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Report: Rangel Paid Son's Company For Shoddy Web Design
Looks like the man who takes the lead in writing our tax code, Rep. Charles Rangel, could be in more hot water.
Rangel, the New York Democrat who chairs the House Ways and Means committee, already faces an ethics investigation into claims that he didn't pay taxes on income from a rental property and that he got a special deal on a group of Harlem apartments.
Now, Politico reports that, between 2004 and 2007, Rangel paid nearly $80,000 in campaign funds to a company run by his son, Steven Rangel, for two poorly designed websites that, according to an expert, should have cost no more than $900.
The payments to the company, Edisonian Innovative Works, are probably legal, says one campaign finance wonk, but "definitely wrong."
The quality of work on the web site does appear shoddy. Politico describes it as "slapped together in a hurry, intermittently updated and never spell-checked." The site notes:
An apologetic note near the top of the site warns readers that the page is undergoing "routine maintenace (sic)" and cautions that "much of our content is currently unavailable."Another button urges visitors to "Give Contribuition [sic]."
According to FEC filings looked at by Politico, the sum paid by Rangel for this prodcutwas the most paid for web sites by any House member. And Rangel has not faced a competitive race for his Harlem seat in decades, meaning there would appear to be even less need to spend so much on a campaign website.
Politico adds: "Rangel's 2008 campaign site was designed and run by non-relatives for less than $25,000."
Josh
Zachary
The sooner we can get rid of corrupt Democrats the better. It will give Charlie more time to talk on the radio with his buddy Sean Hannity.
December 5, 2008 10:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Politicos like Rangel do these types of self-serving things for the same reason a dog licks himself.... because they can. Power corrupts everybody eventually.
December 5, 2008 11:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Charlie Rangel is an embarrassment. We should really be pushing for him to resign.
December 5, 2008 11:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
I live in New York, and I can't think of a damn thing Rangel ever did for anyone but himself, his family, and his cronies. He's like some potentate sitting around gorging his fat ass on the good produced by others. All New York politicians are pretty feeble, when you realize that New York City is a prodigious source of revenue to the feds and upstate, while receiving little in return except vilification of our "values."
December 5, 2008 12:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
People like Rangel, Jefferson, and Dingell cause Democrats' legitimate criticism of corrupt Republicans to have less sting.
December 5, 2008 12:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Funny..with stuff like this going on....
"
The Bush administration has just 46 days before its time expires, but that isn't stopping it from running roughshod over Congress in an effort to loosen environmental regulation. The Interior Department issued a new rule Thursday that prevents Congress from blocking the use of federal land for mining and drilling. The law, invoked just five times since its creation in 1976, was used this summer to place a moratorium on mining and drilling on lands near the Grand Canyon. (New York Times)"
Political is worried about Charles Rangel "ethics"...and you poor "heard animals" fall for it.... every time
December 5, 2008 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Chabuka,
maybe us poor "herd animals" can walk and chew chewing gum at the same time?
December 5, 2008 1:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
slapped together in a hurry, intermittently updated and never spell-checked
That's about 99% of the Web.
December 5, 2008 12:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Boy, am I charging WAAAAAY too little.
December 5, 2008 12:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Me too, and I just code, I don't have to use FrontPage!
December 8, 2008 10:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
Gawd, I hate to say it, but Charlie's such a damn dinosaur I'm surprised he is still walking the Earth rather than having been converted into a pool of black hydrocarbon goo.
December 5, 2008 12:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Does anyone have a link to the silly sites?
December 5, 2008 1:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
so politico has done a complete investigation of Mr. Rangel's campaign spending ???
did politico ever think to report on the repuglitard congresscritter Doolittle who paid his wife 15% of all his campaign contributions ???
the wife, ms doolittle lived up to her name, as she didn't have to design a shitty web site or anything
she just collected $300,000 dollars in 4 years for DOING NOTHING
did politico report about that ???
or does politico just investigate Democrats ???
I'm looking forward to the repuglitards being outraged over the actions of Democrats that pale in comparison to the actions of repuglitards
I'm sure the repuglitardds who were silent while george bush raped tortured and murdered prisoners will be complaining about the mistreatment of prisoners by Barack Obama by june
December 5, 2008 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Adam Clayton Powell still lives. Shoulda known better is an understatement. It is time to go.
December 5, 2008 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I will be forever grateful to Charlie Rangel for sticking it to the Republicans every chance he could during the dark days. Whenever he was on television back then, he always made me smile.
Chairman Rangel has been a member of Congress for 37 years and if this is the worst they've got on him, he should stay right where he is.
Having a pretty good idea about how oppo research works, I'm sure the GOP knew about the rent-controlled apartment, the Dominican rental, the homestead exemption and the cost of the website quite awhile ago.
These time-released tidbits are supposed to make it appear that Rangel is the ultimate corrupt politician by keeping Rangel's name constantly in the news over minor crap.
At first, I thought the case against Rangel was about a campaign to discredit black politicians generally but now I'm wondering if it has more to do with Rangel's political stance.
December 5, 2008 5:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
@ Mrs Panstreppon:
I totally agree with you--he's made me smile, too!
Since so many of our representatives do many stupid things, we're faced with categorizing the things and the representatives on several scales, weighing the good against the stupid or just not bothering with the effort. From my vantage point, he does more good than stupid stuff. (At least, that $80,000 wasn't in a freezer in his home.)
Let's work on the much more difficult issues: Pressure and support for true investigations of the current administration's above-the-law stance on its subversion of the Constitution... I agree with John Dean; it's worse than Watergate. And it ain't over!
@Zachary Roth, gently:
Please use your Spellcheck feature, especially when you're noting another person's misspellings. From the above article:
"According to FEC filings looked at by Politico, the sum paid by Rangel for this prodcutwas (sic) the most paid for web sites by any House member."
New (sic) added...
Respectfully submitted,
John
December 7, 2008 5:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
That is hilarious actually.... shoddy web design. so they were using MS FrontPage were they! Hahahahahaha
December 8, 2008 10:07 AM | Reply | Permalink