The Tax Lawyer's Blog

Much has been written lately about the continuing tax and financial woes of House Ways & Means Chairman Charlie Rangel.

In my last post I questioned why the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, hasn’t asked Rangel to step down.

Well, I just saw MSNBC’s Chuck Todd on Morning Joe suggest an answer:

Until the ethics committee makes a definitive decision, Democrats will be behind Rangel because of two words: Pete Stark.

Google his name and you’ll see why the Democrats don’t want him.

Makes sense. Stark is the senior Democrat on the committee and, therefore, would be the Chairman if Rangel is removed.

Here’s a sampling of Stark’s greatest hits straight from the congressional record.

Stark slanders a sitting President of the United States in a time of war:

You don’t have money to fund the war or children. But you’re going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President’s amusement.

The truth is that Bush just likes to blow things up.  In Iraq, in the United States and in Congress.

Talk about giving aid and comfort to the enemy!

Stark calls fellow committee member “c_sucker”, “fruitcake” and a “wimp”:

According to an official committee transcript, Stark physically taunted fellow Ways and Means Committee member Scott McInnis (R-Colorado) while [Chariman Bill] Thomas attempted to hold a voice vote on the bill at hand.

In response to McInnis’ demand that Stark be quiet while the bill was being read, Stark blurted out: “[O]h, you think you are big enough to make me, you little wimp? Come on. Come over here and make me. I dare you.”

Further goading McInnis, a married Republican gentleman, Stark lashed out: “You little fruitcake. You little fruitcake. I said you are a fruitcake.”

Witnesses say Stark then hurled a 10-letter homophobic insult (starts with c and ends with r) at McInnis.

Stark accuses HHS Secretary Louis Sullivan of being a disgrace to his race:

Stark lambasted former Bush 1 Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, an accomplished doctor and medical researcher, as “a disgrace to his race and his profession” because he opposed Stark’s socialist health care schemes.

Stark accuses a welfare worker of wanting to kill babies:

Stark attacked former conservative California state welfare director Eloise Anderson in 1999 as a baby-killer, complaining at a public forum that she would “kill children if she had her way” simply because she opposed cradle-to-grave government welfare entitlements.

Stay Charlie, stay!

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