Censure: How the Other Half Punishes
Charles Rangel has been found guilty of 11 of the 13 charges filed against him, with two of the charges having been rolled into one. As punishment for his crimes/violations, the chief counsel of the House ethics committee, Blake Chisam, recommended a sentence of censure for the disgraced congressman to the full House, despite Rangel’s protestations for “a drop of fairness and mercy” in a prepared statement read prior to the start of the hearing.
Not only does the punishment not fit the crime, it is in fact no punishment at all.
According to AOL News:
Censure is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution — it falls under Congress’ right to adopt resolutions. … Censure is stronger than a rebuke, but not as strong as an expulsion. It is a formal, open reprimand given to a member of Congress for going against its standards of ethics and behavior.
In other words, Rangel must stand in the well of Congress and have the members tell him he behaved poorly. No, really.
Pursuant to the gravity of the charges he was found guilty of, this is beyond nonsense. One charge alone is that Rangel failed to pay taxes for 17 years on Punta Cana, his Dominican luxury beachfront villa that he keeps booked solid year round. With the battery of attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors that people like Rangel have, are we to honestly believe he had a luxury resort property and somehow forget to pay taxes on it, and no one remembered to remind him … for 17 years?
Regarding Obama, Pelosi, et al. banging the drum regarding how the rich aren’t paying their fair share, should we assume they had good old Charlie in mind?
Rep. Jo Bonner, R-AL, was concise in his opening statement to the committee:
For the small business woman who didn’t pay her taxes for 17 years and had the IRS breathing down her back, [we] can only imagine how she would have liked to have the chance to help write the tax code of this country and make it less burdensome and simpler for everyone else.
so, when those actually do “censure” rangel how long before the first charges of racism are issued?
IT WAS ALL READY SAID…ABOUT 1/2 HR. AFTER …NEXT SUBJECT PLEASE..
Poor Wesley Snipes, if only he’d have been a US Representative, he’d have just gotten a slap on the wrist instead of 3 years in a Federal Prison.
Heck, he only evaded and failed to pay taxes for a handful of years.
The real question is, how long before Rangel starts to weasel his way back into a powerful chairmanship? I’ll settle for censure as long as it means he’ll never again have any real influence or power in Congress.
We haven’t heard the last of Charlie Rangle and his shtick.
The next time he comes up on ethics charges, and he will unless he has the big one in the next 12 months, he will be charged in a House that is majority Republican/Tea Party.
The man can’t help it. He’s hard wired for graft and corruption.
Of course, the real answer to this is to redistrict his little fiefdom out of existance. I remember Adam Clayton Powell very well. They seem to elect a certain steriotype in Harlem.
“They seem to elect a certain steriotype in Harlem.”
I’ll bite. Armani suits, expensive vacations and all the bling they can afford on a meagerly salary of a US Rep or a poverty pimp?
to be perfectly honest— this censure crap sounds like nothing more than a celebrity roast
We need to remember that punishment for a democrat will never equal republican punishment. In 1992, an Oregon senator, Bob Packwood, was accused of groping women back in the seventies. He resigned. Republicans have historically stepped down when accused of wrong doing. Democrats just won’t do that.
Unfortunately we have a representative government, and Charlie Rangel is representative of the people that elected him. If they had higher moral standards, then he wouldn’t be there. As long as society continues to degrade, we can’t expect more from our elected officials. The change has to come from the bottom up.
IF RANGEL WAS WHITE, HE WOULD BE OUT IN 1 DAY……….
You are right. A black can commit any crime, yell ‘RACISM,’ and get a free pass for anything, up to and including murder. There is something horribly wrong with a nation of people who behave in this manner. If the blacks cannot be treated equally to the Whites, they should not be in the game at all.
You overlooked the OJ Simpson trial.
He should be treated NO different than the average American who had done the same thing. hell I’m afraid not to pay taxes..
Unfortunately Charlie will not feel much unless he is taken off his committees.
I want his pension taken away, his insurance, his everything. He humiliated young politicians over the years, cheated the committees he was on with his dishonesty, expected us to live by his word, but he would not live by our nation’s laws… I doubt he’ll ever feel the full brunt of his crimes.
The timing of this was suspect also. Yes it has been in the works for a couple of years…on a back burner..
The people back home feel he is one of them so he will still be in Harlem glory when he goes home…I think this says a lot about the people that elect him.
