Free Republic

When Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., lost the GOP primary to challenger Richard Mourdock this month, Beltway types saw the voters' verdict as a victory for the Tea Party and a defeat for the kind of Republican who could work across the aisle. I think Lugar, 80, lost because he was out of touch with Indiana. He started the primary registered to vote at an Indiana home he had sold in 1977. The Lugars have resided in Virginia ever since. Lugar had been working in Washington for so long that he didn't realize he needed to keep up at least the...

Democrats in House of Reps. joined J Street in supporting Obama administration's attempt to force Israel into making painful concessions Seventy-four Democrats in the House of Representatives have joined the dovish J Street organization in supporting the Obama administration's attempt to force Israel into making painful concessions to the Palestinian Authority. “In our view, support for a two-state resolution is inseparable from such support for Israel, its special relationship with the United States, and its very survival as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people,” the letter said. Seven Jewish members signed the letter, including Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), John...

A horde of Wall Street demonstrators shut down the Brooklyn Bridge for 2 1/2 hours this afternoon, halting traffic and clashing as cops arrested as many as 700 on the famed span’s roadway. About 100 cars were left stranded as the loud, angry crowd covered the crossing from end to end in an inflamed day of demonstrations against high unemployment, bank bailouts and financial pain for the masses. One irate driver, a Ground Zero construction worker, blasted the pedestrians. “I work my *ss off all day, and these g-d hippies close down the Brooklyn Bridge so I can’t get home?”...

To cleanse the palate, via Mediaite, an easy joke but a gratifying one.We’ve actually reached the point of class warfare in American politics where Rangel’s pander isn’t even the dumbest one this week. CLICK ABOVE LINK TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Would someone tell New York Democrat Charlie Rangel that describing Tea Partiers as “tea baggers” is so 2009? On Monday’s “Bulls & Bears” on the Fox Business Network, Rangel fresh off his December censure for ethics violations, said Republican leaders will face trouble from “tea baggers” in the House — though not from Democrats — in attempting to raise the $14-trillion debt ceiling. “I think if what you say is true, then the Republicans forgot who won the majority,” Rangel said. “They don’t negotiate with us as to who the heck votes for increasing the debt ceiling. They have to...

Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel continues to represent the citizens of Harlem in Congress, despite his censure by the House for ethics violations. Rangel was found guilty of violating no less than 11 ethics rules by a House committee, including not paying taxes on a residence for, oh, about 17 years. Readers are cautioned to not try this at home—lest they wind up in jail. Rangel therefore carries on the proud tradition of representing the people of Harlem established by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

WASHINGTON – Rep. Charles Rangel of New York asked 25,000 campaign donors Wednesday to call the Capitol switchboard and urge their representatives to vote against censuring him for ethical misconduct. There's only one problem. For many of them, Rangel is their congressman. Rangel, 80, a Democrat who has served his Harlem district for 40 years, faces a scheduled censure vote Thursday. He's likely to become the 23rd House member ever to receive the most serious punishment short of expulsion — and the first since 1983. He's seeking a lesser reprimand for fundraising and financial violations, including failure to pay taxes...

...In unbelievably difficult service in the Korean War, his unit was swamped, cut off, overwhelmed by hordes of Red Chinese crossing into Korea. In the worst cold weather imaginable, under fire, starving, acting Sergeant Charles Rangel, in a black unit led mostly by white officers, took a large group of men, led them by example, lifted their morale, as they fought their way out to safety. Men were being shot, freezing, getting captured all around him, yet he got most of his men out...

Leave it to Congress to create a punishment one is hard-pressed to identify. Rangel deserves much worse, as his crimes would put you or me behind bars. Charles Rangel has been found guilty of 11 of the 13 charges filed against him, with two of the charges having been rolled into one. As punishment for his crimes/violations, the chief counsel of the House ethics committee, Blake Chisam, recommended a sentence of censure for the disgraced congressman to the full House, despite Rangel’s protestations for “a drop of fairness and mercy” in a prepared statement read prior to the start of...

