Why?
By Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy on July 10, 2008 at 10:40 PM in 4th Amendment, Barack Obama, FISA, Hillary Clinton
Why, oh WHY is anyone surprised by the machinations of Obama in the past month or so, culminating in his throwing the Constitution under the bus with his vote for FISA and telecom immunity? Why are people like Bob Herbert angry at him for moving so much to the Center now? In a column published on July 8, 2008, “Lurching With Abandon,” Bob says,
Only an idiot would think or hope that a politician going through the crucible of a presidential campaign could hold fast to every position, steer clear of the stumbling blocks of nuance and never make a mistake. But Barack Obama went out of his way to create the impression that he was a new kind of political leader — more honest, less cynical and less relentlessly calculating than most.
But, WHY did you think that, Bob?? For what reason did you EVER think Obama meant any of his flowery speeches? On his record?? Hardly. On his lie-filled books?? I mean, seriously – while it may be idiotic to not think a candidate may move to the center some to win an election, it is pretty idiotic to support a candidate simply on a campagin slogan, too! That is to say, there was no reason in the WORLD for you to believe anything that Obama said, because his RECORD, what there is of it, indicates a man who votes, or not, for whatever is most politically expedient at the time. If you bought into his whole, “I am not a politician” schtick, well, it makes me wonder about your political savvy. Heckfire, Bush said the same thing, creating this whole, “I’m just a Texas boy and don’t know nothing about the ways of Washington,” despite ALL of his history to indicate otherwise. So, yeah – if you bought the whole “Hope! Change! I’m Different!” hocum, it says a lot about you.
While I am at it, your gratuitous swipe at the best president we have had in decades with THIS little tidbit,
You would be able to listen to him without worrying about what the meaning of “is” is
.
Was just uncalled for – you could have picked about a GAZILLION things Bush has done over the past 7 1/2 yrs, but you take a dig at Clinton?? Wow – truly no good deed goes unpunished. Bill Clinton did more for the African American community than any other president, and this is how he is repaid.
And how has Obama been for the African-American Community, Bob? Oh, yeah, right, according to YOU, not so hot:
There has been a reluctance among blacks to openly criticize Senator Obama, the first black candidate with a real shot at the presidency. But behind the scenes, there is discontent among African-Americans, as well, over Mr. Obama’s move away from progressive issues, including his support of the Supreme Court’s decision affirming the constitutional right of individuals to bear arms.
Huh. Imagine that. Maybe if you had done 1/20th, even 1/50th the level of scrutiny of Obama’s record (or lack thereof) that you and others of your ilk (political commentators) did on Clinton’s, you would not be at ALL surprised. And Obama would not be the presumptive nominee!!
But wait, there are more people who have been thrown by a loop with Obama’s move to the right, and his desire to throw away the Constitution. Yes, the so-called Constitutional scholar has decided that he doesn’t need that pesky piece of paper, either, just like BUSH! Maybe someone should have asked just what the hell he was TEACHING in those classes?!? Ah, too late now! Anywho, Big Tent Democrat, over at TalkLeft, has a post entitled, “My View: I Do Not Believe Obama On The FISA Capitulation Bill.”
The article begins: Yesterday, Barack Obama said:Obama blamed criticism from “my friends on the left” and “some of the media” in part on cynicism that ascribes political motives for every move candidates make. “You’re not going to agree with me on 100 percent of what I think, but don’t assume that if I don’t agree with you on something that it must be because I’m doing that politically,” he said. “I may just disagree with you.”
I do not believe Barack Obama. I will go further. I do not want to believe him. Because the alternative is worse. Because if Obama believes the BS he said about the FISA Capitulation bill, then he is not fit to be President.
Well, I would contend he never WAS fit to be president!! Again, I ask, WHAT HAS HE DONE to make anyone think he is capable of the presidency besides being able to read a teleprompter? And even then, many of the words that so swayed his followers were actually written first for other candidates!! He didn’t even write them himself!!!
BTD continues,
If Barack Obama really believes this about the FISA Capitulation bill, then he is as dangerous as George W. Bush:[G]iven the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as President, I will carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps I deem necessary to protect the lives — and the liberty — of the American people.”
(Emphasis supplied.) Excuse me, but the Constitution does not work that way. Firm pledges from the President do not compensate for evisceration of the Constitutional right to privacy.
