Massa and Rangel Equal Democratic Woes

One is a former Democratic freshman little known outside his Corning-Olean-Pittsford, N.Y., district. The other, a 20-term Democratic kingpin from Harlem, is widely known to New Yorkers and anyone following tax legislation.
But now, Republicans looking for any opening to regain control of the House are portraying newly resigned first-termer Eric Massa and veteran Charles Rangel as dual symbols of Democratic ethical misconduct.
There’s no connection between Rangel’s violation of House gift rules as reported by the House ethics committee and the ethics panel’s abruptly ended investigation of Massa’s alleged harassment of male staff members.
But there is this link: Both cases represent potential albatrosses for Democrats in the fall elections, and the party can only hope that the problems fade away.
The House Democratic campaign chairman, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, confirmed Wednesday that the House ethics committee has ended its investigation of Massa because his resignation this week removed him from the panel’s jurisdiction.
But Van Hollen quickly acknowledged in an ABC News webcast that Massa staff members who complained of harassment can still pursue the case in other forums. And House Republican leader John Boehner said there were many questions in the case that still must be answered.
Translation: The potential political damage is far from over.

Read more: (Larry Margasak, “Ex-Freshman, Veteran Kingpin Equal Democratic Woes,” Associated Press, 03/11/10)