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From lifesaver to anchor: Charlie Rangel and the Pa. Dems

A month ago, I helped to lead a group discussion at our Republican Party of Pennsylvania winter meeting about best practices when dealing with crisis situations that may arise during campaign season. One example dealt with when and how to disassociate yourself from someone who is involved with a crime or ethical quandary. In a society that has come to rely on 24-hour breaking news and is constantly devouring information, it is critical that, as a candidate, you react to these situations as quickly as you possibly can.

That is not to say you should act rashly, but you need to address situations before they spiral out of your control. After watching how members of Pennsylvania’s Democratic congressional delegation have reacted to Congressman Charlie Rangel’s ethical issues, I can see they would benefit from the same type of training.

Most Pennsylvanians will agree that it’s very troubling to know that Pennsylvania’s Democratic members are refusing to disassociate themselves from the ethically-challenged Rangel, who recently resigned his chairmanship of the House Ways & Means Committee. The longer they hold onto Rangel’s “dirty money,” the longer they publicly condone his corrupt behavior and the longer they will be made to answer for his actions.

For those not aware of Rangel’s abuses of power, I would like to quickly run down some of his biggest offenses. Rangel has been involved in taking a sweetheart deal from a donor for his palatial suite and office in New York, solicited donations for a school to be opened in his name on congressional letterhead, attended a corporate-funded junket to St. Martin and cheated on his taxes on numerous occasions, including when he failed to report rental income on his vacation home in the Dominican Republic. Yes, Rangel is a tax cheat who also led the House’s tax-writing committee. Make no mistake about it, if Charlie Rangel were a regular U.S. citizen, like you or I, he would be behind bars by now.

Sadly, after knowing all of this, only Patrick Murphy followed our lead and called on Charlie Rangel to resign from his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee.  Before we applaud Murphy, it is important to know that he conveniently made the announcement at the same time that Rangel was announcing his “temporary” leave from that powerful chairmanship.  Additionally, Murphy has remained mum on whether or not he will return the $19,000 he has received in campaign donations from Rangel and his political action committees.

The Democratic congressional delegation’s failure to do the right thing will haunt them throughout the campaign cycle.

March 5, 2010 at 2:06 pm

--Michael Barley

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