BTD really didn’t see any of this coming? I just don’t get that, all respect due to BTD. I mean, Obama is the guy who claimed it was “fair” for him to be given Clinton’s votes and her delegates. “Fair” for him to take the voices never given to him, people who pulled the lever for his opponent, not him. Yet, he thought that was “fair.” Some alternate universe in which Obama lives, it seems!!
BTD continues,
Obama’s “firm pledge,” (given he pledged to filibuster any bill that contained telecom immunity, the irony of his new pledge is nauseating), IF HE WINS is worth nothing. His position here is nothing short of disgusting.But politics is disgusting. And pols do what they do. I remind Barack Obama of the words of Louis Brandeis:
Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.
They tell me Obama is a Constitutional scholar. I assume he is familiar with Brandeis’ words. So no, I do not believe he believes this FISA Capitulation bill is good or even acceptable. I believe he is acting out of political calculation (and bad political calculation at that.) Indeed, if that is not the case, then his position is unacceptable and he is not fit to be President.
I would state again, no he is not fit to be president. He wasn’t fit PRIOR to this capitulation, and he sure as hell isn’t fit AFTER it. There was one person left in this race, and she is still there, who IS. One person who did NOT capitulate, who stood up for the Constitution and for our civil liberties. The nomination is not official YET, despite all efforts to convince us otherwise. If this does not show Obama’s followers the stuff of which he is truly made, nothing will. In that case, there is nothing to be done for them. But for the over 18,000,000 of us ho could see through him from the very beginning, there is another road to take, and that is to have Hillary Clinton be the nominee. But only if the Democrats want to re-take the White House. If not, then by all means, keep supporting Obama, and expect another four years of Republican (McCain) or Republican Lite (Obama) rule.
(Release: November 13)
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Go Hillary! Go PUMA!
What people don’t realize is how loyal we are to Clinton politics.
The Republicans in the 90’s found out how stubborn we are to manipulation.
Even during the height of the bogus impeachment 57% approved of the job Bill was doing.
So now the new democrats are finding out what it means to be on the wrong side of the Clinton clan.
We have been together since the days of FDR and we will take our power elsewhere
McCain/Clinton coalition
No election is decided without us
We will make sure Waffles/Dean/Brazile are run out of town for this disaster.
snObma/Dean/Brazile/poopelosi/reid should be run out of town and tared and feathered — and removed from anything more challenging then sweep the streets.
We will not forgive — and they should never be forgiven. Their traitorous behavior should be noted on their tombstones whenever that even happens.
PUMA
What does PUMA stand for?
Putting up my asshole?
First, they ignore us.
Then, they insult us.
Then, they attack us.
Then, we win.
-M. Gandhi
The smell of your fear is invigorating.
Ah yes, Gandhi quote–the well-worn calling card of losers everywhere.
Ah yes, the puffer fish – the bluff of the small being trying to look large and scary.
How utterly stupid are you, pal?
Do you know who Ghandi was?
Do you know what Ghandi did?
Ah, never mind…you prolly ain’t even got one that works.
Here’s the deal pal.
Hie Thee Troll!
Get ye back to thy vermin-infested hole under thy one and only bridge.
And stay ye there.
Lest we decorate the countryside with small pieces of yer mangy, louse infested hide.
Avaunt ye scum!
Well, Gary Hart you should know a lot about losers.
Yeah? I got a doctorate from Oxford bitch!!
What is your point?
And, this is the only gig Barack Hussein Obama could offer you? “Smear Fighting”–the 12-8 shift? lmao
I got a PhD. to moron! Why don’t we match IQ’s?
You’re no Huckleberry!
I got a PhD. to moron
(that would be “TOO” Mr PhD~ lmao!! simple grammer!!! what a a$$! loser!! lol…
I got a doctorate from Oxford bitch!!
Gee I hope that STD was treatable and your english improves.
Yeah, that was money well spent.
I just bought another shirt – for BozOrama’s Granny. I think we should set up a fund to bring her to the States for the Conventon.
It would be wonderful to host the First Mother-to-be.She would be so proud of that little snot she poured everything she had into while his birth mother was globe trotting taking care of 3rd world nations.
I bet the conversation would be very interesting.
Donate Now to bring the little Lady to the podium.
That poor woman. It is kind of creepy the way he keeps her out of sight. Everything about Barky, upon closer inspection seems…wrong.
