In The Blogs

It Would Probably Be Cheaper Just to Take Cabs, Charlie Rangel

| Tue Dec. 30, 2008 11:10 AM PST

What's more bizarre, the fact that the ethically challenged Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) paid for parking tickets using campaign donations as Dan notes below, or the fact that he somehow earned himself $1,540 in said tickets in just two years?

Couple other points on top of Dan's: (1) This sort of entitlement, bred over years of being in power, makes a solid argument for term limits. (2) Rangel is the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. If he is this irresponsible with his own money, how does he expect to have any credibility when spending taxpayers' money? (3) What on earth will it take for Charlie Rangel to finally get the boot? Does he have to murder a guy and then pay for the cover-up using campaign contributions from nuns?

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Comments

Submitted by Shakira Abdul-Ali (not verified) on Wed Dec. 31, 2008 6:40 AM PST.

Wait - do you mean that NO OTHER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE or SENATOR has EVER used campaign funds to pay for cabs - or for that matter, parking or traffic tickets earned in pursuit of duties of their elected office? You're kidding, right? Chances are, most other elected officials have a "special relationship" with their local police officers such that they DON'T GET CITED for vehicular violations. Heck, Ted Kennedy - who I like a lot - dodged a serious bullet on that count, if you'll forgive the metaphor. Moreover, have YOU ever tried to find parking along 125th Street in Harlem?? Good luck! My guess is most NYC cops would JUST LOVE to hang Rangel, who is automatically guilty in their minds (the DWB thing). And one more thing, Rangel may or may not be doing ALL THAT ANY elected official can do for the good citizens of Harlem, USA, but THEY seem to think so. And by God, they keep sending him back. So ... what - HOW DARE they? And one more thing - it is ALL TOO EASY to rack up $1500 in parking tickets in NYC. That could easily represent as few as 10 tickets. Ten tickets over 30 years could be 'forgiven,' unless you haven't a strain of charity in your being.

As long as the likes of Tom DeLay can get elected anywhere in the Country, I think folks should keep their mouths shut about Rangel.

Submitted by Bill Pinsky (not verified) on Wed Dec. 31, 2008 8:44 AM PST.

How does exactly does this seeming misuse of campaign funds by long term Representative Charlie Rangel point to the need for term limits as you have suggested? Is there some correlation between time spent in elected office and alleged corruption? Hardly. The best current example of a corrupt politician, Rod Blagojevic, is a first term elected official. Apparently, time is not a factor when it comes to political corruption. Beyond the specious argument regarding political corruption and term limits, you have ignored the fact that he is an immensely popular official. His constituents view him as their best supporter and someone who has done the most for their community. Forcing him from office under term limits would more than likely hurt those in his district rather than help. It would also hurt his district and NYers in general as the city has a powerful ally in Representative Rangel whose lengthy service has permitted him to ascend to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee Chair. One needs to be careful when trying to dismantle years of hardfought political success, especially when it is accomplished on behalf of those who clearly are underrepresented, as his African American Harlem constituents clearly have been. This kind of well-meaning social engineering often hurts those whom it is intended to help, and to rethink the costs and benefits of some of these recent innovations such as term limits.

Submitted by George Anonymuncule Seldes (not verified) on Wed Dec. 31, 2008 7:43 PM PST.

I agree with the poster above -- it's absurd to link an individual elected's arrogance with term limits, which just creates whole flocks of absolutely unaccountable turds who spend their last term selling their votes for their next gig.

Look at how term limits have destroyed the Michigan Legislature for an example -- we recently had a 34-year old second-term guy who was absolutely brain dead, and he was Speaker of the House.