Posted on 09/21/2011 6:22:50 PM PDT by Libloather
Awkward: House leaders to honor Rangel nine months after censure
By Russell Berman - 09/21/11 04:43 PM ET
It may be one of the more awkward honorary ceremonies in recent memory.
On Thursday, House leaders will pay tribute to Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), less than a year after the House formally censured the former chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will speak at a ceremony to unveil Rangel’s official portrait as chairman of the storied committee, which the longtime New York Democrat led from 2007 until March 2010, when party leaders pressured him to give up the post amid a growing ethics scandal.
In December, the House voted overwhelmingly, 333-79, to censure Rangel over rules violations that stemmed from unpaid taxes on a villa he owned in the Dominican Republic, undisclosed financial assets and the improper use of his office for fundraising.
The portrait itself was the subject of controversy. Just nine months into his term as chairman, Rangel asked the Federal Election Commission for permission to use campaign funds to pay for the portrait, which his lawyer said would cost more than $64,000.
When pressed about the pricey picture, Rangel joked to reporters at the time that he would have preferred a mural.
The FEC confirmed that Rangel could bill the expense to his campaign, which records show he did in 2008, according to the Sunlight Foundation.
The ceremony on Thursday will be a particular honor for Rangel, a decorated combat veteran who was the first African American to lead the Ways and Means Committee. "As I walk around the Capitol," he said in 2007, "the only black folks I see are slaves holding the goddamn horses."
Rangel told The Hill on Wednesday that he was looking forward to the ceremony, which will be followed by a private reception.
“I don’t think I have to share how pleased I am that we’re moving forward. What happened last year is last year,” Rangel said.
In addition to Boehner, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (D), and the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), will speak at the event. The current Ways and Means chairman, Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), will moderate.
Here is audio of NY Rep. Peter King defending Charlie Rangel on John Gambling’s radio show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8uZdbYfp3U
“arf! arf! arf arf arf!”
Should have been boycotted by every Republican.
No but I will weep for my country! For we have lost!
[nine months after censure]
That’s how long it takes a lying, corrupt, slease bag liberal to be RE-BORN.
How bout a rope?
Naw, that would be considered racist.
Next month they will be posthumously honoring Stalin.
Here are my favorites on the topic:
“Whoever says to the guilty ´You are innocent,´ peoples will curse him and nations denounce him. But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.” Proverbs 24:23-25
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20
Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer
It appears that this Congress has completely outlived its usefulness.
In December, the House voted overwhelmingly, 333-79, to censure Rangel over rules violations that stemmed from unpaid taxes on a villa he owned in the Dominican Republic, undisclosed financial assets and the improper use of his office for fundraising... Just nine months into his term as chairman, Rangel asked the Federal Election Commission for permission to use campaign funds to pay for the portrait, which his lawyer said would cost more than $64,000... The FEC confirmed that Rangel could bill the expense to his campaign, which records show he did in 2008... Rangel, a decorated combat veteran who was the first African American to lead the Ways and Means Committee. "As I walk around the Capitol," he said in 2007, "the only black folks I see are slaves holding the goddamn horses."It's okay, one doesn't need to be an historian to chair Ways 'n' Means. In fact, it probably helps to NOT be.
source:
JOE GARCIA AND HIS CORRUPT, PRO-CASTRO FRIEND CHARLIE RANGEL (D-NY):
http://factreal.wordpress.com/2010/10/17/david-rivera-vs-garcias-controversies-donations-to-his-campaign-from-corrupt-rangel-fl-25/
____________________________________________________
"Rangel is an avowed admirer of the former Cuban President Fidel Castro. In April 1993, the congressman introduced legislation to repeal the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, which ended U.S. assistance to the Castro government, and to lift the American embargo against Cuba. When Castro toured Harlem in October of 1995, Rangel greeted him with a bear hug at an event in a local church, where the congressman joined in a prolonged standing ovation for the visiting dictator."
http://www.zimbio.com/Charlie+Rangel/articles/uMKCuQbf6Wd/Tax+Man+Faces+Tax+Cheat+Mirror
What a touching tribute. It's so lifelike.
Excellent!
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