Rangel Is A Problem For Democrats

When they took power in Washington in the last election, President Obama and Congressional Democrats said they wanted to put an end to the culture of corruption in Washington -- something that seemed to be endless in the Bush administration. But controlling corruption in Washington means seeking out corruption in both parties and dealing with it. So far, the Democrats have not shown they will be able to do that.

The House Ethics Committe has now admonished Rep. Charles Rangel (D-New York) for taking trips to the Caribbean paid for by corporate funds (to Antigua in 2007 and to St. Maarten in 2008). That may not seem serious to some, but how are ordinary people supposed to trust Rangel after knowing he's accepted these expensive corporate gifts?

Rangel (pictured) said the ethics panel decision was "ill-considered, unprecedented, unfair. . . and wrong on the facts and the law." He claims he did not know the trips were corporate sponsored. That rings pretty hollow though. Who the hell did he think was paying for the trips? He knew he wasn't paying. In addition, his aides say they told him at least three times the trips violated House rules because they were corporate sponsored.

He knew accepting the trips was the same as accepting money or other gifts from corporate interests -- he just didn't care. He's just another corrupt politician who thought he was powerful enough to get away with breaking the rules, and he might be right about that.

Since learning of the ethics committee decision, Rangel has refused to step down from his powerful chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee. And Democrats don't seem ready to remove him from that chairmanship. When asked if he should be removed, Speaker Pelosi just said, "We'll just see what happens next (to other allegations against Rangel)."

And accepting these corporate-paid trips to the Caribbean is not the only allegation lodged against Rangel. He has also been accused of:

- Failing to disclose rental income on his house in the Dominican Republic.

- Using his government office to raise money for a college center in his name.

- Belated disclosure of hundreds of thousands of dollars in previously unreported wealth.

This is a corrupt politician who has played fast and loose with the ethical rules of the House of Representatives. If he had even a tinge of honesty and/or shame, he would not only resign his chairmanship but his House seat as well. But I don't expect that will happen, since his powerful position seems to not only feed his ego but also his pocketbook.

That means it's up to his Democratic brethern to decide if they were serious about cleaning up the "culture of corruption". They screamed long and loud for action to be taken when Republicans were found to be corrupt. Will they do the same when the corrupt one is a Democrat?

America is waiting for the answer to that question.