July 24, 2008

Embattled Congressman Calls for Investigation Into His Actions on Behalf of CCNY

Washington — Rep. Charles Rangel, the powerful New York congressman who used Congressional stationery to solicit donations to an academic center bearing his name, is asking his colleagues to investigate his actions, Congress Daily reports.

Mr. Rangel, a Democrat who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has been under fire since The Washington Post reported last week that the congressman had used official letterhead to seek donations to the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of the City University of New York.

Mr. Rangel has insisted he did nothing wrong and held a news conference last week to defend himself. On Wednesday he followed up with a letter to the House Ethics Committee.

“I’m asking for an inquiry as to whether my conduct violated any of the rules of ethics, not just for myself but those new members, that may be blurred,” the letter reads in part, according to Congress Daily. House rules require the ethics panel to conduct the requested investigation. —Kelly Field

Comments

1. tee-hee-hee-hee. LOL.

   — James    Jul 24, 02:24 PM    #

2. “I’m hoping that by doing this they will assume that I’m innocent, but if they do try to say that I did something wrong, I just say the magic word—Racism! and it all goes away…

   — Shinobi    Jul 24, 03:32 PM    #

3. Rep. Charles Rangel is doing such things for a long time with immunity. Since he is an African American he can do anything he wants. He is misusing his posititon and race.

   — kvc    Jul 24, 03:46 PM    #

4. Well, if I ever wanted proof that racism IS alive and well here, I certainly have it from the Comments #1-3. Holy cow!

   — barbara    Jul 24, 04:24 PM    #

5. Rangel is not the only congressman/woman who wants his name on the taxpayer funded projects. I have seen so many highways, libraries, buildings, business centers named after the politician who are still in office. Why, because they use their influence to get the funding.

   — Sam    Jul 24, 04:48 PM    #

6. I find comments 1-3 disturbing and offensive!!!

   — ELdon B.    Jul 24, 04:59 PM    #

7. Hey, everyone, please remember we are talking about a POLITICIAN, for heaven’s sake. I would venture that 99.9% of all politicians have only one objective – self advancement and know only one color – GREEN!!

   — Pat Moran, Director Disability Services, Blinn College, Texas    Jul 24, 05:10 PM    #

8. Let’s see, how long ago did the Republican controlled Congress decide that Washington National Airport did not have sufficient presidential stature so they added another name to it? Do political leaders look to name things for themselves and each other?

   Now, let’s find out what the Rangel Center for Public Service is about. The website for the Center states: “The Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York hopes to serve as one of the nation’s leading authorities on preparing members of under-served communities for careers in government and the non-profit sector. The Center offers a number of innovative programs, and plans others for the future.” That sounds like a place that teaches students (who are also citizens) how to better become engaged in our democracy; I think that is a good use of my tax dollars and worthy of solicitations of support. I think this ethics complaint is much ado about nothing.

   And I agree with those who condemn posts #1-3. Last time I checked, both presidents for whom the national airport in our capital is named are white males and it was a predominately white male Congress that made the decision. Hmmm….following the reasoning of Posts #1-3, seems like white males can do what they want in this country since they are white males. Well, that sounds just as stupid as what posts #1-3 wrote, so I think that reasoning is just as false.

   — What's the surprise    Jul 24, 05:46 PM    #

9. OK, I find comments 4, 6 and 8 offensive. I can guess that they didn’t bother to read the Washington Post article linked in the story. If so, they would have learned that Rangel is soliciting donations from corporations who have business pending in front of his committee. Does that smack of extortion to anyone?

   Not only is Rangel caught up in this brouhaha, we found out a couple of weeks ago that he has a sweetheart deal on three units in a rent-controlled apartment, one of which he is using as a campaign office in violation of campaign laws. No doubt commentators 4, 6 and 8 would tell us that it is all fine and dandy, since some white guy somewhere might of gotten away with something similar, or at least, you know, maybe they did something that wasn’t cool.

   But hey, it’s much easier to shout “racism!” than it is to debate the issue on its merits, isn’t it?

   — J. Ward    Jul 24, 11:53 PM    #

10. And in a bid for bipartisanship, former NY Senator D’Amato will be leaving his lucrative consulting gig to run the nonprofit Rangel Center.

    — NY-er    Jul 25, 10:54 AM    #

11. J. Ward – I accept your criticism per not reading the Washington Post article as I did not do so, and therefore was unaware of its content. I only linked to the site describing the Center. So, on that score I stand corrected.

    However, if you find my post offensive, then I expect you find the posts to which I objected offensive as well. Perhaps my communication was not as clear as I thought – my agreement with those who condemn the earlier posts is, in your words, based on concern that, “… it’s much easier to shout ‘racism’ than it is to debate the issue on its merits…” Those posts simply “shouted racism” and were not related to the information presented in the Post story or any other relevant information presented in the brief report.

    Would you agree that what’s “good for the goose is good for the gander”?

    As for the fact that politicians easily, readily and frequently name things for themselves and each other, again, I ask, What’s the surprise? As long as they are not stealing money directly or indirectly, I don’t worry about it too much. Is it extortion? Well, that is a tougher question. To determine that I would try to understand to what degree there is personal gain (i.e., stealing in whatever guise it takes is stealing.) So, for me, the jury is still out on this and I will reserve judgment on Rangel until the ethics investigation is complete (in part, because I do not place full faith and credit in news reports since they are not always accurate even from flagship papers like the Post or even the NY Times.)

    — What's the surprise    Jul 25, 12:30 PM    #

12. What’s the surprise, actually my line about being offended was only included to mock comment 6, who didn’t bother to make any sort of intellectual argument and instead only expressed silly outrage. Same with the lady in comment 4, who just cried racism rather than addressing the issue at hand. In retrospect, I should probably not have lumped you in with that group, though I do disagree with your characterization of events.

    The fact remains (at least according to the Washington Post — I don’t always place faith in the media to get things 100% right either) that Congressman Rangel has solicited donations on Congressional letterhead from parties who are directly affected by legislation originating from his committee. As far as the idea that we need to show “personal gain” by Rangel in order for this to rise to the level of scandal, I would ask you if you think Rangel benefits if the institute named for him is successful. Clearly he does and this is why his actions are scandalous.

    And again, his whole history with his sweetheart rents leads me to believe that his man is crooked through and through. What was that Nancy Pelosi was saying about “the most ethical Congress in history”?

    — J. Ward    Jul 25, 05:01 PM    #

13. I’ll make an addendum to my comment # 12. A new story in the Washington Post says that Rangel did not solicit the donations on Congressional letterhead, he merely used Congressional letterhead to request meetings with potential donors. This is still going to be investigated by the Ethics Committee as a possible violation of rules, and I stand by my characterization of his actions as extortion. Apparently they are also going to look into his sweetheart deal on the rent-controlled apartments too.

    — J. Ward    Jul 25, 06:31 PM    #

14. J. Ward – OK, it appears we both misread a portion of each other’s posts.

    However, we will have to agree to disagree with respect to characterizing Rangel before the Ethics Committee completes its investigation. If his actions violate ethics or the law, and that is ascertained through a fair process, I will then change my mind. If they do not show a violation, I hope you will be willing to change your mind.

    — What's the surprise    Jul 25, 08:51 PM    #

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