If you haven’t been keeping up, a Democratic institution in Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has been investigated by the House Ethics Committee. This has been an ongoing saga for several months, but finally the normally secretive Ethics committee is convening publicly over the Rangel matter. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Ala., the ranking member of the committee and likely to be the chairman of this committee when the new Congress is sworn in, offered a harsh critique of Rangel, for his use rent-controlled apartments and evasion of taxes, despite being in charge of writing tax code. ...more (w/video)...

The House ethics committee ruled on Monday that there was evidence to support 13 counts of misconduct by Representative Charles B. Rangel, and began considering whether to formally convict and recommend punishment against him. The ruling came after a dramatic and puzzling appearance by Mr. Rangel, 80, in which he protested that he could no longer afford to pay his lawyers, and indignantly walked out of the proceedings, calling them unfair. Committee members were unmoved. Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California, noted dryly that Mr. Rangel, a Harlem Democrat, was responsible for paying his lawyers and that he had been...

Rangel: 'I have no real chance of fighting back' By Jordan Fabian - 11/15/10 03:51 PM ET Embattled Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) struck a defeated tone Monday, hours after he walked out of his own ethics trial. Rangel reiterated his claim that his due process rights had been violated over his lack of legal representation at the trial that began Monday morning. "I hope that my colleagues in Congress, friends, constituents and anyone paying attention will consider my statement and how the committee has been unfair to me," he said in a prepared statement. "They can do what they will...

He told New York City television station NY1 that he was no longer able to continue paying his legal team. "I have exhausted my abilities to raise the funds which are necessary to move on (with representation)," Rangel said. "All I do is just ask for the time to be heard and I am conficent that at the end of the day my constituents' faith in me, as demonstrated by their overwhelming vote, will be well-founded." Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/15/your-guide-rangel-ethics-trial#ixzz15Mbjfeez

Congressman Charles Rangel, whose ethics trial starts tomorrow, appears to have improperly used political-action committee money to pay for his defense. Rangel tapped his National Leadership PAC for $293,000 to pay his main legal-defense team this year. He took another $100,000 from the PAC in 2009 to pay lawyer Lanny Davis. Two legal experts told The Post such spending is against House rules. "It's a breach of congressional ethics," one campaign-finance lawyer said. Washington, DC, political lawyer Cleta Mitchell said there is "no authority for a member to use leadership PAC funds as a slush fund to pay for personal...

With no lawyers expected at his side, Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) is scheduled to begin his defense Monday against allegations that he broke congressional rules in his personal finances and his fundraising efforts for a New York college. The public trial, conducted by an eight-member panel of Rangel's congressional peers, will be the first of its kind since 2002. It will be all the more remarkable for Rangel because he no longer has a defense team. After spending more than $2 million from his campaign account on lawyers and communications experts, Rangel and his team parted ways in September....

Michael Faulkner is challenging Rangel on the Republican line. A former NY Jet, he’s pastor of Harlem's New Horizons Church. Faulkner advocates: * Cutting taxes and regs — especially for small business — to spark job creation. * Encouraging alternatives to public-education, including charters and full school choice. * Redoing O/Care to improve health care rather than reworking insurance. Harlem residents tired and embarrassed by Rangel’s conduct should vote for Faulkner Nov. 2.

Wrong again, CharlieLast Updated: 4:09 AM, September 18, 2010 Last month, embattled Rep. Charles Rangel ripped into The Post for an article detailing how he'd helped an uptown nonprofit get a $2.6 million grant despite serious questions about his finances. "For The Post to try for political reasons to attack this organization," said Rangel, "once again they're picking on a giant without any facts at all." Well, the city Department of Investigation has just concluded its investigation of Alianza Dominicana, the politically wired group that has been a funding favorite of the Rangel-linked Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone. And guess what?...

Charles Rangel, with all the ethics charges against him, easily defeated his main challenger Adam Clayton Powell IV by a wide margin for 52% to 24% with over 70% precincts reporting. Let's face it folks, Rangel will be there to torment this nation for as long as he wants to. Nothing, short of being caught murdering someone live will endanger his seat.

Embattled Rep. Charles Rangel defended himself on the House floor Tuesday, daring members to expel him. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) maintained that he did not intentionally break any House rules and complained about the investigation and trial process conducted by the House ethics panel, which has brought 13 charges against him. "It may be stupid, it may be negligent, but it's not corrupt," Rangel said in a meandering speech that lasted more than 30 minutes. In professing his innocence of all charges, Rangel also invited the ethics panel and House to take its shot at expelling him. "I'm not asking...

