Sorry, Charlie. Rangel won’t be back as chair of Ways and Means
Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich) has been named “interim” chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Charlie Rangel has called his decision to step down “temporary,” indicating that he means to come back as chair. He won’t. And he shouldn’t. Democrats are not suicidal enough to invite him back.
Sorry, Charlie. You have no one to blame but yourself. It’s hard to understand how a man like Charlie Rangel could become so wrapped up in perks and privileges that he can no longer see that he doesn’t have the credibility to run a committee like Ways and Means. But Rangel has become a creature of the rarified insider circles where the normal rules apply only to little people, not to him. It’s a common enough syndrome in Washington.
What Rangel has failed to see is that he has to pay his own taxes if he expects to lead a committee that has taxes under its purview. What’s so hard about that? Everybody hates paying taxes. So if you’re going to head a committee that writes the rules for taxation, you have to pay yours.
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61 comments Add your comment
Scout
March 4th, 2010
11:54 am
He would if the Dems. could find any way to do it but sometimes even they can’t hide the idiocy and corruption.
The answer: TERM LIMITS !
Independent
March 4th, 2010
12:14 pm
Why Ms. Tucker, you speak of disgust at someone not following the “rules”; that good ole Charlie thinks rules are only for the little people. I guess those “rules” of personal property and society only apply to the “little people” since you have no problem with looting if you are the benefactor?
Peadawg
March 4th, 2010
12:19 pm
“since you have no problem with looting if you are the benefactor?”
LOL! You beat me to it.
Scout
March 4th, 2010
12:24 pm
Rangel can’t “wrangle” his way out of this one ……………….. !
ctucker
March 4th, 2010
12:28 pm
Independent, Are you saying that, after an earthquake, you wouldn’t steal food and water to save your children? Just asking
Bob
March 4th, 2010
12:28 pm
What Rangel has failed to see is that he has to pay his own taxes if he expects to lead a committee that has taxes under its purview. What’s so hard about that? Everybody hates paying taxes. So if you’re going to head a committee that writes the rules for taxation, you have to pay yours.
If the treasury secretary, Geithner, Does not have to pay taxes, why does Rangle ?
DAVID FROM LONDON
March 4th, 2010
12:28 pm
Good thing about american politics is that guys like Charlie get exposed by the system and get punished quickly. The expense imbroglio here still hasn’t led to any kind of punishment, folks who abuse public office/trust should be dealt with summarily!
Jack
March 4th, 2010
12:30 pm
Democrats were suicidal enough to elect Obama. So, you never know.
Peadawg
March 4th, 2010
12:31 pm
Cynthia, are you saying it’s not against the law to steal when there’s an earthquake? Please provide proof. Just asking
ctucker
March 4th, 2010
12:35 pm
Peadawg, How about you? You will notice that my post about looting was confined to specific circumstances and items. After an earthquake, you wouldn’t steal food and water to save your child?
Peadawg
March 4th, 2010
12:39 pm
“After an earthquake, you wouldn’t steal food and water to save your child?”
You will notice also, that I pointed out that this is real life. It is still wrong no matter the circumstances. This is not ‘Fun with Dick and Jane’. It says a lot about your character that you would steal from someone, even in a specific circumstance.
Peadawg
March 4th, 2010
12:41 pm
So again, I would like to know where it says you can steal if there’s an earthquake. Please provide proof…if that’s even possible.
Scout
March 4th, 2010
12:45 pm
Ms. Tucker:
We went all over this “food and water” stuff for the last two days while you were “out” somewhere. Please go back and read the posts.
Bottom line: If you get steal it from the store for your kids and I am bigger and stronger than you then guess what ……….. I get to steal it from you. Survival of the fittest, anarchy, animal instincts reign ………..
The answer would be to have the “mob” elect representatives and a security team. Guard the store and pass out any true emergency supplies to those who need it most and make sure they get to use it. Keep at least a rudimentary accounting so that the owner can be reimbursed at some point either by those who took it or relief agencies.
Peadawg
March 4th, 2010
12:49 pm
Did your mommy forget to teach you wrong from right, Cynthia? Certainly you the difference, don’t you?
TooTall
March 4th, 2010
12:55 pm
Cynthia are you suggesting that Rangel’s failure to pay his taxes, his open contempt fo the law and other ethical issues are in some way aligned to starving people taking food?
Scout
March 4th, 2010
12:55 pm
P.S.
And as I mentioned yesterday, during the Rodney King riots those Korean Business owners did a great job of preventing looting at their stores …………. from the point of a gun !! Bottom line ………. the looters just moved on to a weaker link ……… that’s always the way it works with cowards.
