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At a recent roundtable discussion, Congressman Charles Rangel held forth on a number of issues, including a unified Latino voice, immigration, and the Occupy Wall Street protests.
Story and photos by Alexandra Rosario
At a press roundtable discussion held this past Fri., Oct. 7th with local weekly newspapers, including The Manhattan Times, in his Harlem district office, Congressman Charles Rangel held forth on a number of issues, including a unified Latino voice, immigration, and the Occupy Wall Street protests.
“Why do you think Latinos [don't have a unified voice]? Because it's difficult when you're putting people together just based on their language. Their cultures could be far different,” said the 21-term Congressman, referencing the wide diversity within the Latino community. “Even if it's the same background or the same town, they have differences, political differences like everyone else.”
Forty six percent of Congressman Rangel’s district is made up of Hispanics.
The issue of losing the Latino vote to the Republican Party was discussed in conjunction with immigration law. Rangel believes that much of the disillusionment voters presently feel can be tied to the original euphoria during President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.
“He gave such high hopes [to] everybody,” he said. “They have to be angry because the president has not been able to get anything near a vote [on immigration reform]. A lot of people on the issue would say that when it comes to immigration, it's been so fouled up and it's almost evil. The hypocrisy when America's leadership says, 'We need you in our agriculture industry, in our hotels and entertainment; we need you for our landscaping; God knows, we need all of you immigrants, but you know you're illegal, and we're gonna catch you.' It's just not the American way.”
Rangel also touched on the topic of Occupy Wall Street protests, of which he is a supporter, going so far as to visit with the protesters at Zuccotti Park downtown.
Rangel addressed his appearance at the Occupy Wall Street protests, where some reported that he was booed, and others said the booing was aimed at a crowd heckler.
“If they were in fact booing me, I get it. I am part of the government, I am part of the problem,” he acknowledged. And the frustrations of the so-called 99 percent are real.
Americans, argued Rangel, don't aim to become rich, but work hard to be in the middle class.
“People want benefits, [for] life to be better for their kids, to get a home, have some savings, health care,” Rangel said. He also called upon houses of worship to help those in financial need and without medical benefits.
“We call it Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security; it's just as easy to talk about the Good Samaritan who helps the sick, the poor, the aged. These are moral issues and yet, I can't think of one religion that has taken this as an issue,” he said. “Quite frankly, I don't understand it, because I know their ability to get politically involved with same sex marriage and abortion. I'm not critical of this very limited agenda that they consider moral, but what could be more immoral than sending youngsters into harm’s way, to countries that most Americans don't know where they are located, for reasons that are not adequate, having lives lost and destroyed?”
Rangel closed out the round table discussion by promising to have more discussions in the future to create more open lines of communication with the media and his constituents. In fact, he said he hoped to make the New York Weeklies’ Round Table event a regular occurrence to better communicate with his constituents.
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