Hugo, Put Down the Crack Pipe

When Charlie Rangel took exception at Hugo Chavez talking smack in his district, pundits were shocked. Aren’t Democrats supposed to titter at the lame sulfur jokes? Be frozen by the prospect of chiding their enemy’s enemy? Well, I’m shocked that they’re shocked.

It was the smart move for Rangel all along. He noticed the growing silence and figured the man-bites-dog aspect of the story would net a Democrat airtime aplenty.

With a safe seat and the possibility of being the next Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, where’s the downside for a man who just last year called Bill Clinton a redneck?

He can take any intra-party heat. Most of his spineless wonder colleagues should be ashamed.