Rangel under fire, with echoes in the North Country

New York City congressman Charlie Rangel, a Democrat, is an institution in New York politics — but in recent months that institution has lost some of its luster.

“Charlie Rangel must be a centipede,” wrote the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in a lead editorial, “given how many shoes have been dropping regarding his personal finances.”

From rent controlled apartments to unpaid taxes on a Caribbean villa, “Rangel’s moral claim to any top leadership post became debatable…”

Rangel has met repeatedly with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but there’s no sign that he’ll lose his chairmanship of the influential Ways and Means Committee.

(That’s the committee that hands out the money.)

Rangel’s woes come at a time when Republicans are eager to blur the lines between their own plague of scandals and Democratic behavior.

So far, Rangel’s indiscretions don’t appear to rise to the Abramoffian heights of the GOP, but it could be problematic for colleagues like Kirsten Gillibrand.

The freshman Democratic congresswoman is fighting for a second term in New York’s 20th district.

Challenger Sandy Treadwell has worked hard to link her with Rangel.

“I once again call on you to return campaign contributions received from or solicited by Congressman Rangel,” Treadwell wrote in a recent public letter to Gillibrand, “and urge you to call on him to step aside as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.”

Gillibrand’s spokesperson has said that she supports an ethics investigation into Rangel’s behavior but refuses to prejudge the outcome. Her staff has also pointed to Gillibrand’s record of supporting open-government measures.

So far, the issue hasn’t ignited or caught much media attention. But it’s likely to get fresh play when the two candidates hold their first debate.