurt you as elected officials …. ug.
Torquemada (a8a9b2) — 11/16/2010 @ 10:06 amover-fraking-complicated ?
Did you mean freaking, or franking (as in misused franking privileges)?
Amphipolis (b120ce) — 11/16/2010 @ 10:31 amMaybe we could get Alcee Hastings to comment. Or William “Cold Cash” Jefferson?
JD would condemn my using those examples.
Eric Blair (c8876d) — 11/16/2010 @ 10:49 amEven Charley didn’t have a strong enough “Race Card” to trump the hand dealt against him, by himself.
AD-RtR/OS! (ba1e7c) — 11/16/2010 @ 11:18 amThis might be the singular high point of Zoe Lofgren’s political career, but she will surely face a strong Primary opponent in ’12 in retribution for doing the right thing.
If only ‘Duke’ Cunningham had been a black, liberal, democrat war hero he could still be sitting in Congress.
Old Bob (679bc0) — 11/16/2010 @ 11:21 amThis would be a significant indictment against ethics violations…. IF Rangel were actually forced to resign. I think everyone’s aware that instead of any real punishments, he’s going to be told he can’t sit at the big kids’ table for a while, meaning no leadership positions. At least until the next news cycle…
Jewels (c7b6c5) — 11/16/2010 @ 11:23 amamph
I mean fraking, as in a made up word for Battlestar Galactica used as a stand in for f___ing.
Aaron Worthing (b8e056) — 11/16/2010 @ 11:28 amActually it is 11 of 12 counts, the rolled two of the counts together into one. And the 12th count they were deadlocked on. they couldn’t decide if he denigrated congress with his actions. I guess they figured they couldn’t be held in any lower esteem…
Rorschach (c5574d) — 11/16/2010 @ 12:19 pmWe will let you plead ignorance of our over-fraking-complicated tax code, if you guys let us do the same.
Just let us use the Geithner Rule… individuals are under no obligation to pay our taxes in full until such time as their political party is in power and they’re nominated for a Cabinet position.
Seems fair to me.
malclave (1db6c5) — 11/16/2010 @ 12:27 pmDon Corleone’s advice to the GOP:
Keep your friends close, but keep Charlie Rangel closer. He will be a six-foot cudgel you can use to mercilessly beat your enemies for the next two years. They will be suffering this very day…and they will fear you!
Pity the poor Donks: They’re now in a real pickle with Charlie R. Can’t get rid of him, can’t keep him. Damn shame, huh? 😉
MarkJ (42fe5b) — 11/16/2010 @ 12:55 pmAbsolutely nothing will happen to Rangel. Nothing whatsoever. Maybe he gets an official reprimand, and has to stand in the well of the House while a litany of his many sins is read against him.
Big freaking whoop.
How the GOP handle the Rangel Situation is imo a big early test of their collective heuvos.
If as I suspect, the GOP curl up in a ball in mortal blinded fear of the Black Caucus, Tavis Smiley and the Huffington Post, then it will be reasonable to suspect that the GOP have not in fact grown any kind of a spine during The Years Which The Locusts Hath Eaten.
If they come down hard on Rangle and push for removal from office, regradless of the hue and cry coming from such worthies as Eugene Robinson, Spike Lee and BET, then I will regain a measure of faith in them and have hope that the GOP may actually address some of the larger issues plauging the country.
But if the GOP dont have the balls to take on Rangel, then facing down Diaper Jesus on more weighty matters will be out of the question.
One man’s opinion.
Mike D (cfd823) — 11/16/2010 @ 1:09 pmDiscuss.
Aloha
Or, Charley could pull an Adam Clayton Powell Jr, and let himself be tossed, and be re-elected by his District (which was ACP Jr’s).
AD-RtR/OS! (ba1e7c) — 11/16/2010 @ 1:10 pmAs Gary Trudeau once said of Dick Nixon: Guilty! Guilty!! Guilty!!!
Icy Texan (65dc9d) — 11/16/2010 @ 4:21 pmMr Worthing wrote:
Well, we let Timothy Geithner, the Secretary of the Treasury, get away with that one, and almost let Tom Daschle, formerly Senate Majority Leader, do the same, and never got dibs back, so I doubt we’ll get any consideration this time, either.
The Dana who uses TurboTax! (bd7e62) — 11/16/2010 @ 5:07 pmA Republican who’d done those things wouldn’t get expelled, either, but that’s only because he’d at least have the common decency/sense of embarrassment to resign first.
The Republican Dana (bd7e62) — 11/16/2010 @ 5:23 pmDana
You said a mouthful. I have long joked that one of the essential differences between republicans and dems is the ability to feel shame.
Aaron Worthing (b8e056) — 11/16/2010 @ 5:37 pmHow about “WE THE PEOPLE” adopt a ZERO tolerance policy for these simple minded farks with duplicity on their hands!
KISS,,,, hey politico,,, you fark up , your FIRED!!!!!!!! TODAY!!!!
RRR (40cb90) — 11/16/2010 @ 9:29 pm…
End of line, no further gimmies from the citizens either!!!!!!!! EVER!!