I don't think Charlie Rangel is a r****t, he is smarter than that, having been in congress so long after being a hero @Chosen Reservoir. I am a white Tea party supporter to clarify my position. I believe Charlie Rangel is an astute black politician who knws his R****T BASE and appeals to his R****T BASE to stay in power. I believe Charlie Rangel realizes that playing the race card is just a tool that he has to make the best life for himself that he can. Charlie Rangel is too intelligent to waste his life in h**e and blame on others, he knows that gets him nowhere, but he also knows his base wants to hear that rhetoric, and further he will not remain in power without feeding it red meat.

I'm now an Alabama retiree after 56 years in California, and 15 in Texas. I hold retirements from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the City of Redding and the United States Air Force.