On Nov 24, 6:17 pm, dick thompson <rhomp2...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: RANGEL HANDS OUT FREE TURKEYS IN HARLEM
> Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:11:52 -0500 (EST)
> From: claguerra...@aol.com
> To: Rhomp2...@earthlink.net
>
> check out the part I highlighted in red!
>
> Rangel Hands Out Free Turkeys in Harlem
> <http://sweetness-light.com/archive/rangel-hands-out-free-turkeys-in-h...>
>
> November 24th, 2010
>
> From an admiring New York Times
> <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/nyregion/24rangel.html?partner=rss&...>:
>
> Thanksgiving Ritual Gives Rangel a Respite
> By DAVID M. HALBFINGER
> November 23, 2010
> *[O]n Tuesday, Representative Charles B. Rangel seemed almost willfully
> upbeat as he strode into his old Harlem political club to hand out
> turkeys to needy constituents*, a Thanksgiving ritual that allowed him
> to speak publicly about something other than his political future. If
> only for a moment.
> Im putting today in front of me, Mr. Rangel told reporters curbside at
> 128th Street and *Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard*, *as dozens of
> bundled-up and mostly elderly women* *the lucky holders of about 120
> tickets that were given out by several community groups* waited inside
> for the congressman to start loading their grocery carts.
> *These people here are not the least bit concerned about anything but
> how theyre going to get their families together on Thanksgiving, Mr.
> Rangel said. It just seems to me that I have a moral obligation to take
> care of them and then, when I get to Washington, take care of me.*
> Inside the political club, as photographers captured his forced smiles,
> Mr. Rangel loudly took charge, herding recipients toward the free
> groceries and whistling with two fingers to clear a path to the door.
> *For about 20 minutes, he handed out 18-pound Butterballs donated by
> the nearby Fairway supermarket, a club member said and bags of fixings,
> accepting heartfelt thank-yous, handshakes and expressions of loyalty
> in return*.
> Imagine, the great man handed out turkeys for 20 minutes! But notice
> that Mr. Rangel didnt have all that much to do with this generosity.
> "Community groups" organized the lottery, and the turkeys themselves
> were provided by Fairways a store which even advertises on the Rush
> Limbaugh show.
> But in the best tradition of Democrat machine politics, they did their
> best to make it seem like the turkeys were coming from Mr. Rangel.
> *Hes good; I dont care what they say, said Mary Reed, who was given a
> ticket for a turkey because of her participation in the tenant patrol
> in the Manhattanville Houses, a city housing project. He does help the
> people. Thats the important thing.*
> *The political club, named for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has
> been distributing turkeys for years, but the giveaway on Tuesday was
> overshadowed by Mr. Rangels problems*.
> *Aides choreographed it to look like a spontaneous show of support; Mr.
> Rangel called the turnout a very pleasant surprise. But the stagecraft
> suggested a calling-in of debts.*
> Or it could have just been that people showed up who wanted a free turkey.
> *A campaign worker and former House aide, holding a bullhorn scrawled
> with Mr. Rangels initials, got onlookers to chant the congressmans name
> as he arrived*.
> *The onlookers and volunteers, too, consisted largely of people who
> owed something to Mr. Rangel, including more than a dozen loudly
> chanting construction workers in hard hats from a job-training group
> called Positive Workforce*.
> *Mr. Rangel, who was the chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means
> Committee before relinquishing that post during the ethics
> investigation, earmarked $240,000 for Positive Workforce to buy and
> renovate an East Harlem building this year. The group received $250,000*
> Yes, Mr. Rangel is good to his people. (And what a timely argument this
> is against earmarks.)
> But did anyone from the media think to ask if the building they are
> renovating is one of Mr. Rangels rent controlled apartments?
> *[A] middle-age man walked up and edged his way into the media scrum
> next to Mr. Rangel. Keep the faith! the man said, his hands shaking as
> he spoke. Yall should all look at all the goodness that this man has
> been doing.*
> *Mr. Rangel, grinning broadly, turned back to the cameras, saying, He
> makes a lot of sense.*
> Lets hope Mr. Rangel gave this shaky middle-aged man an extra Fairways
> turkey for efforts.
> Still, could anything be more symbolic of the sad state of politics in
> our country? Even Hugo Chavez would blush at such an obvious and
> pathetic show.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
No comments:
Post a Comment