Charlie Rangel: August 2010

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Charlie Rangel: August 2010

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Rangel: I'm 'Proud' Cordoba House Developers Are 'Sticking To Their Guns'

Jillian Rayfield | August 19, 2010, 11:43AM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) came out in support of the proposed Cordoba House Islamic community center two blocks from Ground Zero yesterday, saying that he's "kind of proud that they're sticking to their guns and saying this is where they would want to worship."

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Topics: 'Ground Zero Mosque', Charlie Rangel, Cordoba House , New York City

Charlie Rangel

Gillibrand And Cuomo Take Heat For Attending Rangel B-Day Party (VIDEOS)

Jillian Rayfield | August 13, 2010, 11:57AM

NY Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo (D) and NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D)

New York Democrats are done celebrating Charlie Rangel's 80th birthday party, but apparently the hangover is going to last a little bit longer...

In new web videos, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo are hit by their Republican opponents for their ties to the Harlem Congressman, who is under investigation for ethics violations.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Not A Care In The World? Charlie Rangel's Birthday Celebration]

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Topics: Andrew Cuomo, Charlie Rangel, David Malpass, Kirsten Gillibrand, NY-GOV, NY-SEN, Rick Lazio

Charlie Rangel

Charlie Rangel Parties Like He's Not Under Investigation For Ethics Violations (VIDEOS)

Jillian Rayfield | August 12, 2010, 3:33PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Last night at his 80th birthday party (and fundraiser), Charlie Rangel partied like it's 1999 -- and like he's not under investigation for ethics violations.

With special guests Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Cuomo, Chuck Schumer, and other New York political stars, the Democratic Congressman tried to show he was unfazed by his ethics troubles, while enjoying cake and some Dionne Warwick tunes. "This sure ain't no funeral, is it?" said Rangel.

Here are some videos from the event...

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Topics: Al Sharpton, Andrew Cuomo, Charlie Rangel, Chuck Schumer, Mike Bloomberg

Roundup

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | August 12, 2010, 9:06AM

Panel: GOP Plan To Extend Tax Cuts For Rich Adds $36 Billion To Deficit
The Washington Post reports: "A Republican plan to extend tax cuts for the rich would add more than $36 billion to the federal deficit next year -- and transfer the bulk of that cash into the pockets of the nation's millionaires, according to a congressional analysis released Wednesday. New data from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation show that households earning more than $1 million a year would reap nearly $31 billion in tax breaks under the GOP plan in 2011, for an average tax cut per household of about $100,000."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:30 a.m. ET, will receive the economic daily briefing at 10:30 a.m. ET, and will meet with senior advisers at 11:30 a.m. ET. He does not have any scheduled public events.

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Topics: 2010 elections, Barack Obama, Charlie Rangel, Chuck Schumer, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Earl Pomeroy, Kirsten Gillibrand, Roundup, Social Security

Roundup

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | August 11, 2010, 9:42AM

Democrats Call On Michelle Obama To Hit The Campaign Trail
The Washington Post reports: "The White House's efforts to hold on to a majority in Congress have expanded from the West Wing to the East Wing, where political operatives are calling on Michelle Obama to campaign for endangered Democrats. Unlike her husband, the first lady has maintained her appeal to women, independents, and the new and young voters who helped propel her family into the White House. She has won praise for the issues she has chosen to champion, such as curbing childhood obesity. She has become something of a cultural and fashion icon, drawing a different kind of attention to the White House. And with an approval rating of 66 percent, she is easily the administration's most popular figure."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:30 a.m. ET. He will meet at 10:30 a.m. ET with senior advisers, and will meet at 11 a.m. ET with his national security team on Iraq. He will have lunch at 12:45 p.m. ET with Vice President Biden. At 2:50 p.m. ET, he will deliver remarks and sign the Manufacturing Enhancement Act. He will meet at 3:45 p.m. ET with Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. He will meet at 5 p.m. ET with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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Topics: 2010 elections, Barack Obama, Charlie Rangel, Michelle Obama, Roundup

