-------- 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-harlem>
November 24th, 2010
From an admiring New York Times
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/nyregion/24rangel.html?partner=rss&emc=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.
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