It is a shame. She is the Symbol of how well he’ll take care of our country. Shows his pride and joy and of course, his family values.
guess I touched a nerve there with Gary. lol
Just make sure you wash your hands.
Gee, Ya think?
The only Oxford you know anything about is the boot in the ass you got from the cop who ran you in for loitering.
Wait, to be fair we must state that there are many States with a town called Oxford in them. For example, CA,CT, MD, ME all have an Oxford.
Hell, Oxford MS. even has a pretty decent University in it, especially if you are a Faulkner scholar.
It is obvious that PhD. did not increase your abstract thought capabilities. I see that you are still unable to think critically.
Let me break it down for you, critical thought is all about synthesizing information (in this case THE FACTS concerning Obama’s unfitness to be President)
What did you get your PhD. in zoology?
and so what?that means you are a superior being.go play in the street will ya preferably one with semi traffic.
Ecept that Ghandi was a ‘winner’, but then you wouldn’t know that, but MLK did…
Why don’t you go visit the obamination page? You would probably feel more comfortable there. Or, are you being paid by the O campaign to try and bring dissent?
Won’t work. We DON’T want obamination as our POTUS!
I am sure you have had quiet a bit put up there barry. Haha.
“Putting up my asshole” sounds fucking stupid. There should be another noun there, but your creativity was stretched, I know. Ah, Gary Hart was just six inches from the presidency. When Obama made his bitter comments, it brought back the NJ gaffe and how it destroyed another Dem.
How do those clowns get fired?
They are proven failures….so why are they there?
They get fired when the Circus comes to town, oh it already has, the DNC 3 ring circus, Obama, Dean and Brazile
More like 70% actually.
The people did not want that impeachment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIxK9HWideQ&feature=user
Words with no action. Those homes in the footage look a lot like the ones his buddy Rezko managed.
They look a lot like your Mom’s house.
Why would you joke about such poverty?
Because he’s a rich little punk with no soul.
Just like his candidate.
July 10, 2008
Categories: Obama
Obama fundraiser host emphasizes: No Money For Hillary
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama may have presented a unified image last night in New York, but tensions between supporters of the two candidates continue to simmer.
For many Obama backers, it’s a tough pill to swallow to help retire the debt Clinton incurred largely to stay in the race and pound away at the eventual nominee after it became clear he would win.
For true-blue Obama loyalists, therefore, any request for money these days is being closely examined.
To this end, when Ed Chandler, a Chicago venture capitalist and Obama donor, sent out an e-mail last week promoting an intimate dinner with the nominee for high-dollar donors he made clear to specify where the dollars were going.
“NONE OF THE MONEY RAISED WILL GO TO PAY OFF HILLARY CLINTON’S DEBTS,” Chandler wrote to potential givers in an e-mail obtained by Politico. “While you may have heard that Sen. Obama has asked people to make a separate donation to the Clinton campaign for that purpose, neither the law, nor the ethic of this campaign, will allow for any transfer of funds from Obama For America to Clinton.”
Money raised beyond the individual limits, Chandler notes, will instead go to the DNC
—————————————————-
Please pass it around..make sure no money be donated to DNC or Obama..
What they don’t tell you is that….
OBAMBI IS BROKE! FLAT OUT BUSTED! THE CHUMP THINKS THAT HE COULD PISS ON US, THE FOLKS WHO FINANCE POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS, AND WE’D KEEP….
MAILING HIM CHECKS!
HOW DUMB IS THIS CLUCK?
HEY NANCY!
HOWARD!
YER ‘CASH COW’ IS…..
FLAT BROKE.
HAAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAHHAAAAAA!
LOL!! Damn right!!
These crazy bitches in the DNC are stuck on stupid!!
Did Obama supporters REALLY think that they were going to sucker Hillary (and Edwards) supporters into blindly backing underqualified Obama had they been successful at throwing Hillary out of the race prematurely? Surely they can’t be that stupid!
Whether Hillary dropped out in January or June – Obama was not and is STILL not experienced enough to be President. And that wasn’t going to change even if EVERY OTHER Democratic candidate had dropped out of the race early on. So Obama stans need to abandon this crazy fantasy that Hillary supporters would have “fallen in line” had she left the race early. They’re just fooling themselves.
