Not many folks recall that Rep. Rangel got his job by unseating the famed Adam Clayton Powell...now

[bigtree]

April 8, 2010

Embattled Charlie Rangel faces yet another Adam Clayton Powell (the son)

It's no surprise that Charles B. Rangel, the gravelly-voiced Democrat from Harlem, has attracted a primary challenger.

After all, when the House Ethics Committee admonishes you for accepting gifts from corporations for your junkets to your retreat in the Dominican Republic, you can expect to pay out of pocket. And when your colleagues -- nervous about their own prospects in 2010 -- try to distance themselves by dumping you as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, you can pretty well expect that an ambitious opponent will seize the moment.

But how rich the irony! The man who is expected to throw his hat into the ring on Monday is Adam Clayton Powell IV, the son of the man Rangel beat four decades ago, effectively ending the elder Powell's political career. The similarities are eerie.

Elected in 1944, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. became the first black congressman from New York, one of only two African Americans serving in Congress. His challenges were personal -- he overturned whites-only House facilities and forced colleagues to stop using the "N-word" on the House floor. He left lasting legislative victories too; he launched a campaign against the poll tax used by Southern states to exclude blacks from the voting booth, and was instrumental in efforts to make lynching a federal crime.

For decades, Powell was the political king of Harlem, unchallenged and revered, like Rangel a charismatic figure on the local scene. Then, as chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, Powell was accused of misusing committee funds, taking trips abroad at public expense (including travel to his retreat...


read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/04/embattled-charlie-rangel-faces-yet-another-adam-clayton-powell-in-harlem-as-history-comes-full-circl.html

[goclark]

1. What goes around, comes back at you some times

Hope the best man wins!

It always amazes me that the Republicans rarely get punished for their $$ deeds.

Democrats must always be super clean because when they get the goods on a Democrat, they either shut them up or they get kicked out of their seats.

For example: When was the last time that you heard Maxine Waters get on her soapbox -- crikets.

Rangel crickets

Conyers ~ crickets
and the beat goes on ----

[Captain Hilts]

2. Yes. I like ol' Charlie, but it's time to go....nt

[Johnyawl]

4. It may be time for ol' Charlie to go...

...but it doesn't sound like Adam Clayton Powell IV is any great prize.

I think I'd like to see Rangel hang on until a better man (or woman) comes along to end his career.

[bigtree]

3. I won't cheer his decline

. . . but the irony is thick here.

I have very fond memories of listing to the Rep. talking to reporters (and exchanging a few words) at a few D.C. rallies I attended.

[goclark]

5. I was a big fan and I still remember the good

stands that he took on many occasions.