I agree with Pelosi and support retention (for now) of Charlie Rangel as committee chair

Frankly, I never thought I'd ever type those words...but here we are, and I did. Of course you're asking yourselves if I've gone batshit crazy, took a million dollar bribe, went off my meds, am being blackmailed in some gay sex scandal, etc.

However, let me assure you, its none of those reasons, as entirely plausible as they may sound. The reason is far more pragmatic:

Pete Stark is next in line for the chair. Got that?

...The next Democrat in line would be Pete Stark, an outspoken 77-year-old liberal with a firebrand reputation and a penchant for intemperate cracks – like calling Blue Dog Democrats “brain dead.”...

PETE. FREAKING. STARK. The same Pete Stark who think we "increase our wealth" by borrowing trillions of dollars. That Pete Stark.

Charlie Rangel ain't no angel, that's for sure, but he's not a clinically defined imbecile either. He's actually pretty smart, albeit crooked as a corkscrew, he's just working for the wrong side. I doubt you'd ever hear Charlie say that borrowing makes you wealthier. He knows how the real world works and knows damn well that stealing/graft and cheating on taxes is what makes you wealthier.

IOW, he's an imminently practical (albeit vastly corrupt individual who should be spending the rest of his life in prison) whereas Pete Stark still believes in the tooth fairy, and Santa.

Crazy you can't deal with, because well, its crazy and irrational. Corrupt and greedy are traits you can deal with at a negotiating table because they're entirely predictable.

Keeping Charlie where he is keeps the committee on the much firmer ground of institutional corruption, rather than flirting with the genuinely fatal shoals of true insanity.

posted by Purple Avenger at 12:42 PM

| Access Comments