Once again Charles Rangel has opened his mouth and stuck both feet in. He has given Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly so much material to blast him and, by implication, the Democratic part of which he is a key Congressional leader:
I want to make it abundantly clear: if there’s anyone who believes that these youngsters want to fight, as the Pentagon and some generals have said, you can just forget about it. No young, bright individual wants to fight just because of a bonus and just because of educational benefits. And most all of them come from communities of very, very high unemployment. If a young fella has an option of having a decent career or joining the army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq.
World To Charles Rangel:
I live here in San Diego and have many friends who CHOSE to serve in the Navy and CHOSE to serve in the Marines. I used to cover Camp Pendleton for the San Diego Union, in the early 80s. There are people who CHOOSE to serve in the military because they like the idea of a military career and some of the things the military has to offer…not just because they can’t have a career.
Rangel might also ask the guy who writes this site about why some people join the military.
At least Rangel had the good sense to stick his foot in his mouth without using John Kerry’s joke writer.
The point is: Rangel is a key leader in the Democratic party. You would think if he is a seasoned, career politician (he belongs to a veteran group of politicos nicknamed the “old bulls”) he would realize he is giving his political opponents a treasure chest of ammunition to use against him and say it is indicative of his party. Part of what the Democrats will need — if they truly want to consolidate clout won from the elections — is to combat the shoot-from-the-left-hip image that Republicans have successfully implanted in the electorate’s consciousness. That can be done by deeds, thoughtful decisions about the policy choices and battles to be fought, and by reigning in comments that will be used by the party’s foes to say “Aha! See? They still don’t get it..”
There has been a lot of talk about the Democrats putting on a centrist face. Rangel’s comments won’t help. GOPers will point to Rangel’s comments and say the face is a poorly fitting mask.
ADVICE TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADERSHIP. Find Rangel and use some of this:
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.