Ethics or What?

The House Ethics Committee is dealing with two long term House Democrat members.  The unfolding process is baffling.

Representative Charles Rangel has chosen to contest his charges in an open trial and Representative Maxime Waters has similarly opted. What would these two representatives be thinking? Why didn’t they settle for the normal “wrist slap” and be done with it?

Rangel has admitted he was a little sloppy with the paper work (not reporting income from Caribbean vacation homes). Waters claims she did nothing to help a bank that her husband owned stock in. I wonder whether these two are judging their own actions by the standards they see around them.  (Senator Dodd accepted a “VIP” (read favorable interest rate) mortgage from a lender his committee was supposed to overseeing.) Is Rangel and Waters simply saying “why us?”

Ethics and political behavior seem today terms that are at odds with each other. With campaigns costing millions and for most Congress members there is no such thing as free time. When not in Washington, Congress members must raise money for the next election. If they worked as hard at the Congressional job, things might be better.  Instead they trade their vote for some special interest’s money.

The cat is out of the box, and short of resignations, the trials will take place. Since both members are african-american and democrats, there will be little sympathy in the broad public. These charges are necessary to have any chance at limiting misuse of office, but even convictions is unlikely to change the amount of similar behavior by other Congress members.

I am waiting for some clergy members to speak up as character witnesses for these two souls.

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Tags: campaign finance, charles rangel, congress, ethics, house of representatives, maxime waters, Religion

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