Rehash of an earlier post...

I posted the full article back in July. The article was off of a black GOP website but also was published in the Washington Times. The changes of the demographics of many black congressional districts and this is not necessarily of race but of income. So after looking at my post again the last two paragraphs spoke to me.

This is from Congressman Charles Rangel who has been front in center in his criticism of President Bush. He doesn't like the war, he doesn't like Bush's election to office back in 2000, and he probably doesn't like Bush's tax cuts for the rich. So for those other Congressional Black Caucus members who are voting for tax cuts and pro business policies. I suppose Rep. Rangel doesn't agree and he says these individuals are voting stupid.

A recent editorial on BlackCommentator.com criticized caucus members who voted for the bankruptcy and estate-tax bills, accusing them of being bought off by corporations and wealthy campaign donors and betraying core Democratic values. But Rep. Charles B. Rangel, New York Democrat and another founding member of the caucus, said the notion the caucus is losing cohesion is ridiculous.

"Why any member would be voting for the bankruptcy bill or estate-tax repeal or for making the tax cuts permanent or any of those things is just stupid, but it doesn't tear us apart because whether it is a speaker or a member, we only have one vote," he said.

"We have to be very, very tolerant of a person that votes stupid, because they may think they have a good reason and they are the ones who come down here, so you may think the vote is stupid but they know what they are doing," Mr. Rangel said.

It is easy for me to say Rep. Rangel is losing touch. But I don't know Harlem or the rest of his district. I just would like to add that he is one of the few members who has been around since the very beginning (1969 since the Congressional Black Caucus was founded). I look at this as good news still but I have no doubt we still have a long way to go.