Democrats, Some Republicans Protect Corrupt Cong. Rangel

A Corrupt Congress Protects it's Own:

Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) sat stone-faced as the House chamber buzzed around him, preparing to vote on a measure that could partly undo his almost four decades of work in Congress.

As Republicans pressed their attempt to remove him from his perch as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Democrats stood by Rangel -- under investigation for a series of alleged violations that include improperly occupying several rent-controlled New York City apartments and failing to disclose a laundry list of income and assets -- and deflected the measure to committee.

They have stuck with Rangel repeatedly as the list of charges against him has grown, resisting any temptation to push aside a popular fixture in the party who helped found the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971. They have done so despite vows from Republicans to continue to force them to go on the record in defense of their colleague. But the issue carries complications for both parties.

Instead of full-throated defenses of Rangel, House Democrats measured their comments. Asked whether the Rangel controversy would have any negative impact on his party, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, sidestepped the question, saying that "the issue is making sure there is a fair process."

Some Republicans, meanwhile, chafed at the sharp rhetoric aimed at Rangel, a jovial lawmaker who has many friends in both parties and is in a position to dole out favors on both sides of the aisle.

[...]The Republican-sponsored resolution said Rangel was unfit to serve as the chairman of the powerful committee that writes tax laws while he remains under investigation. Democrats blocked the move, sending the resolution by Rep. John Carter (R-Tex.), to the ethics committee and saying Congress should wait for action until that panel completes its investigation.

The resolution was the fourth attempt by Republicans in the past 16 months to censure Rangel or strip him of his committee chairmanship. House Republican leaders pushed their members to back the resolution against the Harlem lawmaker, arguing that his conduct violated pledges from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in 2006 to oversee the "most ethical Congress in history" and end what she called "the culture of corruption" when Republicans ruled the House.