On July 15, 2010, Democrat Charles Rangle introduced a piece of legislation into Congress that would basically reinstate the draft (compulsory military service). H.R. 5741 will give the President of the United States the power to require all American citizens between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform either military service or civilian service in the interests of "national defense and homeland security." It would also give him the power to require citizens to join the military during wartime to meet the manpower needs of the military. In February 2009, President Barack Obama asked Congress to send him a...

Four years ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to “drain the swamp” of corruption in Washington, D.C., but after failing miserably to do so it now appears she’s choosing to ignore it — while letting her colleagues sweep it under the rug. In the latest example of this trend, a House ethics panel last week recommended that Rep. Charlie Rangel be “reprimanded” for a laundry list of corruption charges. Rangel, a Democrat who has been in the House for forty years, is facing a battery of serious allegations which, if proven, should cost the career lawmaker his job — if...

  Despite predictions he would be swiftly abandoned by his colleagues, House Democrats are shrugging off Rep. Charles Rangel’s ethical scandal as they head for the exits for a six-week summer break. At least for now. Most Democrats are suggesting that they’ll let Rangel go through his upcoming ethics trial, taking a wait-and-see attitude as the ethics procedures unfold. There seem to be three key reasons Rangel is surviving the initial ambush of bad publicity without a true drive to oust him from Congress. First, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other party leaders advising Democrats to stay calm – lawmakers...

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday called ethics charges against Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel "very troubling" and said he hopes the longtime lawmaker can end his career with dignity. Several House Democrats went further, flat-out urging the New York congressman to resign."He's somebody who's at the end of his career," Obama said in an interview that aired Friday on "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric." "I'm sure that what he wants is to be able to end his career with dignity. And my hope is that it happens."Obama, speaking on the issue for the first time, praised the 20-term...

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has chosen to go through an ethics trial, like the one lined up for New York Rep. Charles Rangel, rather than accepting charges made by an ethics subcommittee, a source familiar with the process tells POLITICO. The back-to-back trials of a pair of black lawmakers represent an unprecedented use of an ethics adjudication system that has rarely been used by House members accused of breaking House rules. Waters' case revolves around allegations that she improperly intervened with federal regulators to help a bank that her husband owned stock in and on whose board he once served.

President Barack Obama has kept mum on the fate of Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) for days -- but he tells CBS News that it's time for the embattled 80-year-old former Ways and Means Chairman to end his career "with dignity." "I think Charlie Rangel served a very long time and served-- his constituents very well. But these-- allegations are very troubling," Obama told Harry Smith in an interview to be aired on the "Early Show." and first broadcast on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. "And he'll-- he's somebody who's at the end of his career. Eighty years old....

Rep. Charlie Rangel argues a House ethics panel violated his Constitutional due process rights in a 32-page submission to the committee. Rangel said the investigative subcommittee that brought charges against him did not give him enough time to provide a defense, violating the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause. The veteran lawmaker said he was prevented from answering the committee’s charges in a point-by-point repudiation of the allegations brought against him.

 “For forty years, Congressman Rangel has faithfully served the people of New York’s Fifteenth District,” Rangel said in the statement. “He has at all times acted in his constituents’ best...

One of the most senior members of Congress, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., may have to face his colleagues today as a public hearing is scheduled to present ethics charges against him. While the ethics violations have not yet been made public, ABC News has learned some details. Among them, the 20-term congressman allegedly accepting four rent-controlled apartments from a New York City developer and engaging in improper fundraising activities, including saving a $500 million tax loophole for a donor. Rangel has refused to admit any wrongdoing, even saying yesterday that he looks forward to finding out what "the allegations are...

This new item from WorldNetDaily hearkens me to the days immediately after the Obamanational election. And by the way, isn't Charles Rangel in the news about something else -- or should we say, having done something else? Is sponsoring this obviously Marxofascist bill a part of his punishment? He is "negotiating" with the Democrat-corrupt House Ethics Committee, after all, regarding his punishment, is he not? Excerpt, with the suggestion to read the entire WND article: LIFE WITH BIG BROTHERDemocrat: Let's have mandatory national service Measure orders U.S. citizens to perform duties under Obama for 2 years Posted: July 27, 2010...

A bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., would reinstate a compulsory military draft during war time and require U.S. citizens not selected for military duty to perform a "national service obligation" – as defined by President Obama – for a minimum of two years. Rangel introduced the Universal National Service Act, or H.R. 5741 on July 15. The measure was referred to the House Armed Services' Subcommittee on Military Personnel on July 23. Rangel introduced similar bills in 2003, 2006 and 2007. His current bill does not have a co-sponsor. Rangel took to the...

Charles Rangel is not only known for his various ethics violations, but also for his desire to bring back the military draft. For that purpose, Rangel has introduced H.R. 5741, Universal National Service Act.

CONGRESSMAN RANGEL: What are you talking about? You're just trying to make copy? What job? The one I got? RUSSERT: Yeah. I mean, these are really serious violations. CONGRESSMAN RANGEL: I mean, how do you think I got my job? I was elected. How do you think I lose it? RUSSERT: Well, there's two ways. You could lose it if your colleagues voted you out of here because of ethics violations or if your constituents do not find you upstanding. CONGRESSMAN RANGEL: What station are you with? Well, you're young; I guess you do need to make a name for...

EXCLUSIVE: House Democrat calls on Rep. Charles Rangel to resign By Shane D'Aprile In a major development, Rep. Betty Sutton (Ohio) on Friday night called on beleaguered Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to resign.

After an 18-month investigation, Representative Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) faces a House trial in which eight members (four Democrats and four Republicans) will rule on the findings. The alleged violations are reported to include some most serious ever leveled against a sitting member of Congress. From misuse of rent-controlled apartments in New York City and failure to disclose income from a villa in the Dominican Republic to reports that he exchanged official favors - a tax loophole for oil driller Nabors Industries Ltd. - in exchange for a $1 million gift to the Charles Rangel Center at City College...

After an 18-month investigation, Representative Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.)  faces a House trial in which eight members (four Democrats and four Republicans) will rule on the findings. The alleged violations are reported to include some most serious ever leveled against a sitting member of Congress. From misuse of rent-controlled apartments in New York City and failure to disclose income from a villa in the Dominican Republic to reports that he exchanged official favors - a tax loophole for oil driller Nabors Industries Ltd. - in exchange for a $1 million gift to the Charles Rangel Center at City College...

The ethics committee gavel is finally sounding with some authority for Representative Charles Rangel, the New York Democrat who has been under investigation for multiple allegations of misusing his office. After a closed investigation of nearly two years, a bipartisan subcommittee has properly concluded that there are grounds for charging the congressman with as yet unspecified violations. The decision triggers a rarely seen process leading to an expected trial of Mr. Rangel before a special eight-member panel of House members. The precise charges are to be disclosed on Thursday, but Mr. Rangel is firmly maintaining his innocence of any ethics...

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 15, 2010 Mr. RANGEL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services. A BILL To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, and for other purposes.

Rep. Charles Rangel compared President Obama to former Vice President Dick Cheney Saturday for their shared commitment to the Iraq War, one the Harlem Democrat argues is based on the country's hunger for oil. "I challenge anyone to tell me we aren't there because of the oil," said Rangel. "The lack of an honest explanation [for the war] is consistent with Bush and Cheney," he told the Daily News during an hour-long interview. Despite his differences with Obama on the war, he praised the President's handling of the broken economy, the BP oil spill and described him as politically savvy....

SNIPPET: "The leadership of the Tea Party Express PAC came to the National Press Club on Thursday to herald its early successes and to unveil its expanded list of 2010 electoral targets." SNIPPET: "In an effort to show that the Tea Party Express PAC is not a “tool” of the Republican Party, but instead is an independent political force, Russo announced that the PAC is getting behind one conservative Democrat who has opposed President Obama’s agenda: Rep. Walt Minnick (ID-01). The decision to get behind Minnick is attention-grabbing because Republicans have fielded a strong candidate in that race: Iraq war...

“I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.” -- William F. Buckley At this point, I would go Buckley one better: I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 254 people we could pull out of a minimum security prison rather than the Democrats who are currently in Congress. In all fairness to the Democrats we have in charge now, that change probably wouldn't make Congress any less corrupt (not much more corrupt either), but at least...

