Every day, we see Democrats ignoring the rules in order to get their way and hang on to power. What we don't see every day is an elderly, ethically challenged, shyster like Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) producing an iPad in the middle of a televised debate. Apparently, it's a brave new world of technology, and Rangel is embracing it fully - whether it's fair or not.
Rangel is currently locked in a bitter primary fight, so every point counts. He whipped out his iPad and began Googling something which, when scolded by the moderator, he claimed was his own record. He also said he "was going" to show everybody.
“Congressman, are you Googling during this debate?” The moderator asked.
"No," Rangel lied. "I just wanted to show that what he was taking out was consistent -"
"But it's not fair, because they don't have their devices."
"Oh," Rangel replied. "I was going to show it to them, but you're right!"
Here's the video, which aired on WABC New York Sunday Night.
Believe it or not, that was the better part of the evening for Rangel.
He went on to attack his opponent, Adriano Espaillat, as little more than an ethnic identity.
“Just what the heck has he actually done besides saying he’s a Dominican?” Rangel wondered. "This young fellow…woke up one morning, and found out there were more Dominicans in the Bronx added to it, and his ambitions allowed him to believe that he should be the first Dominican” in Congress.
Espaillat returned fire, saying that “To come here and spew division is not becoming of you and your title as a congressman. You should really apologize.”
Rangel didn't apologize. Instead he referred to a flyer distributed by Espaillat's state Senate campaign in 2012, which suggested that Dominicans who supported his then-opponent were betrayers to the Dominican community.
“I’d apologize," Rangel said, "if you didn’t have literature (labeling) Dominicans who didn’t support you as traitors."
Of course all of this is hilarious, since Rangel's entire career is based on exactly that kind of division politics.
You may recall that, a little over a year ago, Rangel described black Republicans as “more tokens than signs of progress” because “modern-day Republicans have deployed blacks to undermine black interests.”
If Representative Rangel needs a reminder, he can read his comments here. Or, he could always just Google them.