That would only be true if he were a Republican, suppose the newly elected Col Allen West from Florida (a Republican) then what you state would be true.
Rangel is black and a Democrat so he is above removal from office.
I hope when the new Congress takes place they reopen his case and do in fact throw him out!
Vitter. Ensign. Sanford. I like the way they were forced to atone for their sins by being expelled from the party and the process. So, I guess Democrats have a soft part in their heart for tax cheats, and conservatives have a soft spot in their heart for perverts.
I think I’ll stick with the tax cheats. I can still trust them around my children.
Bobby P. He was safe as long as he continued to support abortion. Then Clinton came along and old BP was tossed under the bus by the feminazis.
And speaking of disparate punishment, Bill Sleaze Master Clinton is still a politically viable entity despite cigar-gate, lying under oath, and impeachment. NO MAY a frigg’n Republican could ever do what Clinton did and still be able to show his face in public.
The double-standard is appalling.
To suggest that Rangel “brought discredit” upon the House and that his actions served to “undermine the public confidence” we have in the institution,
The public had no confidence in the institution before Charlie got caught. Now it’s just disgust in the institution.
He should be in jail just for the 17 years of tax fraud, much less the other charges.
“Rangel deserves much worse, as his crimes would put you or me behind bars.”
But you have to be mindful of a vengeful Rangel who would sing and expose other members who were not yet stupid enough to get caught.
Question: Why are there so many multimillionaires, such as Harry Reid, in Congress who were not particularly well to do before becoming “a public servant”?
Can Rangel be charged with these crimes through the normal legal system, or are Congressional lawmakers exempt from that?
A law should be passed whereby elected officials who commit crimes of a certain level lose their pensions, in addition to their jobs, applicable even if the crime is committed before they are elected or hired. (I.e., maybe if it’s a misdemeanor, they lose 20% for life; a felony, lose all of it.) We don’t need more crooks in the government. And, they should receive the penalties/sentences that any regular citizen would receive.
“Can Rangel be charged with these crimes through the normal legal system, or are Congressional lawmakers exempt from that?”
Absolutely they can be charged, convicted and imprisoned. Google “Abscam”, where the FBI nabbed a siting NJ Senator, (among others).
Rangel’s travails are only beginning.
If the Dems vote to censure him, that places him in the same company as Senator McCarthy…this also signals that he is on his own in any criminal defense that he might have to employ.
Rangel is done, and he should have the decency towards his constituency to face the fact that he is now unable to represent their interests and resign quietly.
His constituency is so dumbed-down blacks who could care less if he committed any crimes. Same with Waters and the rest of the CBC. Black voters are too devoid of thought and dependent upon the benevolence of both black and white Dems to care about the crimes their reps commit.
Just saw this headline:
“Wesley Snipes ordered to surrender in tax case”
He got THREE YEARS in jail for THREE MISDEMEANOR COUNTS of willfully failing to submit his income tax returns…
http://www.accessatlanta.com/celebrities-tv/wesley-snipes-ordered-to-747189.html?cxntlid=thbz_hm
For claiming to be such fans of the constitution, you guys sure don’t know a whole lot about what’s in it. ..Congressmen have immunity from misdemeanors.
This is true. However, it does not mean we cannot demand he be relieved of his position, pension, insurance, and all the goodies that his being a senator gives him.
He should be treated like Snipes..only to a greater degree as he as betrayed a public trust..snipes just screwed himself out of movie tickets, Rangle screwed the people of America.
You’re pretty ignorant yourself, aren’t you, little boy? The actual words of the Constitution (Article I, Section 6) are:
So the pig Rangel can’t be arrested in the House, but certainly can be dragged out of one of his rent-controlled apartments in handcuffs.
The Dems are chenging the narrative daily…examples…”compromise” and “fairness” are being used in ever increasing amounts. Just a small thing…but it’s indicative of the relentlessness of their ideology and the “end justifies the means” rhetoric.
“Fairness” – morphs into about anything when in grievance mode.
“compromise” – morphs into strong-arm manipulation and required capitulation.
Rangel and Dennis Kookeebitch have both made extensive use of the “fairness” words recently.