The DNC and the “elite” Democrats grossly underestimated the wrong people. Hillary supporters aren’t a bunch of dumbheads with herd mentalities that can be strung along with a couple of cheap political buzzwords like “hope” and “change”. And we don’t allow our candidate to do our thinking or voting for us.
The DNC cheating for Obama won’t change the votes of the majority of Hillary supporters. We will still vote for the most qualified candidate in the race now – John McCain.
lmao!!!!!!!!! hahahhahahaaa!! great comment!! lmao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“…the eventual nominee …he would win.”
So now “presumptive” is “eventual”. Great.
WOULD win?? Did I blink and miss the convention in Denver?
It all makes me want to cling to my mama’s King James and my daddy’s Winchester…
“incurred largely to stay in the race and pound away at the eventual nominee after it became clear he would win.”
Now – WHY do these bastards keep telling this damned lie?
Obama cannot win with the Black and Egghead Coalition. Obama knows this to be true. That is why he is pushing his appeal to whites, that is why he trying to look Centrist, and Anti-Left.
The whole Jesse Jackson “Nut Cutting” comment was staged to help O’boy’s appeal with whites. The speeches chastizing Black Men for abandoning their families, and “talking down to Blacks” is designed to increase O’boy’s appeal with whites.
He lost the eggheads. And the Whitebreads he’s pandering to are going to go with McCain.
That leaves him with the AAs and the people he is paying to hang around in the blogs scaring people out of openly coming out against him.
“johnny at work” wrote: The whole Jesse Jackson “Nut Cutting” comment was staged to help O’boy’s appeal with whites. The speeches chastizing Black Men for abandoning their families, and “talking down to Blacks” is designed to increase O’boy’s appeal with whites.
Johnny, that may well be how Oblahma and the DNC have planned it, but if so it only proves how completely Obama has made this campaign 100% about race. He (and they) don’t understand that white working class voters vote on economics (Obama lied to them about NAFTA) and values (his minister hates the USA) and healthcare (his plan is not universal).
It would be fantastic if bo was abandoned in Denver and Hillary recognized for the winner that she is. Supers are so stupid for letting this happen and it won’t do any good for us to hold our breath hoping they will come to their senses. We have to let them know we are unhappy and won’t blindly follow an empty suit.
Go PUMAS!
I am holding out for Hillary. Waffles is one major scandal away from imploding. But it will have to be an indictment or an arrest. Short of that I feel the delegates are too spineless to stand up to him and his insane followers. I think the GOP are rolling the dice by waiting until Waffles is nominated to attack him more strongly.
or keep them in office!!!!!!!!!
dont forget who put’s these morons in office~
for the people~ by the people!!!
i am voting against anyone who didnt listen in NJ to what we wanted!!
CORZINE~ YOU ARE FIRST ON MY LIST!!!!!!!!!!
The whitey tape is out on the web!
Holy crap!
http://whiteytape.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/the-whitey-tape-is-here/
Snark is getting old, and tiresome.
I don’t even need to look
Agreed.
While you people were sitting there bitching, I went and checked the link, and it is for real! It even has Al Sharpton and R Kelly hitting a houka and playing grab-ass in the background!
Is Obama sucking Larry Sinclair’s cock as well?
Sugar..you sound Jealous..LOL
Ha! I’d suck Bill O’Reilly’s fiendish cock before I’d suck Larry Sinclair’s cock seeing as how it might have been in Obama’s hindparts! Alright, getting back to decorum. Ahem. lol
What’s the big deal really, you suck all sorts of cock.
Like a pro wouldn’t you know it.
He’d suck his own if he could. That’s how much he loves himself.
STFU.
Where’s the Messiah’s real birth certificate?
Ask him?
“But, WHY did you think that, Bob??”
Perhaps a better question for Bob is, “But, WHY did you BELIEVE that, Bob??” lol These idiots got so caught up in what they wanted to believe that they refused to acknowledge what was right on the tips of their noses.
Of course, they are edjumacated, unlike those bitter hick Hillary suppporters.
I haven’t heard as many low-information voter insults lately….lol
Your right Sugar. A belief is based on evidence or proof. Faith is belief without proof. Perhaps Obama’s solgan sign should have read: FAITH instead of BELIEVE because is supporters were acting on blind faith.
Comment by Sugar | 2008-07-10 23:20:08
Is Obama sucking Larry Sinclair’s cock as well?
