The situation is so bad that even fellow Democrats are telling him to pack it up because it's going to harm their chances in November.
In a major development, Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio) on Friday night called on beleaguered Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to resign.When you have a Congressman telling another Congressman of the same party to resign to restore the public trust and that it isn't because they're Democrat or Republican - you can bet it's precisely because it's going to hurt their political chances in a difficult election season.
Sutton's statement comes one day after the House ethics committee charged the 80-year-old Democrat with multiple violations.
In a statement to The Hill, Sutton stated, "It is regrettable, but Charlie Rangel needs to resign from his seat in Congress. This isn’t about being a Democrat or Republican, this is about preserving the public trust. Our nation is facing extraordinary challenges and we must be focused on building a sustainable economy that will allow our workers and businesses to flourish."
Sutton has built a reputation as a crusader for congressional ethics. In 2008, she led the fight to pass legislation creating the Office of Congressional Ethics, which now serves as an independent ethics body within the House of Representatives.
In March, Sutton donated to charity the $7,000 given to her campaign by Rangel. Sutton, a GOP target this fall, was elected in 2006. President Barack Obama attracted 57 percent of the vote in her district in 2008.
Despite all this, Rangel is defiant and thinks that he's going to be vindicated and that he will win reelection. Well, he may be right on the latter point. His constituents reelected him in 2008, even as all the news broke about his unreported income, tax problems, rent stabilization violations, and other ethics and legal problems.
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