Saving Charlie Rangel
by Holden Watch
Chairman of House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Charlie Rangel, continues to
chair that committee because Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Tim Holden
and the rest of their Democratic colleagues don't have the guts or the will
to remove him.
The committee that writes tax policy in the House is chaired by a tax
evading, ethically-challenged member who admittedly failed to report $75,000
in rental income on a property in the Dominican Republic, sponsored a tax
loophole for an oil company whose CEO pledged $1 million to a City College
of New York school in Rangel's name, used congressional letterhead to
solicit support for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at CCNY
which also received a Rangel $1.9 million earmark, used rent-controlled
apartments in New York City while evading the residency requirements, and
failed to disclose $800,000 in assets and $1.3M in income.
Tim Holden, Nancy Pelosi and Democrats in the House have circled the wagons
and hope it blows over.
Republicans have now forced three votes on Rangel, and each time he's been
spared from removal as Ways and Means chairman. Most recently Rep. John
Carter (R-TX) brought a motion to oust Rangel from his chairmanship. The
Democrats organized a procedural maneuver to table it on a 243-156 vote,
with Tim Holden's vote to table, or kill it. (Roll Call 758) In fact Holden
voted to kill all three of the measures to remove Charlie Rangel.
Keep in mind that it is this is the sort of procedural vote Holden tells us
doesn't count when calculating his votes-with-Pelosi percentage of over 96%.
Frankly, we're delighted Democrats didn't throw Rangel out and that Tim
Holden voted as he did.
Holden's last vote on Rangel was one more vote likely to appear in 2010
campaign ads and one more headache for Tim Holden. He now has to explain his
votes sparing Rangel to voters in the district.
We remember the House Post Office Scandal of the early 90's, and the Dan
Rostenkowski scandals in 1994 during the run up to the Republican takeover
of the House that year. A common theme in tsunami elections like 1994 and
2006 has been corruption.
There are few members in congressional history as corrupt as Democratic
members Charlie Rangel and Jack Murtha, both of whom Holden has voted to
protect.
Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.