Archive: Opinions

As we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday, I wondered about the phrase, "Let's Talk Turkey." Most of you know, turkeys don't actually have the power of speech. "To talk turkey" means to speak plainly about a difficult or awkward subject. For example, "Let's talk turkey about your future with our company, shall we?"

Interestingly, the phrase used to refer to pleasant chitchat. This may have started from the nature of family conversation around the Thanksgiving dinner table. You know, a time and place where everybody's happy, full, and on their best behavior.

As is often the case, the definition changed over time. However, the circumstances are open to debate. Turkey gobbling was a distinct, natural sound on frontier farms. So, to "talk turkey" meant to skip the pleasantries and get to what's important.

When I think of this phrase, my thoughts wander to the recent Congressional Ethics Investigation concerning Rep. Charlie Rangel. You might have heard of him-he is the Congressional Representative from New York's Fifteenth District. This area covers most of Harlem, a small area of the Bronx, and Riker's Island located off Manhattan in the East River and home to a New York City prison complex. At just 10 square miles, it is the smallest district in terms of geographic size in the country.

Mr. Rangel has spent 40 years in the House. During those years of public service, he has amassed an incredible amount of power and wealth. In fact, so much so that Congress has become alarmed and launched an investigation into his empire. Rangel has been hit with a series of allegations of ethics violations and violates of tax laws. The House Ethics Committee in February 2010 determined that Rangel had violated rules governing gifts to House members by taking corporate payments as reimbursement for travel to conferences outside the U.S. The committee demanded that Rangel pay back the expense payments.

But the Ethics Committee has investigated three other matters that are more serious than the corporate expense payments. First, Rangel is accused of living in multiple rent-stabilized apartments in New York City while claiming for tax purposes that his Washington, D.C. home was his primary residence. Second, Rangel is accused of improperly using his office to fundraise for a public policy institute bearing his name at the City College of New York. Third, he is accused of failing to disclose rental income from an apartment he owns in the Dominican Republic.

The committee agreed at the end of Monday's hearing that facts presented about his violations were not in dispute. Tuesday morning it also agreed to find him guilty on 11 of the 13 ethics charges against him.

Yet, without any criminal charges, Mr. Rangel may receive a simple censure or a vote deploring his behavior-a mere slap on the wrist. The Committee's rules are so flexible, and enforcement so lax, that even instances that look like outright influence-buying do not get prosecuted. And there's no sign that the situation will improve, as a new leadership arrives with an agenda that includes abolishing the new Office of Congressional Ethics, a semi-independent body designed to make ethics investigations more transparent.

Mr. Rangel represents exactly what's wrong with Washington, D.C., and has been for decades. He's not alone here, of course; any number of Republicans have violated ethical standards and been arrogant in their disregard for responsible behavior. The facts speak for themselves. Mr. Rangel is guilty and ought to be punished for his crimes.

In a dramatic plea to the cameras, Mr. Rangel touted his nearly 50 years of public service. Neither his nor anyone else's years of service gives them the right to peddle influence, ignore our nation's laws, and then put on a poorly choreographed show of defiance claiming he is a victim. He is one turkey that should not be pardoned. And that is to the point.

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