20 Comments

1. TW:

“According to Congressional disclosure records” may be the operative phrase here. Has anyone checked his freezer?

Jul 12, 2008 - 9:03 pm 2. nodakboy:

The big question is why so much wealth and many assets of members of Congress don’t have to be reported…. in Sen. Kent Conrad’s case, he had never had to list his million-dollar beach home, for some technical reason in the way they list their finances… so maybe Charlie the lone Wrangler has a little more than we know…

Jul 12, 2008 - 9:09 pm 3. chernish:

… compared to his colleagues, he’s a saint.

Or maybe he is just a little loose on reporting those little financial things…

Jul 12, 2008 - 9:39 pm 4. Kevin:

Or, maybe he has a severe gambling problem. Or invested all his money in Enron. Or has a fondness for the crack. You never know.

Jul 12, 2008 - 9:44 pm 5. Fat Man:

“if all he’s got to show for it is a million bucks”

That he will tell you about.

Jul 12, 2008 - 9:52 pm 6. bc:

Yea, he’s not a crook. A little bit of a nut though.

Jul 12, 2008 - 10:03 pm 7. Tom:

Or maybe he hasn’t used his political position to accumulate wealth like most of the bloodsuckers on Capitol Hill. I’m neither a democrat nor a liberal, but it is possible he’s taking a ’special discount’ for the simple reason he doesn’t have a lot of money.

Doesn’t justify it, but it is possible. If it is true, it’s a difficult call between canonization and prison.

Jul 12, 2008 - 10:15 pm 8. Mike Kelley:

I’m guessing that Kent Conrad’s million dollar home is a beach home not a Beach, ND home?

Jul 12, 2008 - 10:38 pm 9. Uncle Ralph:

I hope you’ll understand if I don’t hold my breath while waiting for a “Saint Charlie’s Day” to appear on the liturgical calendar.

Jul 12, 2008 - 10:59 pm 10. Jack:

The only reason that I actually hope that there is a God is so all of these politicians will end up in the hell they so richly deserve.

Jul 12, 2008 - 11:58 pm 11. O'Rourke:

How can a guy make 4 or five times as much as the average American for 37 years, with a benefit package beyond the imagination of the average American and not be worth millions unless he’s either hiding most of it from the IRS, or has blown most of it on cocaine and whores?

Jul 13, 2008 - 3:06 am 12. Roy:

You know Rangel is a lot of things, but the guy is a genuine 24kt war hero, and while he is often one of the most cynical and devious politicians around, his goals always seem to be his goals. I disagree with him on hundreds, if not thousands of issues, but I have always respected him as a politician, human being and as an American.

If he was the Democratic nominee I have to say I would feel a lot better about this election and the country as a whole. I know he loves this country, and know what it means to the world.

Jul 13, 2008 - 3:58 am 13. Martya:

It has long been my belief that big city politicians don’t get wealthy from their offices. What happens is that the divert stolen/extorted wealth and bribes to the accounts of the friends and relatives, especially, relatives.
I suspect that while Charlie’s assets are reasonable, the relatives that have the other apartments (and others) are at Pelosi levels but have resumes involving businesses or activities that few have ever heard of.

Jul 13, 2008 - 7:01 am 14. Hale Adams:

Martya may have a point.

If Rangel has been funnelling money to friends and relatives for all these years, he doesn’t need to have millions of bucks himself. When the time comes, he can call on his friends and relatives to support him in lavish style in retirement.

Color me cynical, but I bet he’s got a LOT of favors to call in. An operator like him would be foolish not to have those favors owed to him, and to not call on them when needed. That’s how the game is played, doncha know.

Jul 13, 2008 - 11:38 am 15. glenn:

Problem with having favors owed to you when you are 78 is living long enough to collect on them. Maybe Charlie helped his friends and family because he thought it was the right thing to do. After all he isn’t a Baby Boomer unlike the moneygrubbers we see infesting the body politic now. Note that I am a conservative and disagree with Congressman Rangel on a wide range of issues, but in the context of politics he may be an honest man.

Jul 13, 2008 - 1:32 pm 16. nodak boy:

Hey, O’Rourke: why you gotta disparage the expenditures of revenue on coke and whores as “blowing” it? Huh? Yah got sumpin better to spend it on, let me know.
No, Conrad has no home in Beach, ND, which is almost Montana; and I’ll just take a moment here to point out that Custer was feeling fine when he left North Dakota.
Someone should line out just what members of Congress have to disclose on their official annual forms…..

Jul 13, 2008 - 2:33 pm 17. Bill Bradley:

Kohl, Kennedy, and Kerry, as is widely known, all had major outside sources of income prior to ever entering politics.

Jul 13, 2008 - 2:50 pm 18. ricpic:

They say he’s got an astounding collection of pointy shoes and pinky rings.

Jul 13, 2008 - 3:56 pm 19. Lem:

A Rangel constituent was arrested for taking bribes in exchange for section 8 rental vouchers.

http://tinyurl.com/6gh5dp

It seems to me that in oder for Rangel to get the subsidy somebody had to fudge something, do some creative math.

Now, why would somebody risk getting arrested w/o anything in return?

The fact that Rangel is not wealthy, is a red herring.

Jul 13, 2008 - 8:03 pm 20. glenn:

Please note for the record that I said in the context of politics.

Jul 13, 2008 - 9:20 pm

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