Updated:
3/2/10 6:53 PM EST
Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel was on the verge of losing
his gavel Tuesday night as a trickle of Democratic defections turned
into a flood.
“The dam broke today,” said a senior Democratic aide.
Rangel suffered a significant blow Tuesday afternoon when Rep. Artur
Davis – a member of both the Ways and Means Committee and the
Congressional Black Caucus who’s running for governor back home in
Alabama – issued a statement in which he said the chairman “should do
the right thing and step aside.”
Another Democratic member told POLITICO Tuesday night: "I think Charlie
should do the right thing and step down. We expected that out of Tom
DeLay. He should do the honorable thing ... There's no double standard.
“
A third, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), said Rangel “ needs to resign" from his chairmanship
For a few days, the New York Democrat’s grip on power seemed steady
even after the House ethics committee found him in violation of House
gift rules last week. Speaker and Rangel ally Nancy Pelosi (DCal.)
vowed to wait to see if ethics acts on more of the allegations that
have been lodged against him.
But Republicans are planning to bring a resolution to the House floor
calling for his removal as chairman, and Democratic aides said Tuesday
that the party’s most vulnerable incumbents are not willing to risk the
electoral fallout that would come from standing by the 39-year House
veteran.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33787.html#ixzz0h4Awer8G