I different kind of drama is playing out on Capitol Hill, where the embattled Rep. Charles Rangel refuses to “Hit the Road Jack.”
Yesterday, Rangel took to the House Floor to plead his case.
Rangel’s soliloquy went on for more than 30 minutes. At times, he was rambling, emotional, defiant, apologetic and self-effacing.
Rangel admitted he made mistakes in soliciting donations for the Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York:
It may be stupid or negligent, but it’s not corrupt.
Rangel pleaded with the House Ethics Committee to schedule a hearing:
The ethics committee won’t even tell me when I’m going to have a hearing. ..I’m 80 years old. I don’t want to die before the hearing.
Rangel acknowledged his situation presents an additional hurdle for Democrats who are already running scared:
If I were you, I may want me to go away, too. I am not going away. I am here.
As for resigning so that he can “end his career with dignity,” fuhgetaboutit:
If I can’t get my dignity back here, then fire your best shot at getting rid of me through expulsion.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave Rangel’s performance the thumbs down in a statement:
As I have repeatedly stated, the independent, bipartisan Ethics Committee is the proper arena for ethics matters to be discussed. The process is moving forward in a way that will ensure that the highest ethical standards are upheld in the House of Representatives.
Rangel’s one-man show is now playing at C-SPAN Archives.
