House investigative committee on Thursday charged New York Rep. Charles Rangel with multiple ethics violations, a blow to the former Ways and Means chairman and an election-year headache for Democrats!

DRUDGE REPORT: FLASHBACK 2006: Pelosi promised 'most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history'...

Rangel charged with multiple ethics violations...

THE DEMOCRATS LIED TO YOU FOLKS!

The ethical woes facing Democrats are piling up, with barely a day passing in recent weeks without headlines from Washington to New York and beyond filled with word of scandal or allegations of wrongdoing...

Rash of Scandals Tests Democrats at Sensitive Time

Surprise, surprise: Obama's health care plan is going to cost lots more than he said it would!

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Health-care overhaul legislation being drafted by House Democrats will include $600 billion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel said.

Democrats will work on the bill’s details next week as they struggle through “what kind of heartburn” it will cause to agree on how to pay for revamping the health-care system, Rangel, a New York Democrat, said today. He also said the measure’s cost will reach beyond the $634 billion President Barack Obama proposed in his budget request to Congress as a down payment for the policy changes.

Asked whether the cost of a health-care overhaul would be more than $1 trillion, Rangel said, “the answer is yes.”

House Health-Care Bill to Include $600 Billion in Tax Increases

Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff gave hundreds of thousands to Democrats

...none of whom are returning calls from the press. Prosecutors are going to try to recoup as much of Madoff's money as possible to give back to his victims. But, it sure doesn't look like any of these Democrats are going to be giving back the money!

While the mainstream media have given considerable coverage to the Madoff scandal, few reporters mention Madoff was a Democrat with a history of thousands of dollars in contributions to Democratic Party candidates.

According to Federal Election Commission records, among Madoff's dozens of contributions to Democrats were the following:

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.: $2,000 in 2002, $6,000 in 2004 and another $2,000 in 1998;

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.: $1,000 in 2000

House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo, presidential campaign: $2,000 in 2003;

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.: $1,000 in 2001; $1,000 in 1998;

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.: $10,200 in 2007; $1,000 in 2004;

Gov. Jon Corzine, D-N.J.: $1,000 in 1999.

Madoff appears to have gotten around rules limiting campaign contributions.

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