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Sorry, Congressman Rangel, but you should go as head of Ways and Means. I know that it means losing the most powerful position in Congress (Pelosi can’t do squat if your committee doesn’t fund it) but when you are caught evading taxes, that’s a problem.

Your statement is ludicrous. “We do make errors, even though we consider ourselves experts in terms of tax policy” is what BNA ($) has reported was your statement. It doesn’t take an expert in tax policy to know that if you are receiving rental income on a vacation home that’s taxable income. The NY Times quoted you as saying “Every time I thought I was getting somewhere, they’d start speaking Spanish”. Well, that doesn’t really hold water either. I’d laugh at a tax protestor that uses that excuse in front of the IRS, and I’ll laugh at you as well if that is your best argument as well. On top of that, the Times says that the lender waived the interest on the mortgage after a couple of years. Well, I’m sure that they do that for people not elected to Congress as well, but it’s still income. But you know all of this.

You can claim you had no idea that you were earning income, but the plain math doesn’t hold. You say that the money went to pay the mortgage and other fees, but if you earned $75,000 in the last three years and the mortgage from 1988 was only $60,000, what happened in the other 17 years? You weren’t even paying interest, so the last three years of income would have been enough to pay off the mortgage, much less any other income from the 17 prior. That really doesn’t pass the smell test, does it Congressman?

And this isn’t the first incident you’ve had. From skirting rent-stabilization laws to using your Congressional staff to solicit donations for a building with your name going on it, you’ve shown an inability to use the power given to you for good. It’s time that you let someone else try.

I hold my public servants to a high level, no doubt. But I’d be remiss to call for the heads of GOP lawmakers when they so blatantly break the rules they set without calling for you to step aside as well. You cheated on your taxes, plain and simple. You say one mistake shouldn’t end a career, but you’ve called for a lot more for a lot less when it’s someone with an R after their name. It’s time to hold yourself to your own standards, Congressman. Please, step aside.