What made that hearing such a sick joke was that the jerk who read (ad nauseum) the charges against old Cholly went off on so many bizarre tangents, citing (without any relevancy or precedence whatsover) charges of impropriety against REPUBLICANS in the past, all as smoke and mirrors, that old Cholly not only became noticeably bored, but he didn’t show any contrition, absolutely none whatever, clearly recognizing that his fellow sleazy Democrats had rigged those hearings and they were all just a sham.
You need to recognize, too, that the Chairwoman of those hearings was California Democrat, Zoe Lofgren, the same moronic, sleazy and irresponsible putz who made a mockery of another recent Congressional Hearing by inviting, of all people, buttwipe Stephen Colbert to testify at that hearing.
So is anybody surprised that old Cholly got off with just a meaningless censure which won’t have any consequences? Another sickening example of the depravity of all Democrats.
After watching that hearing briefly, I switched channels in exasperation and in disgust.
But I got that impression, too.
As far as I could tell, the only purpose of that hearing was so that Democrats could say, hey look, what Charlie Rangel did wasn’t so bad. Republicans do it, too. In fact, that was Rangel’s only defense.
It’s the same old story: Democrats never accept responsibility for the consequences of their outrageous misbehavior. They always point their fingers at others to deflect attention away from themselves. Remember the frequency with which both of the Clintons played that blame game, and Jefferson and Waters, too, to name just a few? Even the sleazy liberal trolls pull that lame stunt right here. It’s their feeble defense, too.
“in fact, it was Rangel’s only defense” ….., not just by Rangel himself, but by the slimy Democrats on that panel who stuck up for him, also, even while reading the charges which were filed against him, presumably to ingratiate themselves with the Black Caucus. What a joke.
is it possible to discredit a congressman ? I thought that was their definition.
and yes if it was you or I …we would be in jail while he keeps stealing.
Censure and a few bucks will buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. It’s meaningless and worthless.
Censure is a slap on the wrist; Rangel needs to be expelled from Congress. It’s that simple. Tar & feathers are also needed for corrupt politicians’ humiliation.
TAR and FEATHERING—- I second it!!!
suppose my solution for closing the national debt as well:
as soon as pelosi, reid, and obama’s pink slips come in we will require them to go to the national mall in the middle of august to get put into a stockade where the public can pay $500 to throw rotten eggs, tomatoes, cheese, and that really stinky fruit from the phillipines in their faces
these weenie lefties would have stood little chance at the founding of our country when you were likely to get tarred and feathered for the littlest infraction
Let’s go back to the beginning! Rangel has been a crook for many, many years and his fellow rats have known it (especially the other members of the Congressional Black Caucus). Why make an issue of it in 2010? Same with Maxine! The dems on the Ethics Committee could have looked busy for another 10 years and not have done anything. Who would have noticed; who would have had the power to do anything?
Even today, charges against Rangel, Waters and the other blacks could have been tabled, leaving all issues to be taken up by the Republican chair in January. THEN, a perfect defense would have been racism.
Why now? Who is pushing this? Do Charlie and Maxine have some deadly enemy on their own side who are pushing this? Since when did the normal dem have any problem with a black thief?
It’s sad to say but was there ever any doubt? Honestly this whole thing is just a side-show. Nothing of any real meaning comes from these “Ethics” meetings. Now if we can press CRIMINAL charges that’s something else. But I don’t see this Justice department doing that.
If I’m ever caught lying under oath, I’ll invoke the Clinton defense, he got away with it, so should I.
Now, if I’m caught cheating and prevaricating over a very long period of time, misusing and abusing publics perks and monies à la Charlie, I’ll invoke the Rangel defense.
These guys are demeaning US law faster than Obama can demean the United States itself on his travels abroad. In addition, we currently have a US Attorney General who has demonstrated beyond any doubt that he is very comfortable with arbitrary and unequal application/enforcement of United States law.
These are three examples where the Law is treated like one might expect in Banana Republics. When laws become meaningless anarchy reigns- the guy with the most money, biggest guns, or angriest mobs wins. If Justice were run by anyone else, these slips in prosecution wouldn’t be happening. That they are suggests something untoward.
I don’t live in Somalia or Venezuela but can imagine what it must be like. America can go there playing footsie with the law. Eric Holder’s background would suggest his appointment was not by accident. Those qualified to do the job who were passed over for him insures this.