——————–
Don’t you know by now…Obambi is a
..not a
…HAHAHA
Chat live at Google Lively about NOBAMA in the PUMA and NOBAMA Lounge!!!
http://www.lively.com/
When you expect hope and change from a lawyer/politician instead of wondering how he’s gonna try to screw you every which way, you need to get mental help right away. That’s why looking at a politicians’s record is so important to see how they’ll act in the future! But logic was never in the domain of the koolaid drinkers.
I applaud BTD for smelling the coffee. It would be better if those who now realize they’ve been duped, work to see to it that this would-be thief of their vote is stopped.
He adds insult to injury calling you “my friends on the left” and accusing YOU of cynicism. You don’t “ascribe political motives to every move candidates make.” You know that he lied to you, used you and is now laughing at you.
Very good point about the “my friends on the left” verbage. Very good point, although he too might have better phrased that, “my FIENDS on the left”.
Too bad, we could have been one big happy family if they hadn’t drank the kool aid
“It would be better if those who now realize they’ve been duped, work to see to it that this would-be thief of their vote is stopped.”
Hear, hear! I want them doing penance in the form of reparations. They owe it to everyone to make an about face and work for Clinton–not because she’s a saint, but because she’s by far the best choice.
The bigger question is why isn’t anybody else here talking about Nader, or supporting the only “politician” that we know we can trust to stand up for American protection and rights? We have so little time to give him strength to help us. He’s not perfect, because nobody is, but we know he fights the true fight.
We may not agree with him forever, bet we all agree the government has no rights to surveillance on Americans for political purposes, and he has enough people backing him that if we will just agree on the truth of what we all want and give up the fantasy to start out, we have a chance. He even wants to do runoff voting and a national initiative, to give the people the power to call a vote to override crap like this. This is about the power to blog and have privacy even, and our time is running out to deny being an “open” secret police state.
Just get him in the debates, to give everyone more chances and options. Quit arguing with illusion that Obama and McCain are your only options. You limit all our futures by doing so.
http://www.votenader.org/issues/national-initiative/
I’ll be honest, I would like to see Nader in the debates so that he and McCain can both rip Obama a new one because Nader definitely isn’t afraid of him [BHO] and he’ll keep it real. It would also help deflect some of the attention away from McCain so long as the moderators don’t block Nader out. Yes, let’s work to get Nader in those debates. lol
Given the frighteningly high odds that this is going to be a close election, I prefer to minimize–like, to zero–additional options (Nader, Barr) that would siphon off McCain voters and possibly swing things Barky’s way.
In 2000, Ralph Nader said there was no real difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush.
This alone proves Ralph is for the birds.
I’m not a Naderite per se, but… Obama won office by knocking his Democratic opponents off the ballot, and if anybody would know about that sort of thing, it would be Nader.
If you demand Nader, the DNC will give you Hillary in a desperate attempt to avoid real change. True as sin.
>>> supporters were acting on blind faith.
Wow! Do Blind Faith have their own show now? Is it in cable or satellite? I didn’t even know they were getting together again!
Any news of a Boxed Set?!?!??
Wow…Now that’s nerve or shall I say arrogance. How many times does he have to insult his followers before they get it.
Come on in bots, the water is warm here.
I looked. I’m still waiting for the tape.
It was sort of interesting to see the Obama supporters on the third tape-fat, unshaven (men and women) self indulgent, narcissistic repulsive holier than tho people who should be republicans but are too stupid to know which side of the fence they belong on.
Such crappy people-it makes my skin crawl-ick.
Come on in bots, the water is warm here.
The bots are used to drinking the Holy One’s spiked urine, and here all along they thought it was kool-aid
I have been counting the Democrats still supporting Hillary just in my immediate family and social network (I’m not going out of my way to do this just casually as the subject presents itself I find out where people are really at on this Obama Presumption). I’m up to a dozen. That is twelve people that I know for a fact have voted Democratic for years and have now told me directly without question they are not even one bit interested in Obama in the White House for many reasons none of them racial. They have said that they will certainly vote for McCain if the Democratic Party doesn’t find a way to nominate the best candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton! I’m going to continue in my quest to find Democrats who have been party loyalists and keep a count of how they are voting this fall.
The Democratic Party Elite and Obama are going to lose this one for the party when it should have been a cake walk for the Democratic Party. I will never reward Obama for being an arrogant prick.
Bob Herbert is both a twit and a wanker.
