On of the main tenets of Eric Bolling‘s show Follow the Money is that a free market economy is fairer and more successful than one administered by the goverment. Tonight, Rep. Charlie Rangel ventured onto the program to make the opposite case: that government jobs were in some ways more attractive, because minorities and women experienced less discrimination.

Today was Bill O’Reilly‘s return to manning the fort at the Factor, and he came back to some unfinished business between his substitute host Laura Ingraham and Rep. Charlie Rangel, who dismissed her (and then apologized) as “just a pretty girl.” Discussing the issue with Bernie Goldberg, however, O’Reilly found him somewhat sympathetic to Rep. Rangel, arguing that Ingraham was “lucky” that’s the most he said, given that she was constantly interrupting.

As far as hyper-partisan members of Congress go, Rep. Charlie Rangel is one of the most accessible to programs where he’d be ideologically outnumbered, and tonight he visited The O’Reilly Factor as he has many times before. But tonight he was up against Laura Ingraham, who he repeatedly accused of giving him time to answer and, exasperatedly, quipped, “Bill O’Reilly told me he had a secret weapon– I didn’t know it was just a pretty girl.”

Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel appeared with Judge Andrew Napolitano last night on Fox Business to explain some of his recent comments where he wondered “what would Jesus do” about the current debt crisis? Rangel explained that clergy of all faith should weigh in on the moral question, and predicted that all would say “do the right thing” and raise the debt ceiling.

With the national debt taking up most of Congress’s summer efforts, Rep. Charlie Rangel made a special plea to his colleagues that, in voting on whether to raise the debt ceiling, they consider how Jesus would vote: “What would Jesus do this weekend?” On this morning’s Fox & Friends, former Arkansas governor (and pastor) Mike Huckabee did the research, and concluded that the first thing Jesus would do (and Rep. Rangel would not) is to pay his taxes.

Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel appeared with Judge Andrew Napolitano last night and they respectfully disagreed with one another on the issue of whether the government should be able to tax and spend more money. Yet surprisingly, they found common ground on a different issue, as they both agreed that the President, no matter their political affiliation, should not be able to send troops overseas without first obtaining a declaration of war from Congress.

Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel appeared on Follow The Money and host Eric Bolling asked him about his “well-documented tax problems” and why that alone isn’t proof that Americans are being “taxed to death?” Rangel laughed and humorously repeated that the “tax code is too damn complicated.”

Freedom Watch, Judge Andrew Napolitano‘s libertarian haven over on Fox Business, usually entertains guests of the small government persuasion on anything from bringing the troops home to eliminating the income tax. So when notoriously liberal Rep. Charlie Rangel stepped up to propose an end to the Bush Tax Cuts and raising the debt ceiling, he came into it a fish out of water, to put it mildly.

With the government on the verge of shutting down, many are wondering how the nation will run if Congress refuses to compromise on the budget. For Bill O’Reilly, the bigger issue appeared why the budget is an issue now anyway, given the typical budget determinations at the end of the year. Asking Rep. Charlie Rangel, O’Reilly got an admission that the budget was a “hot potato” and a lengthy condemnation of Congressmen who think they can “slash and burn” through the national budget.

Just because Wisconsin has become the epicenter of the war between unions and cost-cutting Republicans doesn’t mean the rest of the country is standing on the sidelines. In fact, some of those most passionate about the subject are far from having a stake in that state. Take, for example, the two Democratic Congressmen Bill O’Reilly invited on the program to explain the protesters’ plight: Reps. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and Charlie Rangel of New York, who see the unions as indispensable.

There’s been buzz about President Obama facing a potential challenger–or two–for the Democratic nomination in 2012. But Rep. Charlie Rangel (who knows a bit about losing friends and political influence) says the triple play of successes in the lame duck session of Congress mean you can forget Dems taking on one of their own.

“This is a different president after the lame duck,” Rangel told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews. “He’s much stronger than we thought he was.”

Following the censure of Charlie Rangel, Chris Matthews spent a segment on his program comparing how the conservative and liberal press handled the story. He then compared how they handled scandals involving conservatives like David Vitter and decided that conservative politicians and pundits are always “meaner.”

Some would have you believe that being censured by the House of Representatives for ethics violations is not a big deal. After watching the following video of Representative Charlie Rangel stand in the well of the House floor and receive formal admonishment from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one can’t help that the New York Democrat felt some embarrassment and shame. Rangel addressed the House after being censure, expressing some form of contrition after the formal vote that expressed the body’s disapproval of a member’s conduct.

