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GOP Wants Trials for Waters, Rangel Before Midterms

By Paul Shepard on Sep 29th 2010 11:03AM
Filed under: News, Politics, Race and Civil Rights

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GOP Wants Trials For Waters, Rangel Before Midterms

Republicans on the House Ethics Committee say their Democratic colleagues are playing politics in delaying the trials of Congressional Black Caucus members Rep. Maxine Waters (pictured) and Rep. Charles Rangel until after the November election.

And in this case, the Republicans are right.

The five Republican members of the Ethics Committee put out a joint statement designed to put pressure on Chairwoman Rep. Zoe Lofgren to schedule trials for the veteran CBC lawmakers, who are facing ethical charges.

Waters, of Los Angeles, is accused of using her influence to help a bank that her husband partially owned. She is a senior member of the Financial Services Committee.

Rangel of Harlem is the former chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and stands accused of 13 violations of House rules including tax evasion.

When you add in the revelations that two other CBC members, Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas and Sanford Bishop of Georgia, took college scholarship money intended for constituents and passed it on to relatives and children of staffers, the CBC has seen better days.

But all the ethical shenanigans also shine a harsh light on the Democratic Party as well.

Wasn't it just a few years ago that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised Democrats would lead "the most honest, most open most ethical Congress in history"?

Pelosi has already struck out on the "most honest" and "most ethical" parts of her pledge. Maybe she can salvage the "most open" portion of her promise and let Rangel and Waters face the music before the upcoming election.

The results of the trial would likely mean little since both CBC members are in very safe districts and are overwhelming favorites to win re-election.

But it would be nice if Democrats stuck to their pledge and disproved the old axiom that all politicians are the same.



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