Comments on: Boss Rangel and the Spirit of 1876

By: Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:59:33 +0000

As a Republican, all I can say to the party hacks that pushed Harold Ford out of the way, is thank you, thank you, and again thank you. Senator “Sock Puppet” is the dream opponent for a Republican party trying to make a comeback in New York…. Ford would have been tough to beat.

By: J. E. Stoll

J. E. Stoll — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:43:47 +0000

As a born and bred former New Yorker, I follow New York’s politics with interest even though I live in Virginia.

I would like to make a point that seems to have been missed in both the article and the subsequent discussion points. Corruption has no relationship to race or ethnicity. There is, however, a direct correlation to power. Power breeds corruption. Whether the pol is white or black, Republican or Democrat, it is power that corrupts. Thus follows the second corrillary — absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Thank you.

By: David S. Levine

David S. Levine — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:06:27 +0000

“So if the Tom Delay comparison is important, maybe a sentence or two about the ultimate outcome of the accusations made against him would be important?”

NO case against Tom Delay has ever been brought to court. all we have are unproven allegations. Once again we see why the Democ-rat Party is a coalition of scum, slime, filth, vermin and manure.

By: David S. Levine

David S. Levine — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:03:56 +0000

Joe Conason is one of the many columnists “in the tank” of the coalition of scum, slime, filth, vermin and manure that is the Democ-rat Party. If this series is the beginning of the effort by the New York Times to regain its credibility with conservatives, so much the better for siciety. Without more I will continue NOT to read it and wait a day for any new information about Democ-rat Party crooks to be published in The New York Post. If there is an isntitution in the tank for leftism, it’s The New York Times. Hooray for Mr. Mead for bringing all of this to the fore.

By: John

John — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:48:51 +0000

Perhaps competition from the WSJ will goad the NYT into paying attention to Albany.

By: Peter

Peter — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:47:11 +0000

What is it about Obama’s history makes the author think he is a “shiny new reformer”? He has never been a reformer from his beginnings in the Chicago cesspool to his facilitation of the Louisiana Purchase and the Cornhusker Kickback. In fact he has never come across a bit of corruption he could not accommodate.

By: Oldroy

Oldroy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:28:58 +0000

So if the Tom Delay comparison is important, maybe a sentence or two about the ultimate outcome of the accusations made against him would be important?

Do journalists ever look themselves in the eye? Do you really think the whole world still accepts your wholly tainted opinion as anything close to a fact?

This article is yet another reason why journalists can’t be trusted, nor can journalists doing stories about the state of journalism be trusted.

By: melvin polatnick

melvin polatnick — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:36:59 +0000

Politicians face a unique challenge. While surrendering to temptation they must still maintain an honest appearance. Thanks to the Devil very few get caught and most finish their careers with impeccable credentials. God fearing people do not want to be a politician. They would rather take an honest job and wait for their heavenly reward. The politician wants his reward now and gets it.

By: EJM

EJM — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:53:38 +0000

Mr. Mead,
Call me cynical but I suspect that the reason the NYT is going for Patterson’s scalp has much less to do with good government than it has to do with clearing the way for the white knight, Andrew Cuomo. Obama even asked Patterson to step aside, and when he didn’t immediately agree, the NYT stepped in to push him.

The NYT editorial on Rangel is somewhat more surprising, at first glance, until you realize that it makes sense to get him out of the Republicans’ crossfire well before election day. As several columnists have pointed out, Rangel’s sins are hardly egregious by modern Congressional standards (unfortunately) and many of them are known for years. Why the pressure on him from the Ethics Committee and the NYT now? He became a liability to the super-important Obama agenda, and might feed a Republican narrative about a culture of corruption in Pelosi’s House, so he too has to be sacrificed for the greater good.

If you know something that should disabuse us of cynicism regarding the NYT’s timing and motives, please let us know.

By: EJM

EJM — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:51:45 +0000

The NYT editorial on Rangel is somewhat more surprising, at first glance, until you realize that it makes sense to get him out of the Republicans’ crossfire well before election day. As several columnists have pointed out, Rangel’s sins are hardly egregious by modern Congressional standards (unfortunately) and many of them are known for years. Why the pressure on him from the Ethics Committee and the NYT now? He became a liability to the super-important Obama agenda, and might feed a Republican narrative about a culture of corruption in Pelosi’s House\, so he too has to be sacrificed for the greater good.

If you know something that should abuse us of cynicism regarding the NYT’s timing and motives, please let us know.