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Response & Responsibility
Author: BobR    Date: 2010-07-30 12:44:34

When our government was created, the founding fathers put in a 3-pronged system (not unlike the hats they wore). A 3-legged table will always stand solid. Two legs and it falls over; 4 legs or more and it may wobble on uneven ground. The three branches ensure a system of checks & balances. Humankind being what it is, however, each branch needs it's own check to balance against corruption and misbehavior by its members. Thus, the ethics committee.

One would hope that an ethics committee wouldn't be necessary, but of course - it is. The House ethics committee has been in place since before we won the war against England, and handled many investigations through the years. It's rare that the investigation results in a "trial" against one of its own members. Sadly, that is the case as of last night, when negotiations for a deal with Charlie Rangel finally failed. He has 13 charges against him:
House investigators accused veteran New York Rep. Charles Rangel of 13 violations of congressional ethics standards on Thursday, throwing a cloud over his four-decade political career and raising worries for fellow Democrats about the fall elections.

The allegations include failure to report rental income from vacation property in the Dominican Republic and hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional income and assets on his financial disclosure statements.

Other charges focused on Rangel's use of congressional staff and stationery to raise money for a college center in New York named after him; accepting favors and benefits from the donors that may have influenced his congressional actions; use of a subsidized New York apartment as a campaign office instead of a residence; and misuse of the congressional free mail privilege.

It seems obvious, then that these charges require some sort of action. That is understandable. What is a little disappointing is the rationale put forth by some members for taking action:
"We live at a time when public skepticism about the institutions in our country is very high," said Lofgren, the ethics committee chair.

She said it had been the panel's goal "to by our actions rebuild and earn trust by the public and our colleagues."

No - you don't do this because Congress has bad ratings - you do this because a Congressperson did bad things. This should never be used as an election year gesture.

The House has conducted some rather high-profile investigations of it's members in the past decade. They include Mitch McDermott, Tom DeLay, and James Trafficant, who was actually expelled from Congress after being convicted in federal court on corruption charges (more information on investigations can be found here).

Oddly, Rangel got a small measure of support from an old foe and fellow investigatee Tom DeLay back in March:
DeLay, a former Republican lawmaker from Texas who stepped down as majority leader in the wake of his own ethics investigations, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the House Ethics Committee has abused its power before and was doing so again in the Rangel case.

In a strange contrast, the Senate ethics committee seems a lot less active. Is that because there are fewer members so there's less corruption and bad behavior? Not really, if the actions of Ted Stevens, John Ensign, Larry Craig, David Vitter, and Bob Bennett (to name a few) are considered.

On a personal level - I like Charlie Rangel (Chawlee Rayngel??). He's done well for the country, and done well for his home district. I would consider the accusation that favors and donations may have influenced his congressional actions the most damning, the others less so. Corruption of those with the power to affect others' lives should always be kept in check, especially when the corruption has a direct effect on the electorate. If he feels he's done no wrong, he now has the opportunity to show us.

 

55 comments (Latest Comment: 07/31/2010 02:51:53 by BobR)
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