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Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2008 > December > 02 > Entry
NRCC blasts Driehaus for ties to Rangel
See press release below from the National Republican Congressional Committee. I put in several calls to Driehaus’ office, but none were returned.
Here’s a primer on the many allegations facing Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. And here is the latest.
I checked with the Federal Elections Commission, and it appears Rangel indeed gave thousands of dollars to Driehaus’ campaign. Though it was a tiny fraction of the $1.2 million total war chest.
Driehaus, whose district includes Morgan, Reily, Hanover and Ross townships, unseated incumbent Republican Steve Chabot with a slim majority, and lost Butler County by a landslide.
Do you think Driehaus should give back the money? Do you think he has been “conspicuously silent,” as Republican allege?
The GOP release:
Driehaus Backer Caught Making Sweetheart Deals
Will Steve Driehaus Condemn His Benefactor or Keep Taking His Dirty Money?
Washington - It’s no secret that Steve Driehaus’ recent bid for a seat in Congress was bankrolled by the ethically tarnished New York Congressman Charlie Rangel. And now, Driehaus’ financier is in even more hot water - Rangel has been called upon to step down from his position as House Ways and Means Chair by yet another major editorial board for his appalling disregard of the most basic ethical standards.
The Washington Post takes Rangel to task for a possible quid pro quo deal with a major donor:
“[The] latest revelation of Mr. Rangel’s ethical tin ear is the most galling yet. While he remains innocent until proven otherwise, he should step aside as chairman while the ethics committee expands its inquiry.
“The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Mr. Rangel helped preserve a valuable tax loophole for an oil and gas drilling company while the company’s chief executive, Eugene M. Isenberg, was pledging $1 million to the Charles B. Rangel School of Public Service at City College of New York. Mr. Rangel insists that the mutual favors were entirely coincidental. And quite a coincidence it seems to have been. On Feb. 12, 2007, the Times reported, the day the tax legislation was being considered in his committee, Mr. Rangel met in New York City with Mr. Isenberg to discuss the businessman’s support of the Rangel School. Then Mr. Isenberg escorted Mr. Rangel across the room to his lobbyist, Kenneth J. Kies, who wanted to make sure Mr. Rangel would not close the loophole.” (Washington Post, 11/29/08)
The New York Post joined in by once again calling on its corrupt home town Congressman to give up his gavel and remove himself as the House’s chief tax legislation writer:
“Speaker Pelosi has all but ruled out relieving Rangel of his chairmanship, pending the Ethics Committee probe.
“Rangel’s ‘fear’ of that panel was illustrated by how quickly he reported himself: He knows it’s rare for members to get much more than a slap on the wrist.
“Bolder Democrats on the Ways & Means Committee need to step forward.
“Tax and spending bills begin in that committee: Do its members really think Rangel can credibly push through an ambitious agenda, given the cloud over his head?
“Charlie Rangel has fatally compromised his effectiveness as chairman of one of the most powerful congressional panels.” (New York Post, 11/30/08)
Now that the man who helped fund Steve Driehaus’ run to Congress has been outed for his most galling ethical violations to date, will Driehaus finally condemn Rangel’s actions and demand that the Harlem legislator step down from his post in the best interest of the American people? Or will Driehaus look the other way while Speaker Pelosi sweeps yet another of Rangel’s multitude of offenses under the rug? Given that Rangel lined Driehaus’ campaign coffers with $14,000 in campaign contributions, Ohio voters probably shouldn’t expect to hear Driehaus denounce his benefactor’s almost constant wrongdoing.
“Steve Driehaus was elected to Congress with the help of dirty money from one of Washington’s most blatantly corrupt legislators,” said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain. “If Driehaus truly is the ‘independent voice’ that he claimed to be on the campaign trail, he’ll come forward and join the calls for Charlie Rangel to step down from his committee chairmanship for the benefit of the American people. So far, though, Driehaus has been conspicuously silent, and he’s sending a clear signal to the people of Ohio that his idea of being an ‘independent voice’ is shirking his responsibilities to his constituents in an effort to stay in good graces with crooked Washington insiders.”
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