In 2006, Nancy Pelosi talked about draining the swamp:
WAPO 10/6/2006 – House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is thinking 100 hours, time enough, she says, to begin to “drain the swamp” after more than a decade of Republican rule.
Three years later, Pelosi appears quite content to maintain the House of Lords as a place where so many leeches contently suck life from our economy to pad their coffers secure in the knowledge that rules rarely, if ever, apply to those within these hallowed halls.
Two years ago we discussed Congressional Ethics and Other Myths because it appeared Pelosi was much less concerned about draining the swamp now that the Dems owned all of the lilly pads; nothing much has changed since then.
Witness Charlie Rangel.
Here is a man who heads the House Ways and Means committee… the one responsible for all those really neat tax laws. A man who is proposing that the IRS be stricter in enforcing the law and less forgiving of mistakes. A man under investigation for tax evasion by an internal House committee (not by the IRS of course):
NY Post – Rangel’s committee seeks to reduce legal defenses and increase fines and penalties on taxpayers undergoing IRS scrutiny for what they assert are innocent errors.
Among other things, Rangel’s bill would even prohibit the IRS from forgiving taxpayers who erred in good faith — though that would be a very generous interpretation of his own tax troubles.
In just the last year, Rangel has been forced to file late-disclosure reports involving millions from land transfers and unreported business deals.
In fact, Rangel has recently discovered that his portfolio is worth about twice what he thought… either he’s lying or he’s pretty damn clueless. Either way, do you want him writing your tax laws?
Want to know how deep the swamp is and how those with a lilly pad get to keep their seat? Here’s some insight from CBS:
There may be a reason for Rangel’s arrogance. CBS 2 HD has discovered that since ethics probes began last year the 79-year-old congressman has given campaign donations to 119 members of Congress, including three of the five Democrats on the House Ethics Committee who are charged with investigating him.
No conflict of interest there… it’s no wonder the “investigation” has dragged on for months, more than a year in fact, while Rangel continues to wield incredible power in the House.
And yet… Pelosi continues to allow Rangel to hold onto his chairmanship, content to sip the swamp water through a swizzle stick.
Read the following today and it applies to so many of our “leaders” today:
“Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power” Robert G. Ingersoll
Looks like we’re finding out…
More insight from HotAir point out “This demonstrates the problems of having the House (and Senate) holding its members accountable for their actions.”
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