New York – Mayor Bloomberg is giving beleaguered Rep. Charles Rangel a big boost with a recorded phone message urging voters to support the 20-term lawmaker, the Daily News has learned.
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“Tough times require tough leadership, and that is what Charlie Rangel has provided for us, and will continue to provide for us going forward,” Bloomberg says in the robo-calls expected to flood phone lines in Rangel’s district on Sunday.
The mayor calls the 80-year-old Harlem Democrat the “go-to guy in Washington.” He credits Rangel with “bringing $300 million in stimulus funds to protect the jobs of New Yorkers,” “insuring affordable housing for working families” and “working to expand health coverage for all Americans.”
The calls, which were recorded this week, will come 48 hours before Rangel faces a five-way fight in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. A House ethics panel is due next week to start trial proceedings on 13 alleged violations.
Bloomberg, who has stayed out of most local races this season, recorded the call because “Charlie Rangel has always been there for New York City, and the mayor hasn’t forgotten that,” mayoral spokesman Jason Post said.
Team Rangel predicted the message will shore up his support with voters in the district, which includes Harlem, the upper West Side, Washington Heights and a sliver of Queens.
“The mayor is really a standup guy, and this is an important message,” said a Rangel aide.
Bloomberg has been one of Rangel’s most outspoken supporters despite the ethics charges, which include improper fund-raising and tax evasion.
At Rangel’s birthday party last month, Bloomberg mocked politicians who skipped the event because they feared being lambasted by their opponents for celebrating with Rangel.
“Charlie, as you know, they were with you as long as they could be,” he quipped.
Rangel’s challengers include Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell 4th (D-Manhattan), son of the man Rangel beat in 1970.
Rangel is favored, but is looking to win by a wide margin in hopes he would look less vulnerable to his detractors.
The support from Mr. Bloomberg, whose job-approval rating remains solid, could buttress Mr. Rangel in the Upper West Side, Washington Heights, Harlem and other parts of Mr. Rangel’s district.
Mr. Bloomberg’s efforts on the congressman’s behalf suggest he does not hold grudges: In May 2009, Mr. Rangel became the first member of New York’s Congressional delegation to endorse Mr. Bloomberg’s Democratic rival for mayor, William C. Thompson Jr. And while Mr. Rangel avoided criticizing the mayor directly, he did praise Mr. Thompson, then the city’s comptroller, for reaching out to the city’s diverse communities – something that Mr. Bloomberg had been urged to do more often.
And how about adding to the call stealing money, not paying taxes?
Bloomberg is an idoit. Get the guy a doctor before its to late.
I always wanted to place a sign under my windshield that I pledge to boycott all windshield advertisers. After having some of those ads placed before a rainy weekend, and unable to unstick them on Sunday, I made that promise. I now also do the same for robo calls. I get disturbed at work and home all the time. I want the use of robo calls regulated and punished, just like the non-solicited advertisements that litter the streets.
Not that I believe that Bloomie and Rangel should not both retire from public life (I would be overjoyed if either choose that option), but I would boycott voting for either just because they have no problem annoying me, Yom Tov and all.
oh bloomy you are so transparent and foolish.the fact you believe your accumulation of wealth has given you wisdom or because of your wisdom you have wealth.you are a nar and the fact that new yorkers actually hate you will never enter your mind or that you are a disagreeable personality and no pr spin doctors will be able to change that.you would have to change that yourself but with your arrogance it seems a far fetched thought.
Keep electing these idiots!