William Shakespeare once famously wrote in The Tempest “misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows,” which has later been bastardized to its more common elocution “politics makes for strange bedfellows.” There is no more apt example of this notion than Rep. Peter King, the firebrand Republican from Long Island, NY, who just now gave a passionate and articulate defense of his fellow New Yorker and ideological foe Charlie Rangel.

Charles Rangel‘s recent conviction for ethics violations has inspired celebrities like Jon Stewart and the cast of Saturday Night Live to express their opinions of the beleaguered House representative. Yesterday, another unlikely voice entered the fray: Ben Stein, best known for expertly taking attendance in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and hosting a game show on Comedy Central from 1997 to 2003.

The Associated Press is reporting today that Representative Charlie Rangel, who the House Ethics Committee recently decided to censure for his ethics violations, will argue that he does not deserve censure and ask the House to reconsider his punishment.

SNL‘s Rachel Maddow welcomed the shapeshifting new House of Representatives by moderating a three-way conversation with presumptive Speaker John Boehner, outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and loud speaker Charlie Rangel. A decidedly boyish Abby Elliott played the MSNBC host and discussed a range of topics with the guests, from Republican tax policies, Rangel’s ethics violations, and who stole Pelosi’s necklace. Guess which Representative it was!

Republican leaders, citing “scheduling conflicts,” skipped an invitation to a bipartisan meeting with President Obama and Democratic leaders at the White House yesterday. One such pressing engagement was a press conference to roll out the new GOP House leadership.

While Boehner only touched briefly on the subject of the Bush tax cuts, he also held forth on blocking appropriations, Charlie Rangel‘s ethics hearing, repealing health care reform, and a priceless dodge of a question about the government’s successful bailout of GM.

Yesterday Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) was found guilty of eleven separate charges relating to personal finance and fundraising efforts by a House Ethics sub-committee. Earler, Rangel made the odd decision to remove himself from the proceedings, seeming to claim ignorance over both the facts and procedures of the case. Sound ripe for mockery? Enter Jon Stewart, who last night lampooned Rangel’s odd defensive posture and can be summed up as: ignorance is no defense, son.

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has just threatened to leave a hearing that is investigating charges that he violated House ethics rules, after first alleging that the House Ethics committee had denied his right to a lawyer. Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), responded by stating “it troubles me” that Rep. Rangel had no counsel, before moving to discuss whether to postpone the hearing in executive session.

After successfully defending his turf in yesterday’s Democratic primary, Rep. Charlie Rangel told his district that “President Obama needs people like me more than ever.” “And why do I say this?” asked Rangel, who has been consistently dogged by a variety of congressional ethics investigations. Apparently assuming that nobody else knew the answer, he immediately responded to himself

Soledad O’Brien’s exclusive interview with Rep. Charlie Rangel begins with the two of them laughing it up over Rangel’s advice on how to be a great birthday party dancer. It seems like an odd way to open a segment on a tremendously embattled official facing enormous ethics charges and a tough reelection race. However, it makes more sense as you watch the rest of the In America piece and get that the takeaway seems to be, “Sure, Charlie Rangel has a lot of legal problems facing him, but that doesn’t mean he can’t have a great time!”

Long-winded, legally embattled Congressman Charlie Rangel has had one of the toughest years of his life in 2010, but there’s no doubt he started his 81st year off right (after he took care of all those minor corruption issues that kept bumping his schedule back). Reports from guests at his birthday bash already testified to its awesomeness, but nothing quite says it like a video of Rep. Rangel himself dancing to the tune of an energetic live jazz band.

Just two days after his jaw-dropping 30-minute speech on the House floor regarding his pending ethics trial, Rep. Charlie Rangel was back in New York to celebrate his 80th birthday with a politically star-studded fundraiser.

Despite the fact that his birthday was in June (and, you know, those ethics charges) everyone seemed to be celebrating in good spirits – including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Rev. Al Sharpton and Rangel himself.

Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) is currently under investigation by the House Ethics committee for, among other things, improper fund-raising. On Tuesday, Rangel took the opportunity of a rare recess session to present an 30 minute “defense” of charges he faces (and ostensibly his political career) in an epically rambling speech that defined the term “political theater.” If you missed the speech and would like to watch the highlights (with comedic commentary provided by Jon Stewart) then please view the clip below.