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY): "The group that were in Washington fighting against the health bill and fighting against the President, looked just like and sounded just like those groups that attacked the civil rights movement in the South."

Newly appointed House Ways and Means Chairman Sander Levin (D-Mich.) repaid a Maryland property-tax credit Friday that he should not have received, his office confirmed.

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 03/03/2010 Pelosi Statement on Chairman Charles Rangel Washington, D.C - Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement this morning on Chairman Charles B. Rangel: "Chairman Charlie Rangel has informed me of his request for a leave of absence from his duties and responsibilities as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. I will honor his request. "I commend Chairman Rangel for his decades of leadership on jobs, health care, and the most significant economic issues of the day."

Labor leader Linda Chavez-Thompson won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor on Tuesday, capturing 53 percent of the primary vote against two opponents. She now faces incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the fall in a race that will be an uphill battle for the Democrat. Chavez-Thompson used her support from labor and Hispanic groups to establish a strong position in the race and also outspent her opponents - including former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle - by a substantial margin. Chavez-Thompson, 65, of San Antonio, is a former executive vice president of the AFL-CIO and a vice...

Three Democratic leadership aides told Reuters they were unable to confirm or comment on the NBC report. A fourth indicated that no immediate announcements were planned. NBC quoted a Democratic House member as saying the party did not have the votes to save Rangel, who has faces calls from Republicans and some Democrats to step down as chairman. Representative Sander Levin of Michigan or Representative Pete Stark of California may temporarily take over as chairman, NBC said, citing congressional leadership sources. NBC quoted unidentified sources as saying Rangel has been encouraged to step aside before the House votes on a...

Washington, DCJudicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released its 2009 list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians.”  The list, in alphabetical order, includes: 1. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT):  This marks two years in a row for Senator Dodd, who made the 2008 “Ten Most Corrupt” list for his corrupt relationship with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for accepting preferential treatment and loan terms from Countrywide Financial, a scandal which still dogs him.  In 2009, the scandals kept coming for the Connecticut Democrat.  In 2009, Judicial Watch filed a Senate ethics complaint against...

Your humble correspondent has just returned from the Caribbean paradise of Culebra. Politics were far from my mind as I snorkled the Culebran reefs. However, on my way home, I picked up a copy of the Puerto Rico Daily Sun in the western outskirts of San Juan and a certain story by Robert Friedman of their Washington, D.C. bureau caught my eye because it had the word "rum" in the title: "Debate heats up in D.C. over rum rebate." As a lover of that delightful beverage, I naturally scanned the story which, much to my amusement, illustrated the state of...

Congressional Democrats are set to announce Tuesday legislation aimed at squeezing more information from foreign banks and U.S. citizens with offshore accounts to ferret out tax evaders. The bill from Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.), includes some of President Barack Obama's proposals to fight offshore tax cheating. According to a summary of the bill obtained by Dow Jones Newswires, it is expected to raise $8.5 billion for the U.S. government over 10 years. Foreign banks with U.S. customers would face a 30% withholding tax on income from...

This from the online edition of Fox's Special Report, Krauthammer hits Charles Rangel on not paying his taxes, then Juan Williams brings up Rangel's African American race or something? What is Juan talking about?

WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Wednesday blocked a Republican effort to force Representative Charles B. Rangel from the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee and instead referred the demand to the ethics panel already investigating him. As expected, the House voted 246 to 153 to essentially table the call for the ouster of Mr. Rangel, Democrat of New York. Representative John Carter, Republican of Texas, had sought Mr. Rangel’s removal in a resolution that said national attention to financial lapses by the chairman of the tax-writing committee has “held the House up to public ridicule.” Under rules governing consideration...

"Many members" of Congress suffer from the same disclosure issues as Rep. Charles Rangel (D.N.Y.), one of his allies said Wednesday. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) downplayed the seriousness of allegations against Rangel that he failed to disclose sources of income and pay taxes on some properties, saying that many lawmakers suffer from innocent lapses in judgment when filing mandatory financial disclosure forms. "I want to tell you, there are many members who, if you go back over all of their records, over all of the years, you're going to find that there were disclosures that were not made," Waters said...