Catastrophe - Dick Morris [70]
For a nation that takes great pride in its claims of unwavering support for Israel and peace in the Middle East—not to mention its hard-won stance against terrorism—this is a devastating blow to our credibility.
ACTION AGENDA
It’s one thing for Barack Obama to spend and spend in the United States in a misguided attempt to revive the economy. It’s quite another when the aid is going to Gaza. We can’t sit back and let the fig leaf of UN involvement deter us from opposing foreign aid for terrorists.
The most vulnerable figure in the mix is Obama’s secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. As senator from New York and a once and likely future presidential candidate, Hillary has always played to the Jewish community. In fact, when she ran for senator in 2000, she dug up the fact that her step-grandfather was Jewish—a discovery of a branch of the family tree that came just in time to appeal to the fifth of the New York electorate that is Jewish. (Funny that she never raised her latter-day claim of Jewish ancestry in Arkansas!)
But now Hillary is taking long and loud criticism from Jewish groups such as the Zionist Organization of America for her aid proposals for Gaza. We need to keep up the heat. Write her, email her, tell her you don’t approve of your tax money going to Hamas—either directly or through the United Nations.
Hillary can be reached at:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
202-647-4000
E-mail address: Go to www.secretary.state.gov and click on “Contact Us” and then on “E-Mail a Question/Comment.”
II
HOW CONGRESS CAUSES CATASTROPHE
8
CHRISTOPHER DODD AND CHARLES RANGEL
From Idealistic Reformers to Privileged Insiders
Charlie Rangel and Chris Dodd have a lot in common. They’re both long-time Democratic members of Congress from northeastern states. They were both elected to Congress as idealistic, charismatic young reformers. They have both served on the Hill for more than three decades. And they have both risen to become powerful committee chairman—Rangel chairing the House Ways and Means Committee and Dodd chairing the Senate Banking Committee.
Unfortunately, they now share something else. Both have also evolved into cynical caricatures of the ultimate Washington political insider: greedy, self-serving darlings of the special interests, hypocrites flouting the rules and getting rich on their influence and political connections.
They think they’re entitled. Entitled to do whatever they want. Entitled to special favors because of who they are. Entitled to line their pockets.
Well, they’re not.
It’s time to send them packing.
They’re a disappointment to the people who elected them, and they don’t deserve the privilege of serving in Congress.
FIRST, THEY WERE IDEALISTS
In 1970, Charlie Rangel was elected to Congress, defeating the illustrious and iconic Harlem politician and civil rights leader Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Running as a reform candidate—and criticizing Powell for his failure even to show up in Congress—Rangel won by only 150 votes. He quickly became a voice for the low-income and downtrodden members of his constituency.
A few years later, in 1974, Chris Dodd was elected to the House of Representatives, part of a new generation of congressional reformers known as “the Watergate class.” These young challengers were supposed to be different—a new wave of honest, dedicated politicians who were chosen to purge the political system of the unethical excesses of the Nixon administration.
How time does change things! Now Dodd and Rangel are twin poster boys for everything that is wrong in Washington.
They weren’t always that way. Both men say they felt a calling to public service that was developed while serving their country in a foreign land. Rangel was only