Rangel Will Seek 21st Term in Congress

Long-time Harlem Democrat Rep. Charles Rangel said yesterday that he’ll seek reelection, amid calls to resign. Rangel joined the House in 1970, and if he wins, he’ll serve out his 21st term, reports the Daily News. But despite his long record, peers have indicated they want him to step down, at least from his post on the House Ways and Means Committee, since an ethics panel found that he took a trip to the Caribbean paid for by corporate sponsors like AT&T. "Washington must be held to the highest ethical standards. Regrettably, with the finding of ethics violations, Charlie Rangel should step down from his leadership position,” said one Democrat, Rep. Paul Hodes from North Carolina.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been one of Rangel’s few supporters since he lost the backing of President Obama. A Times editorial yesterday called for Rangel to be “stripped of his gavel,” saying his arrogance was “one more reason why Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who championed ethics reform — should stop protecting him and relieve him of his crucial role as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.” But Pelosi advocated a wait-and-see approach, since the Democrat is still under investigation for rent-subsidized apartments he accepted from a Manhattan developer, unpaid taxes on a villa in the Dominican Republic and $1 million campaign donation he received from a company that might have been seeking his good graces in Congress.

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By Sabrina Jaszi in News on February 28, 2010 9:55 AM

Comments [rss]

Petey

These idiots uptown will re-elect this corrupt politician.

S.K.

That's because uptown voters only vote Democrat. If Jack the Ripper ran as a Democrat, they'd still elect him.

skinnyernie

I would rather be Munsoned than Rangled.

verbal

the only thing transparent about this congress are their lies; should run this crooked piece of shit out on a rail with Pelosi sitting on his back.

Sommelier

Compared with the average republican congressman, Charlie Rangel is a saint!

bitchincamaro

This guy is as slippery as a greased pig at a state fair in July. Fucking oinker.

Greenpoint60

Adam Clayton Powell - Rangel knows that saga.

Torgo

This guy's a lifer, he's not going anywhere. Why go private when you can hold office *and* rake in millions. The sad part is that he will continue to be reelected despite the charges and allegations. His constituents are the fools.

jchez

They don't see him as an elected official. They see him as aristocracy. Same way as in Massachusetts they see the Kennedys. They'll die first before they are removed.

Truly the opposite of the intention of American Democracy.

Stephenson Billings

He's arrogant and a FOOL. He should just retire and become a fantastic lobbyist raking in the millions he needs to pay for this deluxe lifestyle he so honestly craves. Rangel is doing no one any good as a target of investigations and ethics complaints and really he's hurting himself since even Obama doesn't want him around.

hunter.blatherer

I think you meant to write, "He should just retire and become a fatalistic lobbyist raking in the millions he needs to pay for this deluxe lifestyle he so cravenly hones."

Bottomless Chips

Get this idiot out of Congress.

nivek

Not going to happen, unless another more-upstanding black man challenges him.

justthinkin

Isn't Paterson available?

Guest

why, b/c of black supporters? then i should tell them that he took their money--and lots of it.

Guest

how about...

politicians*: professional con-artists at the highest level.

and really really good con-artists are completely color blind.

*there're a few good ones, but it's really like 1 out of a thousand.