Obama pulled a bait and switch, and it’s too late to do much about it, other than make sure the jerk isn’t elected.
I’m no libdem or Clintonista, but my hat is off to them for the roasting they are giving Mr. O.
What I’d like to see is more reporting on the way Obama THREW HIS DEMOCRATIC OPPONENTS OFF THE BALLOT during his State Senate campaign.
Let’s just say it wasn’t exactly Abe Lincoln in Illinois…
I love this article. Great talking point. A Dem whitehouse (Hillary) or a Republican whitehouse (McCain).
Face tha facts.
hey surprise, more corruption from another democrat:
While aggressive evictions are reducing the number of rent-stabilized apartments in New York, Representative Charles B. Rangel is enjoying four of them, including three adjacent units on the 16th floor overlooking Upper Manhattan in a building owned by one of New York’s premier real estate developers.
The Harlem building where Representative Charles B. Rangel has four rent-stabilized units.
Susan Walsh/Associated Press
Mr. Rangel, right, a congressman for 37 years and a big fund-raiser, is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The New York Times
Gov. David A. Paterson also rents at Lenox Terrace.
Read All Comments (104) »
Mr. Rangel, the powerful Democrat who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, uses his fourth apartment, six floors below, as a campaign office, despite state and city regulations that require rent-stabilized apartments to be used as a primary residence.
Mr. Rangel, who has a net worth of $566,000 to $1.2 million, according to Congressional disclosure records, paid a total rent of $3,894 monthly in 2007 for the four apartments at Lenox Terrace, a 1,700-unit luxury development of six towers, with doormen, that is described in real estate publications as Harlem’s most prestigious address.
The current market-rate rent for similar apartments in Mr. Rangel’s building would total $7,465 to $8,125 a month, according to the Web site of the owner, the Olnick Organization.
The Olnick Organization and other real estate firms have been accused of overzealous tactics as they move to evict tenants from their rent-stabilized apartments and convert the units into market-rate housing.
Tensions are especially inflamed in Harlem, where the rising cost of living and the arrival of more moneyed residents have triggered anxiety over the future of the historically black neighborhood. And Vantage Properties, a company established by Olnick’s former chief operating officer, has attracted billions in private equity financing by promising investors that it can aggressively convert tens of thousands of rent-stabilized apartments, many in Harlem.
Yet Mr. Rangel, a critic of other landlords’ callousness, has been uncharacteristically reticent about Olnick’s actions.
State officials and city housing experts said in interviews that while the law does not bar tenants from having more than one rent-stabilized apartment, they knew of no one else with four of them. Others suggested that the arrangement undermines the purpose of rent regulation.
“There are families who manage to get two, when one tenant marries another, things like that,” said Dov Treiman, a lawyer who publishes The Housing Court Reporter, a legal trade publication. “But I’ve never heard of any tenant managing to get four.”
Mr. Rangel’s use of the fourth apartment as an office, in addition to his 2,500-square-foot residence, was especially troubling to some advocates, given the city’s chronic shortage of housing for low- and moderate-income residents.
“Whether it’s an elected official or not, no one should have four apartments, especially when one is being used as an office,” said Michael McKee, treasurer of the Tenants Political Action Committee, who was not aware of Mr. Rangel’s situation when he was interviewed.
Mr. Rangel, who was first elected to Congress in 1970 and is one of the city’s most recognizable elected officials, has written and spoken extensively about his devotion to his home in Harlem, but does not appear to have ever publicly acknowledged that he has been permitted to lease four rent-stabilized apartments there. According to a public records database and interviews with neighbors, he has lived in the building since the early 1970s, but it is not clear when he amassed the four units.
Mr. Rangel, 78, declined to answer questions during a telephone interview, saying that his housing was a private matter that did not affect his representation of his constituents.
“Why should I help you embarrass me?” he said, before abruptly hanging up.
Olnick officials declined to discuss when or why they decided to permit Mr. Rangel to lease multiple rent-stabilized units. Asked why he had been allowed to use one as an office, Jeanette Bocchino, a spokeswoman for the company, replied: “This is a private matter for the Olnick Organization and Mr. Rangel to evaluate.”
