Congressional Black Caucus Coddles Disgraced Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Says not to Rush to Judgement

Congressional Black Caucus coddles disgraced Rep. Charlie Rangel after ethics violations charges, comparing to Andrew Breitbart hatchet job against former black USDA director Shirley Sherrod.

How fair is it that the Congressional Black Caucus is coddling disgraced Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) after has was found guilty of a litany of ethics violations. The leader of the Caucus, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) warned fellow Democrats on Monday against rushing to judgement and pressuring Rangel to admit ethical misdeeds. She further stated that members of both parties should not presume Rangel's guilt, but her message was aimed at Democrats who may want Rangel to admit to the allegations against him to avoid an election-season ethics trial. What that means is that the Democrats will wimp-out as usual and not stand on principles, but will allow someone who has violated his office so many times to keep his job. Well, I hope the people of Harlem, NY will send Charlie Rangel a message loud and clear that they have had enough of his dishonesty and his gaming the system to line his pockets.

As for the 42-member Congressional Black Caucus, they don't play fair and have given the impression on more than one occasion of being on the wrong side of reason for the sake of race. They will hold the Democrats hostage by threatening to block legislative initiatives if action is taken against Charlie Rangel. So much for a democracy and looking out for We, the People. From the onset, the CBC has sought to use the Shirley Sherrod controversy to their advantage in a disgraceful way. On Friday, CBC member, Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) compared a so-called rush to judgment on Rangel with the Democrats' embarrassment over the forced resignation of USDA director Shirley Sherrod after conservative sleaze-bag Andrew Breitbart fed an edited video twisting Sherrod's words to the media. Er, it is hardly comparable. In light of the fact that Shirley Sherrod could never have faced a similar fate as Charlie Rangel.

You will recall that a House investigation panel last week announced that it was charging Charlie Rangel with unspecified violations of standards of conduct. The charges will be publicly read Thursday at the first proceeding of a separate panel of four Democrats and four Republicans. The panel of eight will judge whether the allegations can be proved by clear and convincing evidence.

Charlie Rangel has represented Harlem for about 40 years and it is time for someone else to take his place. It is time we realized that having an elected official serve in office for so long is counterproductive and a great disservice to their constituents. This isn't the first time Charlie Rangel's name has surfaced in the midst of a scandal of sorts in New York. He was accused of owning four rent stabilized apartments, though he had the financial means to own four apartments free from stabilization. He claimed during a press conference that it was none of New York City's business where he lived. Well, it is New York City's business whether or not he will be reelected for another term. It is New York City's business whether he is representing them to the best of his ability.

To that end, Charlie Rangel will be challenged for the 15th-District seat and rightly so. Among his challengers is State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, whose father held the seat before Rangel defeated him on 1970. Though Powell, who tried to unseat Rangel in 1994, has had his own share of problems. He was recently found guilty of driving while impaired. Still that incident isn't enough to dash Powell's chances of challenging Rangel in the elections. It is time for the people of Harlem to say enough is enough, whether the Congressional Black Caucus agrees or not.

Correction: We incorrectly named Barbara Boxer as the head of the Congressional Black Caucus instead of Barbara Lee.