Charlie Rangel in the hot seat:
A House investigative committee on Thursday charged New York Rep. Charles Rangel with multiple ethics violations, a blow to the former Ways and Means chairman and an election-year headache for Democrats.
The committee did not immediately specify the charges against the Democrat, but sources who could not discuss the allegations publicly said they include Rangel’s misuse of official stationery, his use of rent-subsidized New York apartments and failure to publicly disclose financial information as required…
Which is all pretty much par for the course for anyone who read Caucus of Corruption. The big question – by what means will the House Democrat leadership try to white wash all this? Its clear there is a lot in the case – had to be, or Democrats would have been able to kill it. But they certainly don’t want a lot of bad revelations coming out between now and November. So what will they do?
Probably the happiest outcome for the Democrats is a Rangel announcement that he’s going to retire. There is still time for that – the New York primary isn’t until September 14th and I’m sure the Democrats can bend whatever rules are necessary to get a replacement candidate. This move might be just that – a way to pressure Rangel; to let him know that the party is over and the Democrats need him to fall on his sword.
No matter how this particular case turns out, it is just the very tip of the iceberg. Corruption is endemic in the Democrat party and only a complete investigation from top to bottom will give us a chance to clear the rot out.
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