The Fall of Charlie Rangel
If you know anything about Congressman Charlie Rangel’s legacy,
you have to ask yourself why, after more than four decades in the US House of
Representatives, and numerous allegations of wrongdoing, did Mr. Rangel’s
colleagues vis-á-vis the House Ethics Committee, wait until now to bring his
alleged wrongdoing to the fore? Granted, Mr. Rangel has consistently employed
his usual tactic of belligerence dressed up with a touch of charm and a measure
of incredulity to beguile his foes and delay the Ethics Committee hearing, the
timing of the hearing is suspicious. In my opinion, Mr. Rangel and his
benefactors thought it best to wait until after the crucial midterm elections
in order to soften anticipated voter outrage. On the one hand, had Mr. Rangel
lost his bid for reelection, the charges would be mute, on the other; however;
with a win, the Rangel Camp hoped to ride the wave of voter excitement to
achieve an indefinite adjournment, if not an outright dismissal. Unfortunately
for Mr. Rangel, the larger than expected Democrat losses in the House of
Representatives motivated the committee to proceed with the hearings with
uncharacteristic fervor and swiftness. Rangel’s delay tactics appeared to have
backfired.
Among Mr. Rangel’s numerous delay tactics, was the dismissal
(firing) of his legal team mere days before the hearing commenced, then
appealing to the Committee to grant him additional time to retain new Counsel.
Following the Committee’s denial of his last-minute bid for an adjournment to
allow him to retain new counsel, Mr. Rangel suggested that an undisclosed group
of New York attorneys would represent him pro bono. When the Ethics Committee
informed Mr. Rangel that accepting free legal services amounts to an ethics
violation, he promptly held a press conference at which he castigated the
Committee; suggesting they had it in for him. Mr. Rangel did not specify
whether Democrat or Republican Committee Members [or both] had it in for him.
And in keeping with the Obama tradition, Mr. Rangel has even raised the specter
of his race as a motivation for his ethics charges. This tired old tactic
reminds me of my favorite quote from Mark Twain: “if you are ever being run out
of town, get out in front and make it look like a parade.” The image brings a
wider than normal smile to my face. I say, strike up the band, let’s have a
bunch of parades; there are a few scoundrels in need of some motivation.
Mr. Rangel’s consistent misbehavior speaks volumes for the potency
of the singular malady suffered by the career politician‒the loss of all
concern for doing good, and a hyper greed fueled by the ever-present lure of
easy money. Keenly aware of the potential for moral corruption, the founding
fathers struggled with the concept of refreshing the body of elected
representatives with freshly elected citizens who, by virtue of their newness
would be less prone to succumbing to the entrapments of political power.
Furthermore, these freshly elected representatives would, by virtue of their
recency among the populace, tend to be more in-tuned with the actual needs of
the constituency.
Irrespective of your political or ideological position, Mr. Rangel’s
blatant disregard for the most basic of rules speaks volumes for his contempt
of the House and its processes. Worst still, his willingness to hide behind the
Race Card is shameful. I am not a gambler, but I would be willing to speculate
as to the verdict if he were to be tried before a jury of his [citizen] peers.
I am also certain that many of his fellow Democrats, who ultimately voted to
convict and censure Mr. Rangel, did so only after witnessing the carnage that
befell the Democrat party in November’s elections. Ironically, of the 12
members on the bipartisan House Ethics Committee, the only other African
American on the committee, G. K. Butterfield of North Carolina cast the only
vote to acquit Mr. Rangel. Surely, he did not buy Rangel’s racial conspiracy
dribble; you have to wonder. But considering the frequency with which Race has
been used over the past two years to explain abhorrent behavior, I have come to
expect it.
Charlie Rangel, at long last, has had to face his misdeeds. To
hear Mr. Rangel explain that “mistakes were made,” (a clever play on words intended to cash the shadow of
blame elsewhere) one can only conclude that Mr. Rangel is clueless as to the
state of his personal and professional affairs. If, by his own admission, Mr.
Rangel is so out of touch with his own financial affairs then he lacks
fiduciary competence to effectively represent the people of the 15th
Congressional District of New York.
Having faced his colleagues in the Well of the House was for Mr.
Rangel just another day in the office. His record is such that he typically
faces the aftermath of his charges with what resembles conciliation and
contrition. Similarly, Mr. Rangel’s record is such that, in very short order,
it would be business as usual. Mr. Rangel’s behavior is reminiscent of a [long
oppressed] Third World Dictator who upon his ascent to power behaves much like
the proverbial “kid in a candy store”—stuffing his pockets with as much loot as
possible. These individuals leave a legacy of carnage and debauchery; haven’t
the people of Harlem endured enough?
Now, Mr. Rangel closes the year under yet another cloud of ethics
violations; here we go again. On the heels of these new allegations, Mr. Rangel
has appeared somewhat more conciliatory in recent days. Absent his usual taunts
and jabs, one could conclude Mr. Rangel knows there is more substance to this
new set of charges. Mr. Rangel should save himself and the Democrat Party any
further humiliation by following President Obama’s earlier suggestion and step
down. He should think of the people of Harlem and allow for a younger
generation to take the reins of leadership. If he is to be believed when he
professes his love for the people of Harlem, then he would do the right thing
and step down now.
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