Connecting the dots is difficult but with two more years of Obama the ‘image’ should become clear to all. I’ll keep my applications to the local militia and motorcycle gangs current just in case.
If Rangel were a White Man he would have been frog marched out of the Senate building probably by a Federal Police Officer who would have been pulling on the back of his head in order to keep his smiling mug up for the cameras. But a Black Man (or woman) can say or do anything and pretty much get a free pass. It appears like the baton of racism has been passed and now is firmly in the hands of and in control of Black Americans. One year I owed the government some $600.00 in back taxes. In six weeks I received three letters from the IRS reminding me that I owed the money and would have to pay up. Yet somehow Rangel floated by for SEVENTEEN FRIGGIN YEARS? How about this punishment? Strip him of his title, strip him of his seat in congress, strip him of his luxurious villa in Dominica and strip him of his fancy suits and put him in an orange jumpsuit courtesy of the State of New York and lock him up for thirty years.
I second that
The different rules for elected officials needs to be done away with.
Remember, if you “have sloppy accounting” and “forget” to report the income, or “don’t realize you needed to report it, so sorry”, you can’t be assessed taxes against it. So, he probably never got the letters.
Here’s the awful truth.
Rangel is better, more honest, more effective, less criminal than 90% of them.
I don’t have any problem with the congressional ethics process generally speaking. What I do have a problem with is the forms of punishments.
IF there are criminal acts equivelent to misdemeanors included in the counts and the congress person is found guilty, an “official reprimand” should carry the full force and effects of a misdemeanor conviction.
If there the counts containing any felony criminal elegible violation(s) and the congress person is convicted, a “centure” should have the full force and effects of a felony conviction.
In other words, there should only be one punishment that carries no official punitive sentence and that would be an “unofficial” warning or reprimand for any “non” criminal acts.
The “committee” would act as a lower level judge panel and would also hand down an acquittal or conviction and the punishment. The appeals process would then be to the U.S. District Apeals Court and then the U.S. Supreme Court should they agree to hear it.
Government officials and especially members of the Congress should have no less consequences to criminal behavior than does any other citizen except in some cases a legal process option.
Just another case of black on white crime……and black on black crime……..and the press has more pressing things to worry about, like DANCING WITH THE STARS.
Ahh, the ‘man’ given far too much kudos for his military service 50 + years ago.
That one and ONLY noble act by a ‘man’ who followed suit with divisive, myopic decisions and long wore out his welcome in D.C. when polyester was King.
Not surprising Rangel won his recent reelection by a landslide. Even with this sordid affair in the news FOR YEARS.
Harlem residents – YOU DESERVE THIS TURD as ‘representation’.
It’s not ‘failure’ if there’s ‘minority’ representation, right Harlem?
Unbelievably stupid how pigmentation (or lack thereof) is thee start all-end all for many.
I just heard they have more evidence against Maxine Waters and her trial is being delayed because of it. Hope it takes place in2011 when the GOP is in charge.Let’s clean the swamp for Botox Polosi.
For the small business woman who didn’t pay her taxes for 17 years
More to the point it is hardly possible for such a thing to have occurred. The Democrat motto: A rule for me and a rule for thee and I rule thee.
As a Marine, I was a member of “government” yet had I committed any one of the frauds he committed, I would have been court-martialed, and would still be in prison. What Rangel did is in fact “Treason”, and the simple fact that we don’t commonly define what he did as treason today is not because our view of the law has changed, but only because our view of those we elect is no longer considered to be definitive, as we are only “the people”, and not Ruling Members of Government.
If we want, and are willing to be Responsible Sovereign Citizens, as our founders established us as, we can choose to raise the charge to Treason, and we can take everything away from him, and we can even execute him. It merely takes Americans of all walks of life to choose to assume the Sovereignty which we rightfully inherit, and rise up and act as Sovereign Citizens, meaning demanding the actions of our choice be taken, and fulfilled. If we allow censure to be his punishment, it is because we are not willing to be Responsible Citizens, and carry the weight of our rightful Sovereignty, each and every day, and wield it, as it is ours to wield.
It is easy enough to blame both the criminal who was elected, and his fellow criminals who surround him and give him amnesty, however We have the exact government We have selected and are willing to put up with, because we don’t hold to the principles of our forefathers, of all our predecessors from two generations and before, but have chosen instead, to live lives without fixed definitions of wrong, and double standards for those we support.
