It's Time to Dump this Guy

Consummate political hack Charles Rangel, Harlem's congressman for a seeming eternity, is in hot water yet again, this time for not reporting income on a rental property he owns in the Dominican Republic. The excuse he offers could only come from one who has been in office far too long. Reason reports:

Embattled rent control crook Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) defended his failure to pay back taxes on rental income from his Dominican Republic villa today, claiming it was all an innocent mistake due to "cultural and language barriers." From The New York Times:

"Every time I thought I was getting somewhere, they'd start speaking Spanish," Mr. Rangel told reporters.

I wonder what the reaction would be to that alibi if Rangel were a white Republican. Regardless, you think the congressman would consider taking Spanish lessons, anyway. If Rangel were to take a gander at his own website, he would learn that Harlem is not just for blacks anymore, 46 percent of its residents are Hispanic, mostly Dominican, and their number is growing; they will soon be a majority. I'm sure his mostly poor, Spanish-speaking constituents will be overflowing with sympathy for a representative who can't even speak their language, especially those from the Dominican Republic; who wouldn't be allowed to set foot anywhere near Rangel's swell digs in their own homeland.