OPINION:
Instead of “draining the swamp” of corruption, as Nancy Pelosi promised Americans in 2006, under her tenure as speaker of the House, the congressional swamp has grown more putrid, more corrupt, and even more out-of-touch with ordinary Americans.
With abundant just cause, Americans can’t stand the smell of the squawking, lethargic, spendthrift Fedzilla Congress run by Mrs. Pelosi. Coming in at a whopping 11 percent approval rating, according to Gallup, Americans have no faith, confidence or trust in the Pelosi-controlled Congress. There is good reason for this dismal approval rating.
Enter Congressrat Charlie Rangel who represents Harlem. Although he is presumed innocent until proven guilty, anyone can see that Congressrat Rangel is an unethical schmuck who is more deserving of a prison cell than a seat in Congress. The shadow of corruption has followed him around for years.
Congressrat Rangel has now been charged with 13 ethics violations. You may recall he stepped down from his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee, the committee that writes our tax laws, for not paying all of his taxes. One has to wonder if he shared tax cheat tips with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
One of the 13 charges against Congressrat Rangel is that he failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in income and assets over the years. He will surely try to wrangle himself out of his swamp-infested tax mess but the evidence against him stinks like stagnant swamp water. He’s the current poster child for congressional corruption.
President Obama, Mrs. Pelosi and other Democrats know Congressrat Rangel is a political liability that they don’t need at the moment, as they are doing enough damage on their own to the Democratic Party with their socialistic policies. His ethics trial is set to start in September, which is just two months before the Democrat swamp-draining election in November.
However, Congressrat Rangel is not alone when it comes to being investigated and charged with unethical behavior. Democratic Congressrat Maxine Waters also faces ethics charges for purportedly helping a bank receive federal bailout money, a bank in which her husband had a financial stake. Surely, this is all just a big misunderstanding.
Just watch - the congressrats on both sides of the political aisle will circle the wagons and protect Congressrat Rangel. Regardless of the outcome of his trial, they will speak of all the good work he has done in Congress, how he works tirelessly to serve his constituents, how he’s a patriot and loves America, etc. Not one of them will say that Congress is a better institution with Congressrat Rangel gone from it.
Not one of them will introduce legislation to state that congressrats found guilty of ethics violations will not receive a pension and be permanently banned from entering the Capitol. They won’t even stand before a microphone and condemn him if he is found guilty. Their silence is condemnable and pathetic, yet they have the gall to condemn others in the business community and elsewhere. It’s no wonder Americans have such a low opinion of these soulless clowns.
Major League Baseball has tougher ethics standards than Congress. All-time hit leader Pete Rose is banned from MLB for gambling on baseball games. Congressrats found guilty of ethics charges are often simply censured. Some consequence, huh? Scary stuff, huh?
Congressrat Rangel and others guilty of ethics violations and other criminal charges have no shame. They rarely apologize to the American people for being unethical and criminal political snakes. They deserve to be inducted into a Congressional Hall of Shame.
We deserve better than Congressrat Rangel, but we will get more of the same. He won’t be the last rat to be elected to Congress or to face ethics charges. However, never forget that these people represent us. We have a choice and are ultimately in charge. We can either get more of the same or toss out the unethical punks and be more engaged and attentive in the future. Tea Party anyone?
The great political satirist Will Rogers once said that good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. Knowing that, my recommendation is to never trust any of them.
Yes, the whole thing stinks. You can put perfume on the pig but its still Fedzilla. We send people to Washington to represent us and political machines on both sides of the aisle turn them into political cogs. And Fedzilla gets fatter, less accountable and even less effective.
Politics is a messy, ugly game. But when a congressrat gets caught cheating, there ought to be hell to pay. And that’s the lesson of Congressrat Rangel. My prediction is that nothing of any substance will happen to him, thereby ensuring we get more of the same.
A thorough housecleaning is in order in America. Are we up to this critical task or not?
Ted Nugent is an unstoppable American rock ’n’ roll, sporting and political activist icon. He is author of “Ted, White & Blue: The Nugent Manifesto” and “God, Guns and Rock ’N’ Roll” (Regnery Publishing).
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