In what is sure to be a common theme over the next couple years, the National Republican Congressional Committee unloaded on Rep. Glenn Nye (D-VA02) over his relationship with House Ways and Means Chairman, Rep. Charlie Rangel of NY.
The release from NRCC:
Glenn Nye’s Idea of Restoring the Economy: Retain Charlie Rangel
After taking $14,000 from Corrupt Congressman, Nye Votes to Hold the Harlem Democrat to a Different Standard than American TaxpayersWashington- Rep. Glenn Nye (D-VA) sent the wrong message to middle-class taxpayers today when he sided with corrupt NY Congressman Charlie Rangel – who has been the center of mounting tax troubles since early last summer. This came despite President Obama’s calls to “send a message there aren’t two sets of rules. One for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes.”
“Representative Charles B. Rangel has earned more than $75,000 in rental income from a villa he has owned in the Dominican Republic since 1988, but never reported it on his federal or state tax returns.” (New York Times, 09/05/2008)Nye voted to block a resolution to remove Congressman Rangel as Chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee until the pending Ethics Committee investigation in Rangel’s tax problems is complete (House Roll Call 57). Despite Rangel’s mounting tax troubles, Pelosi has refused to remove Rangel and he himself has refused to give up his post atop the power Committee, which is responsible for writing the nation’s tax laws – the same laws Rangel has failed to follow.
“It appears that Glenn Nye does not agree with Obama that our nation’s leaders should be held to the same standard as middle-class families across this country who, especially during these tough economic times, are struggling to pay their own taxes,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “We can’t restore confidence in our economy, if middle-class voters don’t have confidence in our public officials, much less the chairman of the tax-writing committee.”
Just last week, Obama’s nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, Tom Daschle, withdrew his name from consideration after it was revealed that he failed to pay more than $130,000 in taxes (Fox News, 2/3/09). President Obama said Daschle’s decision to step down is “part of the era of responsibility”:
“He owned up to it. And ultimately made a decision that we couldn’t afford the distraction. And I’ve got to own up to my mistake, which is that, you know, ultimately it’s important for this administration to send the message there aren’t two sets of rules. One for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes…. And that’s part of the era of responsibility, is not never making mistakes, it’s owning up to them and trying to make sure you don’t repeat them. And that’s what we intend to do.” (NBC, 2/3/09)
Daschle’s downfall came on the heels of more tax troubles surrounding some of Obama’s other cabinet nominees:
“Nancy Killefer, appointed by the president last month to a new position to scrutinize government spending, told the administration on Monday that she intended to step down from the position at the Office of Management and Budget. …Ms. Killefer’s withdrawal came because of questions with her taxes. Update: In her resignation letter to Mr. Obama, she described the problem as a tax-related issue stemming from Washington, D.C. unemployment.” (New York Times, 2/3/09)
“[Treasury Secretary nominee Tim] Geithner failed to pay a total of $34,023 in taxes from 2001 to 2004. He paid some of it in 2006 after he was audited by the Internal Revenue Service, which he would oversee as Treasury secretary. He paid the rest after Obama expressed his intent to nominate him.” (Associated Press, 01/14/2009)Even after Obama made the rounds on national news networks to ensure America’s middle-class families that there isn’t a separate set of rules for prominent people, it has still been more than seven months since Rangel’s tax problems became public and he has still refused to take any responsibility for his own actions. Nancy Pelosi promised the American people years ago that she would run the “most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history,” but instead she has stood by Rangel every step of the way – even as the Ethics Committee has launched a series of investigations into Rangel’s mounting tax scandal.
It should be made known to Glenn Nye’s constituents that Charlie Rangel has donated more than $14,000 to help Nye get elected to Congress. Consequently, it should not come as a great surprise that Nye was willing to return the favor by voting to keep Rangel in his power post atop the Ways and Means Committee. What is insulting, though, is that despite promises for “change” routinely sounded on the campaign trail, Glenn Nye and his Democrat leaders continue to ignore Obama’s calls to prove to the American people that “there aren’t two sets of rules.”