FL-SEN

Jeff Greene Attacks: Kendrick Meek's Ethics Problems Are Worse Than Rangel's

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 8, 2010, 6:46PM

Jeff Greene

In an interview with TPMDC this afternoon, billionaire investor Jeff Greene suggested that Rep. Kendrick Meek is a worse ethical offender than the notorious Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY). Greene and Meek are locked in a nasty fight for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Florida, and Greene tried to take things up a notch by associating Meek with Rangel's high profile ethics investigation underway in Congress.

The interview followed a hastily announced conference call with reporters in which Greene called on Rangel to resign -- and urged Meek to do the same. (As the Palm Beach Post reports, Meek said last week he "favors letting the House Ethics Committee process play out" before passing judgment on what Rangel should do next.)

The talk of Rangel was simply pretext to the attacks on Meek, however, who Greene said deserved his own ethics investigation over his family's ties to a Florida developer who Meek obtained an earmark for six years ago. The charge has been a part of Greene's campaign for quite a while now, and Meek has denied wrongdoing on many occasions.

Greene seems to think Rangel's ethics problems give him a new window to open up the old line of attack on Meek.

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Topics: Charlie Rangel, FL-SEN, Jeff Greene, Kendrick Meek

Roundup

TPMDC Saturday Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | August 7, 2010, 1:03PM

Obama: Medicare 'Getting Better All The Time' Because Of Health Care Reform
In this weekend's YouTube address, President Obama touted a government report showing an increase in the financial solvency of Medicare, due to the recent health care reform law -- a clear effort to sell the law to older voters.

"According to this report, the steps we took this year to reform the health care system have put Medicare on a sounder financial footing. Reform has actually added at least a dozen years to the solvency of Medicare - the single longest extension in history - while helping to preserve Medicare for generations to come," said Obama. "We've made Medicare more solvent by going after waste, fraud, and abuse - not by changing seniors' guaranteed benefits. In fact, seniors are starting to see that because of health reform, their benefits are getting better all the time."

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Topics: 2010 elections, 2012 elections, Barack Obama, Charlie Rangel, Christina Romer, Elena Kagan, George W. Bush, Pres '12, RNC, Roundup, Supreme Court, Supreme Court vacancy

Ethics

Boehner: Rangel And Waters Scandals Won't Have Major Election Impact

Brian Beutler | August 5, 2010, 6:17PM

House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

Republicans have been trying to extract as much political gain as possible from the ethical clouds surrounding Democrats Charlie Rangel (NY) and Maxine Waters (CA). But in an unexpected statement this afternoon, House Minority Leader John Boehner acknowledged it's not making much of a difference.

"It's a sad day for the House when members are charged with violating the rules of the House," Boehner told WHAS in Louisville, KY in an interview, "This is going to play itself out, but I don't expect it's going to have a big impact on the election."

Boehner was in Kentucky to help Republican Todd Lally defeat incumbent Democrat John Yarmuth.

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Topics: Charlie Rangel, Corruption, Ethics, House of Representatives, John Boehner, Maxine Waters, Republicans

Ethics

Jujitsu! Dems Will Attempt To Turn Tables On GOP Over Ethics Scandals

Brian Beutler | August 5, 2010, 8:02AM

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

Republicans are doing their best to drag the entire Democratic party under the ethical cloud hanging over Reps. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and Maxine Waters (D-CA). That strategy makes many vulnerable House members wish the two would step aside or admit wrongdoing so the controversy would die. But Democrats are hoping that a bit of political jiujitsu can flip this attack on its head: they would like to show that Democrats are dealing with their ethically compromised members publicly, and officially while the GOP protects its own and keeps its sins private.

A top Democratic strategist tells TPMDC that Democrats plan to seize on two stories from the past year, suggesting that Republicans aren't free of their own ethical problems, but that they just deal with them behind closed doors.