Everything Is Upside Down

So. Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel has been brought up on ethics charges, and the House ethics committee, in the Democratically-controlled house, appear as though they are going to opt for a trial instead of accepting a settlement deal.

The opening paragraph in the New York Times' story reads:
In laying out 13 charges of ethical violations committed by Representative Charles B. Rangel, the House ethics committee set the stage for a rare public trial of the Democratic Congressman this fall, a potential embarrassment for the Democratic leadership during the election season.
Only in the Bizarro World that US politics has become could holding a trial to determine accountability for multiple alleged ethics violations by a member of one's own party be considered "a potential embarrassment."

Three years ago, after a long Republican Congressional majority, former majority leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) was headed to prison, former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) was in prison, former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) was in prison, former GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff was in prison, and so many sitting representatives and senators were under investigation that Republican strategist Scott Reed lamented: "The real question for Republicans in Washington is how low can you go, because we are approaching a level of ridiculousness. ... Republicans think the governing class in Washington are a bunch of buffoons who have total disregard for the principles of the party, the law of the land and the future of the country."

Republicans were voted out and Democrats voted in to clean up the unprecedented level of ethics violations. And now that Democrats are doing precisely that, the media deems it "a potential embarrassment."

Yeesh.

Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.

blog comments powered by Disqus