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.

Gothamist.com

One Response to Rangel Will Seek 21st Term in Congress

  1. The problem with this country is BOTH the Democrats and Republicans. Anyone who seriously thinks that one side isn’t corrupt or slaves to Corporate America hasn’t done an adequate job of paying attention. To the Republicans: The GW administration will go down in History as one of the worst administrations. They eroded your constitutional rights, expanded the power of the wealthy elite, invaded countries under false pretenses, destroyed diplomatic relations with the rest of the world, and spent money like it was going out of style. To the Democrats: Obama is a dud. He promised much and has turned out to be another corporate lackey. He made deals with big pharma to ensure you could not get your medication cheaper elsewhere, he flip flopped on military tribunals, he refuses to fix health care properly through nationalization or single payer, he populates his inner circle with more Wall Street insiders, he spends money on bailouts and useless stimulus packages.

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