The Republican candidate in Iowa’s second congressional district says the ethics investigation of a New York congressman is an indictment of Democratic Congressman Dave Loebsack of Mount Vernon, too.
The House Ethics Committee voted last week to have a full House investigation of Charlie Rangel over accusations he didn’t pay taxes on $75,000 worth of rental income from a Caribbean villa and other alleged ethics violations. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, the Republican challenging Loebsack in November, says Loebsack voted in 2008 to “block” an investigation of Rangel.
“I think voters need to know that we continue to have corruption that exists and we have members of congress who give a pass and even impede investigations when they vote not to investigate members of their own party,” Miller-Meeks says.
Miller-Meeks ran against Loebsack in 2008 and lost. She raised this issue in the last campaign, but she says it’s an issue again in 2010 because there’s now to be a high-profile investigation of Rangel that Loebsack had voted to block two years ago.
“That’s the same politics as usual, the same ‘old-boys club’ if you will, that’s caused a lot of discontent,” Miller-Meeks says. “And it’s caused distrust of people in their elected officials.”
On Monday morning Lindsay Burr, Loebsack’s campaign manager, said she would issue a response to Miller-Meeks’ charges, but 24 hours later Burr had not yet done so.