House Ethics Panel to expand its investigation into Charlie Rangel

As the House Ethics Panel continues to investigate Charlie Rangel’s tax fraud they continue to expand their investigation. It just keeps getting worse for Charlie Rangel as today the panel has unanimously voted to expand the investigation yet again.

This investigation has gone on for almost two years now and it is time for Charlie Rangel to step down from the House Ways and Means Committee, if not permanently than at least until the investigation has ended.

This man is in charge of the committee that writes the tax laws and he is under investigation for tax fraud. How can this man still be the head of the House Ways and Means committee? When will the Democrats finally turn on him? Or will the continue to blindly support this hypocrite?

John Boehner once again has summed up the situation perfectly:

Given the expanded investigation announced today, it is past time for Speaker Pelosi to insist that Chairman Rangel step aside until the ethics committee completes its work,” Mr. Boehner said. “The American people wont stand for having a chairman of the Houses tax-writing committee who is under investigation for not paying his taxes. What more has to happen before Speaker Pelosi does the right thing?

I guess that I don’t entirely blame Charlie Rangel for his decision to stay on as the head of the House Ways and Means committee, after all the Democrats appear perfectly willing to let him stay, but in the long run you would think that it would be better for the Democrats if Charlie Rangel were to step down. Certainly the American people would be better off.

There is a huge double standard in Washington, we all know that, you don’t need to look any further than the politicians who tell us that we have to sacrifice to stop global warming while they are flying around the world in private planes to see the double standard, and this is just another example of Washington’s hypocrisy.

During the last two election cycles the Democrats ran against the culture of corruption in the Republican party, claiming that they would run the most ethical government in recent history. But when you see people like Charlie Rangel and John Murtha both being investigated and you see the Democrats blindly stand behind them you begin to realize that the more things change the more they stay the same.

John Boehner is right, it is beyond time for Charlie Rangel to step down. If he will not step down it becomes the Democrat’s responsibility to remove him. The American people deserve at least that much.