Mr. Rangel is not the only prominent resident with a rent-stabilized apartment at Lenox Terrace. Gov. David A. Paterson told The New York Sun in May that he pays $1,250 for a rent-stabilized two-bedroom apartment in the complex that rents for $2,600 or more at market rates. Basil A. Paterson, the governor’s father, pays $868 per month for his apartment there, in the same building as Mr. Rangel’s apartments, according to state records.
Percy E. Sutton, the former Manhattan borough president and a longtime ally and friend of Mr. Rangel’s, also lives at Lenox Terrace, though records about his rent were not available.
Under state and city rent regulations, tenants can continue renewing the lease in their rent-stabilized apartments for as long as they use it as a primary residence, and landlords can increase rent only by an annual percentage set by a city board.
A spokesman for the governor said that Governor Paterson, who owns a home in an Albany suburb and recently moved into the executive mansion, considered Lenox Terrace his primary residence. A secretary to the elder Mr. Paterson, who owns a home on Long Island, said he could not be immediately reached.
Luminaries are nothing new at Lenox Terrace, a large development on 135th Street between Fifth and Lenox Avenues. The Olnick Organization built it in 1958 as the first luxury community in Harlem. The family-run company has a broad portfolio of retail, commercial and residential buildings, and holds a contract to lease office space to federal agencies in Morristown, N.J.
According to Federal Election Commission records, Mr. Rangel received $2,000 in campaign contributions from Sylvia Olnick, an owner of the company, in 2004. His separate political action committee received $2,500 donations from her in 2004 and 2006.
In addition, city records show that in 2005, a lobbyist for the Olnick Organization met with Mr. Rangel and Mr. Paterson, who was then the State Senate minority leader, as the company set out to win government approvals of a plan to expand Lenox Terrace and build another apartment complex in the Bronx.
Ms. Bocchino said that Mr. Rangel was not asked to do, nor did he do, anything for the company. A spokesman for the governor said he also did not act on Olnick’s behalf.
Neither project has advanced.
Mr. Rangel’s residence, which has custom moldings and dramatic archways, is decorated with Benin Bronze statues and antique carved walnut Italian chairs, and was featured in the 2003 book “Style and Grace: African Americans at Home,” by Michael Henry Adams (Bulfinch Press). The article called the home a penthouse, although it is on the second floor from the top.
The book does not mention that the units are rent-stabilized, but says that the penthouse had been assembled by combining separate apartments. Mr. Rangel’s wife, Alma, is quoted describing the congressman as “the shopper in this family” who has a penchant for hunting down antiques like cut-glass champagne flutes and walnut chests to furnish their elegant abode.
The State Division of Housing and Community Renewal does not publicly release information about rents paid by tenants in rent-regulated apartments. But The New York Times obtained a copy of the agency’s 2007 rent roll report for Mr. Rangel’s building, which showed that the congressman holds the leases on Apartments 16M, 16N, 16P and 10U.
Neither Mr. Rangel nor the company would describe the dimensions or layouts of the apartments, but neighbors and a doorman said the apartments included a studio, a one-bedroom and a two-bedroom on the 16th floor. A Times reporter visited the 10th-floor office, a one-bedroom.
The records showed that the congressman paid $1,329 monthly for his two-bedroom apartment, which is about half the $2,600 market-rate rent the development now charges new tenants. For the adjacent one-bedroom, he also paid $1,329. The one-bedrooms are now rented for $1,865 and up.
He paid $606 a month for the adjacent studio apartment, while market rents for studios there are now $1,300. He pays $630 for the 10th-floor office, and federal election records show that he splits the cost between his Congressional re-election fund, which has raised more than $3.6 million this election cycle, and his National Leadership PAC, a committee he controls, which raised more than $1.6 million.
Some Congressional ethics experts, while saying it appears legitimate for Mr. Rangel to have one rent-stabilized apartment, question whether his acceptance of the additional units may violate the House of Representatives’ ban on members’ accepting gifts of more than $100. They suggest that the difference between what Mr. Rangel pays for the second, third and fourth apartments and what a new market-rate tenant would pay — some $30,000 annually — could be considered a gift because it is given at the discretion of the landlord and it is not generally available to the public.
Landlords can — and routinely do — force tenants who have more than one rent-stabilized apartment to give up any additional units.
Meredith McGehee, policy director for the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington, said she was not familiar with the particulars of Mr. Rangel’s accommodations, but said that under House ethics rules, a gift is defined as any “gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item having monetary value.”
