It's Corruption, Stupid
By Erick Posted in Charlie Rangel | Congress | New York | new york times — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Holy Cow! And this is coming from the New York Times. It must be really, really bad if they're willing to bash Charlie Rangel.
Check this out.
The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee has proposed legislation that would effectively halt some current tax audits of people who get a tax break for living and operating a business in the United States Virgin Islands.Many beneficiaries of the tax break are campaign contributors to the lawmaker, Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York, according to data collected by CQ MoneyLine, which tracks political contributions.
At least one of them, Richard G. Vento, is currently under audit, according to court filings. Mr. Vento gave $4,400 last year to the Baucus-Rangel Leadership Fund, which supports Mr. Rangel and Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who heads the Senate Finance Committee.
So much for the Democrats making the GOP out to be the corrupt party.
Here we have the powerful Ways and Means Chairman trying to use the power of Congress to stop his friends campaign donors from getting audited.
Maybe Congressman Rangel needs to be audited?
Mr. Rangel’s proposal would end any such audits involving years before 2004. That upsets Senator Charles E. Grassley, an Iowa Republican responsible for legislation that year that tightened rules governing taxes on Americans in the Virgin Islands.
“Congress rarely takes action that affects ongoing I.R.S. audits,” Mr. Grassley said in a statement, “so it’s striking that House leaders are proposing changes in the statute of limitations for U.S. taxpayers who are newly claiming residency in the Virgin Islands.”
Sadly, the President is such a nice guy, he won't sick the feds on Mr. Rangel like the Democrats would do to the GOP. Why is it that our guys don't do that?
It'd be interesting to compare the number of prominent Democrat activists who have been audited in the past eight years compared to the number of prominent Republican activists who got audited during the Clinton Administration.
« Blue-on-Blue Watch: NYT versus Charlie Rangel. — Comments (10)
It's Corruption, Stupid 6 Comments (0 topical, 6 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Little ole rube me is supposed to believe that Democrat's are beholden to big business? I can't believe it!...snark off.
The people who truly will be shocked will be the leftist who protest big business on a daily basis...their beloved Dems in with the sharks.
This is so funny and what a great way to start the day. All the news that's fit to make my day.
Freedom of Religion not Freedom from Religion
as I would love this to go further, see Pres. Bush press the issue, I have to wonder if the GOP really wants this area investigated.
The whole "don't throw stones in glass houses" concept.
If the GOP was a pure as the driven snow, then it would hopefully be a no-brainer. That hasn't been the case.
R.J.
Democratic corruption didn't stop Democrats from using corruption against Republicans last year, and it worked.
Bush doesn't have to push the issue. There are 4 or 5 Republican presidential candidates that should be on it.
The headlines, Nightline specials, editorials, endless speeches by Congressional leaders, etc.
If this was Tom Delay pushing this through?
Could they be any more blatant than offering the chairmen of the two tax-writing committees as a package deal? That's appalling even by the standards of money-grubbing Congresscritters.
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill