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Charlie Rangel
Rangel And The Draft
Jul 7th - 11:19 am
Embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel is again bucking the Democratic establishment (namely the Obama administration) by calling for a mandatory draft to highlight his opposition to any more tax dollars going to fund the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
“In my view, no additional tax dollars should be appropriated for hunkering down in Iraq and Afghanistan, where taxpayers have already spent over $1 trillion,” Rangel wrote in a statement about the war funding resolution that he is reading this morning at a press conference in front of the Times Square military recruiting station in Manhattan.
“…From here on, all expenditures should be for one purpose: to safely bring our brave and exhausted troops home. in order to fulfill one’s moral responsibility to this democracy, anyone who supports this, or any war, should also support a compulsory military draft.”
The congressman is also distributing a full-color flyer that features photos of the 74 NYC residents who have fallen while serving in these two wars.
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Rangel: Cuomo Coronation Great For Dems, Bad For Voters
Jun 7th - 5:53 pm
During an wide-ranging interview with NY1′s Michael Scotto earlier today, Rep. Charlie Rangel admitted the fact that AG Andrew Cuomo appears poised to sail into the governor’s office with minimal opposition is probably bad for the voters…but, as a self-professed “staunch partisan Democrat,” it makes him awfully happy.
“Listen, I never thought that the Democratic Party would be so lucky to get the break that we’re getting now, to have a seasoned candidate go almost unchallenged, Rangel said.
When Scotto asked whether the Cuomo coronation (my words, not his) is a good thing, Rangel at first replied: “I think it is.” But then allowed: “Well, no, no, no; for the general public, it may not be.”
“For the Republican Party at a convention to look like Democrats normally look at their convention is a good feeling for those of us,” Rangel explained.
“Normally, Democrats form a firing squad in a circle and just shoot each other. So, here in a primary, they kill each other…This time, what a joy it is for me as a staunch partisan Democrat to see the Republicans do it.”
Trouble For Rangel At 3 Parks (Updated)
May 27th - 8:08 am
The Three Parks Independent Democrats were forced to hold three ballots during an endorsement meeting last night when embattled veteran Rep. Charlie Rangel failed to make the cut in the first two rounds.
In Round I, labor activist Jonathan Tasini, who recently dropped his long-shot primary challenge to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to train his sights on Rangel instead, managed to hold Rangel just under the 50 percent mark that would have enabled him to land the club’s nod.
Tasini provided a tally of the votes. (The numbers slowly drop off as club members started to depart the meeting).
UPDATE: (These numbers are new, and from Three Parks) Round I:
Joyce Johnson – 4
Vincent Morgan – 1
Adam Powell IV – 2
Charles B. Rangel – 48
Jonathan Tasini – 36
No Endorsment – 13
(Under Three Parks’ rules, the two top vote getters and “no endorsement” go to next round).
Round II:
Rangel – 33
Tasini – 28
No E – 6
Round III:
Rangel – 26
No Endorsement – 18
State Dems Stick Up For Rangel
May 14th - 3:45 pm
State Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs just issued a statement slamming labor activist Jonathan Tasini for criticizing his new primary target, Rep. Charlie Rangel, and saying the veteran Harlem pol’s multiple ethics scandals will be an anchor around the necks of the party’s candidates nationwide.
Jacobs accused Tasini of primary shopping, noting he dropped his challenge to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand after determining that he could not raise sufficient funds to run a viable campaign.
“It’s unfortunate that Jonathan Tasini feels the need to attack one well-respected public servant after another as he searches for an office to seek,” Jacobs said.
“As he flits from race to race desperately searching for any perceived vulnerability, he should be careful about attacking fellow Democrats who have served their communities well for many years. When ambition outweighs good judgment, the voters need to be wary.”
Tasini Gives Up On Gillibrand, Sets Sights On Rangel
May 12th - 12:11 pm
And then there were none.
Labor activist Jonathan Tasini, the last remaining primary challenger to Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, confirmed today he has given up on his quest to oust the appointed junior senator and has decided to join the fray against embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel instead.
Tasini, who lost a longshot primary challenge to Gillibrand’s predecessor, Hillary Clinton, in 2006, admitted his decision to drop out of the race this year was mostly motivated by his failure to raise sufficient funds to, as he put it, “be heard.”
To date, Tasini has managed to raise just $124,244, where he had hoped to bring in between $2 million and $3 million. He has $7,938 on hand and $5,482 worth of debt.
Gillibrand, by contrast, has raised $8.7 million and has $6 million on hand.
Tasini said he had “no expectation” of winning in 2006, but someone needed to challenge Clinton from the left and debate her “yes” vote for the Iraq War.
He said even if he had managed to raise $10 million four years ago, he would not have been able to defeat former First Lady, who was well-known and very popular at the time.
“That was not true of Kirsten Gillibrand, who continues to be unpopular, and has never been elected,” said Tasini, who called it a “sad commentary on the Democratic Party” that the Obama administration and top New York leaders have systematically pushed Gillibrand’s challengers out of the race.
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A Trio Of Riveras (And Castro?) For Powell (Updated)
Apr 27th - 1:56 pm
Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV might not be generating much in the way of institutional backing in his quest to oust veteran Harlem Rep. Charlie Rangel from his father’s old seat, but he does enjoy some modest support from his Albany colleagues.
Seven of Powell’s fellow Assembly members have signed up to host a fundraiser for him at Sofrito tomorrow night.
The list includes Peter Rivera, who told me recently that he planned to stick with Powell – at least for now – despite the fact that he had received a personal call from Rangel (not returned at the moment I chatted with Rivera).
Also on Team Powell is Assemblyman Jose Rivera (an ally of, but not related to, Peter Rivera), the former Bronx Democratic chairman; and his daughter, Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera.
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Rangel Calls, But Rivera Sticks With Powell
Apr 21st - 10:10 am
Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV’s already short list of endorsements from fellow elected officials was further truncated yesterday when his colleague, Nelson Castro, insisted he had never granted support for the Harlem Dem’s primary challenge to Rep. Charlie Rangel.
Apparently, the forces of Rangel are working overtime to shore up the embattled veteran congressman’s support. He even put in a personal call to Assemblyman Peter Rivera.
Rivera told me he never returned the call – “It was a busy week, we had Somos and I was tied up,” he explained. But he had a hunch as to what Rangel might have wanted to say, and the matter isn’t up for discussion – not at the moment, anyway.
“I don’t see a reason (not to support him),” Rivera said of Powell. “He’s a colleague, number one. We’ve supported each other on numerous occasions before, and I didn’t think anything about supporting him now.”
“I’m not impressed with our congressional delegation to begin with. I’m not seeing we have people on the news every single week leading a cutting edge battle when it comes to what’s happening in Washington. I think (Powell) would do as good a job as any of the other people in the delegation.”
That’s sort of damning with faint praise, but at this point, Powell has to take what he can get.
As for Rangel, Rivera had this to say:
“I like Charlie, but I haven’t heard anything from Charlie other than that phone call last week. I haven’t spoken to Charlie in maybe three or four years.”
Powell’s Theory
Apr 12th - 2:02 pm
Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV today appeared to embrace the so-called “Paterson exit strategy” theory that first surfaced last fall, which more or less entails his opponent, Rep. Charlie Rangel, getting re-elected and sticking around just long enough to hand-pick his successor – perhaps providing a landing place for the embattled governor.
While Powell didn’t suggest outright Gov. David Paterson would be the beneficiary of this strategy, he was not shy about sharing his suspicion that the former Ways & Means Committee chair will run, win, resign and then pick his replacement through political dealmaking.
“When you run for two years – for a two year term, you’re supposed to stay there for two years,” Powell said at his campaign announcement this morning, which was covered by NY1′s Josh Robin.
“Rather than running with the idea that already you’re trying to figure out how you’re gonna manipulate the process with a county committee and all of that to put somebody else in there. That is not right.”
A similar political sleight-of-hand could be accomplished if Rangel files petitions and then declines the nomination, enabling his committee on vacancies to select a candidate to run in his stead. In this case, however, it’s highly unlikely Paterson would be tapped, since he has too much baggage to run for his own job, let alone someone else’s.
Wright On Powell vs. Rangel: Meh
Apr 12th - 12:46 pm
Asked for his reaction to this morning’s campaign announcement by his Assembly colleague, Adam Clayton Powell IV, Keith Wright resorted to your basic verbal shrug.
“It doesn’t change much,” said Wright, chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party and an ally of Powell’s target, Rep. Charlie Rangel. “I think it will be the same result as it was in 1994 (the last time owell challenged Rangel for his father’s old seat and lost).
“…Whoever’s running now has to put it all on the line because they have to put it all on the line and they’ll be out of office, because I don’t perceive them as winning.”
Aside from Powell, Rangel is also being challenged by two other Democrats – Vince Morgan and Joyce Johnson – and a Republican, the Rev. Michael Faulkner.
Wright noted with some respect that Powell has a history of putting it on the line, so to speak. In 1997, back when he was a NYC councilman, Powell ran for Manhattan borough president and lost, effectively derailing his political career (albeit temporarily). Powell moved to Puerto Rico for three years where he worked for FEMA and participated in the Vieques protests to rid the island of the US Navy’s presence.
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