Mr. Rangel, who earns $169,300 base pay as a congressman, owns a villa in the Dominican Republic that is worth $250,000 to $500,000, his disclosure form states. He has also bought and sold properties in recent years; he bought a condominium in 2004 in Sunny Isles, Fla., for $50,000 to $100,000 and sold it last year for $100,000 to $250,000. In 2004 he also sold a building on 132nd Street, around the corner from Lenox Terrace, for $250,000 to $500,000. He owns mutual funds with a combined value between $266,000 and $765,000
Mr. Rangel is among New York’s most influential politicians. He is a member of the legendary “gang of four” black Democratic power brokers — along with Mr. Sutton, the former Manhattan borough president; former Mayor David N. Dinkins; and the senior Mr. Paterson, the former secretary of state and the governor’s father — who have dominated Harlem affairs for a generation.
Mr. Rangel is frequently re-elected with more than 80 percent of the vote. In the 1990s he wrote the Federal Empowerment Zone demonstration project, a $5 billion program to revitalize urban neighborhoods throughout the country. More than $200 million of that money has been steered to the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, where Representative Rangel has served on the board, and which has been credited with helping spur Harlem’s resurgence.
But critics, including some Harlem residents, complain that Mr. Rangel has too often used his public office to help himself and his friends. In 1999, Mr. Rangel was forced out as chairman of the Apollo Theater foundation after the state attorney general’s office charged that the board had failed to collect more than $4 million owed to the theater by a company controlled by his ally Mr. Sutton. Mr. Rangel and Mr. Sutton denied any wrongdoing.
Last year, government watchdog groups criticized Mr. Rangel for pushing through a $1.9 million earmark to build the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of New York, which is to include an office for Mr. Rangel and a presidential-style library for his official papers. The congressman and the college said that by lending his name to the project, he had helped the college raise millions from private donors.
Danny Hakim and Toby Lyles contributed reporting.
my fave quote in a very long time:
“Why should I help you embarrass me?” he said, before abruptly hanging up.
so, he knows he is doing wrong then???
a. hillary
b. mccain
america first!
DID I GO TO SCHOOL FOR THE WRONG CAREER!!!!!!!
LETS VOTE THESE JERKS OUT!! GET RID OF THESE BLOOD SUCKERS!!!
OR SHOULD I SAY COCK SUCKERS AND THEN SUGAR CAN CHASE THEM!! LOL..
When Obama said “my friends on the left,” he meant “any friends I might have left.”
Woe Betide the Democrats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP3q8dHA4Hk
Great posting. The only thing I quibble with is the idea that Obama has moved to the center. By voting for FISA he has moved well to the right.
Denver Group going after the DNC in Chicago, it’s a good ad.
Friday, July 11, 2008
The Denver Group First Ad Hits Chicago
The Denver Group’s first ad appears today (July 11, 2008) in the Chicago Tribune. We thought Chicago was the perfect place to start. For those who want to see a hard copy, it appears on page B5 of the Metro Section.
thedenvergroup.blogspot.com/
That is a really good ad.
Lying is the only thing O has..so many they can’t keep them straight.
Out of MO’s mouth….”His own mother, she said at the beginning of her remarks, was “very young and very single when she had him.”
huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/10/michelle-obama-talks-abou_n_111975.html
“Obama’s parents, Barack Obama Sr and Ann Dunham, met while attending the University of Hawaii (Manoa). His father was a foreign exchange student from Kenya. Obama’s parents didn’t stay together long and were divorced when Obama was 2-years old.”
hawaiitopia.com/?p=16
You would be able to listen to him without worrying about what the meaning of “is” is
He slams Obambi for FLIP FLOPPING on FISA but brings up “is , is” to try and soften Obambi’s obvious FLIP FLOP on FISA, as if that somehow is relevant to the argument of Obambi’s FLIP FLOP on FISA.
It’s almost as those Obambi supporters who are rightfully pizzed with Obambi’s FLIP FLOP on FISA KNOW HILLARY is the better candidate but want to nixt that thought before too many entertain the idea.
Very shallow indeed!
The betrayal of the Clintons has put race relations back 50 years. BO has used and abused black people just like he has everyone else, and it’s good to see that a few like Bob Herbert will yell foul! It will be verrrrrrrry interesting to see how BO’s black support holds up. We may not know until after the GE (IF he’s the nominee). Few may feel emboldened enough to speak out.