Charlie Rangel's Ethics (or lack thereof) -- What's Wrong with gaming the system ?

Gov. David Patterson is mauled by his own party b/c he is weak and unelectable (and has some ethical issues).

But Powerful Charlie Rangel, embroiled in multiple and significant corrupt activities, can't be touched.

Why is this man not gone ?


Pelosi Defends Rangel; Other Dems, Not So Much [Daniel Foster]

The day after a House ethics panel admonished Rep. Charlie Rangel (D., N.Y.) for improperly accepting gifts, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the senior Democrat from calls that he be stripped of his gavel as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

Pelosi said Rangel "did not violate the rules of the House," and that the ethics committee "did not take action against him" yet, ABC News's Rick Klein reports. The ethics panel said it was uncertain whether Rangel himself knew the trips were improper, but found that members of Rangel's staff did know, and that Rangel had a responsibility to find out.
Pelosi side-stepped questions about Rangel's future in the party leadership.

"We'll just see what happens next," she told reporters, adding that she wants to read the ethics committee's full report, and await its conclusions on other targets of its investigation, such as Rangel's taxes and financial disclosures, and his apparent use of House resources to raise money for a non-profit institution in his name.

"There's more to Mr. Rangel's situation and we look forward to hearing from Mr. Rangel on that," she said.

But some other Democrats are not waiting to call on Rangel to step down as Ways and Means chair.

Today, Reps. Paul Hodes (D., N.H.), Gene Taylor (D., Miss.) and Bobby Bright (D., Ala.) all called on Rangel to quit the powerful committee. In a statement, Hodes said:
"I honor and respect Charlie Rangel’s lifetime of service as a soldier serving our country in Korea and as a public servant. But Washington must be held to the highest ethical standards. Regrettably, with the finding of ethics violations, Charlie Rangel should step down from his leadership position.”

Taylor said that Rangel "should step down, or at least step aside until all this is resolved," and Bright said that "my opinion is that he should step down."

UPDATE: Rangel told reporters he will not step down as Ways and Means chairman, and said that the ethics report "exonerates" him from wrongdoing.