Starboard Broadside

Today, ethics-challenged Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY-15) finally yielded his powerful chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee, at least temporarily during another ethics violation investigation. This is good for Democrats who've been trying to present themselves as the uncorrupted and ethical party in Congress for several years, especially during the house-cleaning 2006 cycle, because Rangel's been an inconvenient representation of the counter-narrative. Now, Rangel will be out of the way for this cycle, at the very least.

Rangel has been replaced by the only (and first) avowed atheist in Congress, Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA-13). I guess this is a historic day? Update on 3/4: Oops. Never mind. Stark has in turn ceded the gavel to Rep. Sander Levin.

Incidentally, a few weeks ago, I had a really funny dream that included a bunch of top Democratic politicians, one of whom was Charlie Rangel. I'm not a big fan, obviously, so that was sort of weird.