We have exactly the government We, collectively, deserve, because it is a direct result of our complete and total disregard for our Responsibilities as Sovereign Citizens, which allow representatives to be rulers over us rather than the public servants we are supposed to elect. The only excuse I make for such criminals, is the simple fact that those who elect such, like them, are willing to support them no matter what they do, and in this way, with our total lack of response to the seventeen years in this case, but always years in each and every case, as The People, doing nothing more than writing to those who report, and never calling for the heads of such from our own representative in the House, nor from our two Senators each, in the Senate. It is entirely our fault, until we take the action to end it. Yes, we can act just like subjects, like the people are in each and every other nation except Israel, because we prefer to act like subjects, than to take our responsibility seriously, and act like real, honest, “Sovereign Citizens”, and do something sovereign for a change, like individually write to our members of Congress and call for a hanging, each individually, but with enough having the personal fortitude, and personal standard of honor that we would indict our best friend, if we found out that person was a liar and a thief.
You, who make such noise at Rangel are the very people who don’t participate in ruling our Nation, but expect it done right by those elected. If you did participate, it would not be a mere ten percent or so of the voting population who contact their representative and senators each and every day, and if you did participate, and it were forty, or even fifty percent who wrote or called, we would still have the limited government the Constitution demands, as the Supreme Law of The Nation, and we would have hanged a few elected officials over the last decades and century, as happened in the first century of our Nation’s history. Quit whining, and either shut up, or get busy. We have no time for whiners, those who are indeed active in government, and demanding in our Standards.
John McClain
GySgt, USMC, ret.
Vanceboro, NC
B-I-N-G-O
You’re damned Skippy right there, Gunny.
Wesley Snipes is bemoaning the fact that he is an actor and not a Congressman.
All laws, rules, and regulations must apply equally to Congress.
IRS must be staffed by whores and cowards. If they were honest whores they would still prosecute Rangle. 17 years of false or inaccurate tax returns? I guess the message is crime pays if you are a Congressmen. New Youk law was violate also. Rent control is in many cases welfare for the middle class and the rich in New York City, so Rangle is also a welfare cheat. He embarrassed all honest black people and and the few people in Congress that have any self respect. If the voters in his district are decent people they will vote him out next term.
Forgotten Man – Harlem overwhelmingly reelected Rangel 18 days ago!!! With all this hanging over his head.. for years!
As for the IRS, there’ll be 16k more agents on the Government dole due to ObamaCare.. oy!
Nope, Harlem is no different than New Orleans reelecting Ray Nagan, D.C. allowing crackhead/Federal HAVING to intervene with D.C.’s budget while Marion Barry’s in office is STILL on the city’s dole.
John Ensign being cleared by the FEC when ‘Ensign’s parents’ paid his mistress, Prince Goerge’s County Jack Johnson flushing 100k checks as the Feds tap on his doorstep on a Friday.. and is back at work on Monday!!
Despicable individuals..
I have always believed people in public service who have the public trust, such as politicians and the police, should be held to a higher standard than those who have not sworn to uphold and protect the constitution. Since they seem to have voted themselves special privileges they should be subject to more stringent standards. Charley should go to prison for his felonies, same as any other crooked tax cheat. To do otherwise is to prove that justice and fair play is dead in America.
Don’t worry everyone. After this is all over and the smoke has died down,
Charlie will be receiving an Image Award from the NAACP (just like the Communist Van Jones).
Now, don’t you feel better?
Besides that, now that this case has almost ended, another case involving
Maxine Waters will be showing up soon. It will make Comedy Central look like a wake. Who says things look bleek?
You know that most of Rangel’s constituency do not pay taxes of any kind and don’t even understand any of the 13 charges. Most feel that every time a black man is successful, “the system” will try to tear him down – just like when they framed OJ. This is just another example but without the beheadings.
This pervasive attitude accrues from years of racial identity politics, race baiting and victimization mongering by community leaders, entitlement programs that stunt personal development and destroy the family unit, government and regulatory pervasiveness that guts the private sector (in his district) and robs individuals of any means to earn a dignified living and ridiculously low standards for responsibility and achievement in schools and at home.
So representation by someone like Charlie Rangel is inevitable and it is likely that he is genuinely surprised to be called on the carpet for anything so trivial as tax cheating while the big Progressive scam goes on around him.