Granny Godzilla
March 4th, 2010
12:56 pm
Ms Tucker
in the event of a catostrophic disaster in Atlanta, it seems the progeny of the GOP might starve to death.
being a glass half full kinda’ reptile, we’d probably get light rail and better schools with the improved demographics.
Smitty
March 4th, 2010
12:56 pm
Rangel stepped down when the heat got too much not becasue the democrats suddenly developed a moral compass.
iRun
March 4th, 2010
12:57 pm
There is no black and white…morals or people. If you live like that you won’t survive. The only real thing you can do is the best you can with what you’ve got.
I don’t believe in God so there’s no boogie monster waiting to punish me if I break some strange inflexible rule.
Yes, I would appropriate anything I needed to ensure the survival of my loved ones…or even the guy with the crushed leg I saw laying by the side of the road, if I can.
And I don’t really care what any of you think about that.
As for Rangel, that story is like yet another cold rainy day in Atlanta.
Tammi
March 4th, 2010
12:58 pm
O Granny, without the republicans’ who would be around to acutally pay for your wish lists?
Byte Me
March 4th, 2010
1:00 pm
Do I get the democrat line here that Rangel is just doing what he needed to to get by and the right and wrong of it don’t matter…or even exist for that matter
Peadawg
March 4th, 2010
1:00 pm
Tammi, w/out Republicans, Cynthia wouldn’t have a job. 95% of her columns are bashing Republicans.
Scott
March 4th, 2010
1:04 pm
Cynthia,
Given that the government, with its grand plans of enacting this healthcare reform bill at the future expense my children, are you saying that it is okay for society to rise up and overthrow the government? Yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense….
Also, out of curiosity, I am assuming that if somebody shoots another person that is looting to protect his family, you are okay with that too, right?
Dunwoody Journal-Constitution
March 4th, 2010
1:04 pm
Hey Cynthia, have you and all 20 of your coworkers in news, sales, and distribution move to your new office yet? Who is the publisher this week?
Granny Godzilla
March 4th, 2010
1:07 pm
tammi
either your turban is tied to tight or your crystal ball is actually acrylic, telepathic skills allude you.
i’ve always been of the mindset that folks who make silly accusations like yours are very often guilty of that very sin.
Ivan
March 4th, 2010
1:08 pm
Ooh. let’s do more IFs…
Like CT, Would you steal food and water from someone after an earthquake for your child knowing the person you stole from now wouldn’t be able to nourish their child?
Hey, let’s go further!
Like CT, after said child died from starvation, would you blame it on the Republicans for causing the quake in the first place?
At The Switch
March 4th, 2010
1:10 pm
Granny G
being a glass half full kinda’ reptile, we’d probably get light rail and better schools with the improved demographics.
You are a true Chicago demwitocrat hows hizzoner doin? Youse guys and your machine.
Granny Godzilla
March 4th, 2010
1:13 pm
at the switch
i worked for dick friedman for mayor in ‘72 maybe ‘74….the gop candidate against big dick dailey ( the original hizzoner)…..didn’t get my trash picked up for 4 weeks
politics is not for the faint of heart
ctucker
March 4th, 2010
1:18 pm
Ivan, I take it you missed the original post. So don’t go there
ctucker
March 4th, 2010
1:19 pm
I work in Washington, Dunwoody JC
ctucker
March 4th, 2010
1:20 pm
I think shooting someone in actual self-defense (from bodily injury) is legal, isn’t it, Scott?
At The Switch
March 4th, 2010
1:20 pm
I remember, “Dick Friedman before he Dicks you”
Peadawg
March 4th, 2010
1:23 pm
No response to my 12:41 post, Cynthia? Thanks for making my point for me! And for showing your true colors! Have a fantastic Thursday afternoon Cindy Lou.
At The Switch
March 4th, 2010
1:23 pm
politics is not for the faint of heart or one without a sense of humor because most of it is a joke!
Joel Edge
March 4th, 2010
1:28 pm
He’ll be back. Let the dust settle. How many Dems does that make that haven’t been paying taxes?
Blutto
March 4th, 2010
1:36 pm
Cynthia wrote, “Independent, Are you saying that, after an earthquake, you wouldn’t steal food and water to save your children? Just asking.”
Cynthia, does not that food and water belong to someone else, whose children might starve because you stole? Can you not understand that disasters such as occurred in New Orleans, Haiti and Columbia are only made much worse by those who are willing to discard the rule of law “for the children” or for any other purpose that excuses their criminal behavior?
