Photo: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.politicsdaily.com/media/2009/04/85485553.jpg
In case you haven't heard, for the first time in 2 decades, the House Ethics Committee is investigating several black lawmakers for ethics violations. The 2 more popular battles involve Democrats Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters who are both are fighting for their reputations and perhaps their political careers.
There’s a “dual standard, one for most members and one for African-Americans,” said one member of the Congressional Black Caucus, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The member said it’s too easy for an outside group to damage someone’s reputation by filing a claim with OCE.
“This is stacked against you once an accusation is made,” the lawmaker added. “You’re guilty until proven otherwise.”
Black representatives are being singled our for scrutiny because the Office of Congressional Ethics is targeting them unfairly. At one point earlier this year, all eight lawmakers under formal investigation by the House ethics committee, including
Charles Rangel and
Maxine Waters, were black Democrats.
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) has come under Justice Department investigation over his role in the Rod Blagojevich scandal and black lawmaker,
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) has been caught up in an ongoing Justice Department criminal probe involving some of Queens’s most powerful politicians.
Other black Democrats who have found themselves in ethics or legal trouble in recent years include:
former Rep. Frank Ballance (N.C.), who went to federal prison in 2005 after being convicted on federal fraud and money laundering charges;
former Rep. Earl Hilliard (Ala.), who was found by the ethics committee in 2002 to have improper used campaign funds; and
Rep. Corrine Brown (Fla.), who was investigated but cleared in 2000 over the gift of a car to her daughter and other allegations.
“House Democrats are paying a price for OCE’s focus on black lawmakers,” added a Democratic insider close to House leaders. “But that doesn’t change the fact that voters are going to see two African-Americans on trial in the House while they see no action against white members with ethical problems.”
As pointed out by Politico:
The racism charge, though, was rejected by Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, an ethics watchdog group, even as she acknowledged the current situation is bound to anger black lawmakers
“There are ethics problems within the CBC,” she said. “They have to acknowledge that.”
Sloan noted that several white lawmakers, including
Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and
Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), are currently under investigation by federal and congressional investigators. Ensign is being investigated by the Senate Ethics Committee and the Justice Department over the fallout from an extramarital affair he had with the wife of a top aide, while Visclosky and his former chief of staff are being probed over their ties to a now-defunct lobbying firm raided by the feds last year.
Two other white lawmakers,
Reps. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) and
Mark Souder (R-Ind.), resigned this year under ethical clouds. Massa left Congress after Politico reported he was under investigation by the ethics committee for sexually harassing male staffers, while Souder quickly departed after admitting a long-running extramarital affair with a part-time aide.”
It seems to me that the very existence of these ethics charges is symbolic of a system that is fighting against corruption and ethical violations. It also seems to me that since so many of the people fighting the charges are people of color is more shady than a palm tree in Florida. I'm not prepare to pull the race card just yet. I'm looking at you Jesse Jackson. Maybe the CBC needs to let the cat out of the bag and come clean about its issues. What do you all think??
