Rangel Likes McConnell's Plan; But Not as Much as He Likes Billie Holiday
Once Rep. Charles Rangel (the real one!) caught wind that somebody was impersonating him on this program, he figured, “What the heck?” and decided to treat Imus to the real thing.
“I wish I could be in New York with you,” he told Imus (who was actually in New Mexico). “It’s so tense down here in Washington.”
It’s normally not much better on the Imus in the Morning set, but things in the nation’s capitol are particularly tense right now, as Democrats and Republicans seek common ground on the question of how to most responsibly raise the debt ceiling.
“In the past, at least 17 times, we’ve had this type of thing, but we’ve never had the polarization between the parties as we have today,” Rangel, a Democrat serving his 21st term in Congress, said. “So, therefore, you never know how deep the party is dug in on its political commitments.”
After days of strained negotiations, Rangel was feeling a tiny bit optimistic this morning because of a proposal Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, made today that would force President Obama to raise the debt ceiling on his own, should both sides fail to reach an agreement.
“No matter what party you belong to, for god’s sake—get rid of the problem of the debt ceiling!” Rangel implored. “Let’s pay the people we borrowed money from, and then get back to the question of entitlements, budgets, and revenues.”
There are, he insisted, moral as well as political issues associated with raising the debt ceiling. In his view, revenue needs to be raised in addition to any plan that would cut Social Security, Medicaid, or Medicare. There is an important difference, he explained, between using the word “revenue,” rather than “taxes,” to describe what would be done.
“We have loopholes in the tax code you could drive a truck through,” he said. “Everyone knows it—Republicans and Democrats. If we took away these unnecessary preferences, we’d have billions of dollars, and it would be raising revenue.”
Even the United States Chamber of Commerce has said the tax code needs to be reformed, but as Rangel pointed out, “the other side would call that ‘increasing taxes.’”
Obama’s job is made increasingly difficult, in this matter and many others, in Rangel’s opinion, because the Republicans oppose his policies every step of the way. As the 2012 election nears, Rangel believes it will be tough for any incumbent, including the President, to hang on to their job if the economy remains in the toilet.
“People are mad as hell, and the only way they can exercise their frustration is to get rid of the person that’s up every two years,” he said, but added, regarding Obama, “You can’t beat an incumbent with nobody. And so far, we don’t see any candidates there really making an appeal to the American people.”
Rangel made an appeal to Imus, however, by selecting some respectable songs as his five favorites, including tunes by Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. Though he knew Sinatra peripherally over the years, Rangel never met the legendary Holiday, but said, “I certainly know everybody that tried to mimic her over the years.”
Next time, Rangel hopes to visit Imus in his New York studio, he said, so that the two could “talk eyeball to eyeball,” whatever that means.
-Julie Kanfer
Reader Comments (2)
Well lets put this to a Vote
I say Tony is a better Rangel....than Rangel
Try screwing in that incandecent light bulb!!!!!!!!
Sorry I have to heap scorn on the Eyeman BUT
The only question we needed answered by this crooked congressman WAS
"Are you really a BAD MAN"?????
Guess it was to much to ask for....instead we get 5 minutes of butt cheek talk
with the old fool. Rangel should answered the first question posed
"Were you at ceremony to honor the multi-tour soldier who lost his
hand to save his friends and if not-WHY NOT
And I am a Canadian
President Barack Obama awards U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry of Santa Fe the Medal of Honor during a ceremony Tuesday in the East Room of the White House. Petry is the ninth service member to have been named a recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and only the second living honoree from those wars....credit due to Associated Press