Blutto
March 4th, 2010
1:40 pm
Er, uh, CHILE (not Columbia).
cmac
March 4th, 2010
1:40 pm
Two things: First, you screwed up your headline, it should read
SORRY CHARLIE RANGEL (no commas or perids needed). Second, why can’t the crook in charge of the ways & means committee simply not pay his taxes … I mean the crook in charge of the treasury department didn’t pay his & that crook oversees the IRS!
99% of politicians are scumbags. And the longer thay stay in office, the moe crooked they become … unless you start off in Chicago, whereby the crooked part is something you bring to the table!
Blue
March 4th, 2010
1:40 pm
Peadawg; she ALWAYS picks and chooses which ones she wants to respond to. Have you EVER seen her answer one that proves her wrong…or when someone asks her to validate with proof? Oh wait…she has never been wrong. My bad. She only validates the ones that she CAN…and then just ignores the others. She is certainly not going to say “no…I just threw that out there because it sounded good”, which is a good deal of what she writes.
cmac
March 4th, 2010
1:45 pm
Who gives a flip about the crooks in Washington? I am waiting for the begging to bin to help the people of Chile. When is the opulent concert gonna take place? When is that pug face ms. obozo gonna appear on my tv & tell me to give $? I mean I know those poor people aren’t the right color, but come on!
Scout
March 4th, 2010
1:51 pm
To Ms. Tucker @ 1:20
Not if liberals had their way …………….. we wouldn’t have anything to shoot them with except maybe a Red Rider Daisy Air Rifle.
Chris
March 4th, 2010
2:25 pm
CT – I have to agree with you – taking advantage of EVERYONE (such as not paying taxes when you can) is a good way to make a bunch of enemies in a hurry. This is not poltical – it’s criminal.
Chris
March 4th, 2010
3:40 pm
Cynthia, Even though the earthquake discussion is off topic, what I think is not being made clear is: #1 The first day after the earthquake, I really don’t think your statement about stealing food to save the lives of your children is very relevant…No child is dying of thirst or starvation HOURs after the event. And two, IF it becomes necessary to steal to save the lives of your family…That DOESN’T make it OK….You can do it, but one better be ready to assume the appropriate consequences. In the liberals world, there are never consequences to be considered, just immediate gratification. Then blame someone or something else. Someone had mentioned the other day…If a family in the earthquake were starving, if it is ok to “steal” to save them…Then must be ok even by gunpoint,to take from ANYONE else I came across by force? As long as I felt they don’t deserve their food more than I do…Doesn’t matter that maybe another, actually took responsibility for their family, had stored emergency supplies.
Tammi
March 4th, 2010
3:48 pm
Your mindset hardly makes you telepathic. In fact, your mindset is likely the problem.
Independent
March 4th, 2010
3:50 pm
Just answering…no, I would not steal because there is no reason to steal. First, I am prepared for such a calamity whether it be tornado, earthquake, terrorism, civil unrest, etc. Our family calls it the bunker; food, water, fuel, add’l shelters, survival gear, batteries, communications gear, firearms, and ammo. Without even having to improvise, we have adequate provisions to survive 15 days minimum. We are a family of 4 who live in metro ATL and maintain a working emergency plan. Secondly, my son (14 yo) and I are mission qualified for SAR ground team operations and train regularly in outdoor survival skills as well as SAR ops. We’ll find food and water, not steal it or wait for it to come to us.
Kamchak
March 4th, 2010
3:52 pm
Your mindset hardly makes you telepathic. In fact, your mindset is likely the problem.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Granny Godzilla
March 4th, 2010
3:59 pm
Kamchak
she’ll have to look up doth.
Pogo
March 4th, 2010
4:12 pm
Rangel is a tax criminal and Tucker only comes out with this bit after it has become so glaringly apparent that even she can’t deny it. The rest of us have known it for over a year now. She can’t pull the race card since the Congress that is investigating him is controlled by the Democrats. If the congress would have been controlled by Republicans, she would have a totally different view of Mr. Rangel’s situation wouldn’t you, Cynthia? You would throw out the old race card in a second if Republicans had been involved wouldn’t you? Come on, tell us the truth.
Dunwoody Journal-Constitution
March 4th, 2010
4:48 pm
Must be nice. I’m unemployed.
ctucker
March 4th, 2010
5:13 pm
Pogo, Please don’t drag race into this. I know you’re itching to do so, but don’t. BTW, have some respect for the facts: I wrote a post MONTHS AGO saying Rangel needed to go.