Peace Prize not What it Used to Be?

Gee, you'd think a U.S. president who won the Nobel Peace Prize might get rave reviews from his party's activists and polite congrats from top Republicans.

But news of Barack Obama's award Friday drew a rebuke from the Republican Party chairman, ridicule from conservative bloggers, and even gripes from some liberals who think he hasn't done enough to wind down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Top Democrats congratulated Obama, of course, but critics abounded on the left and right.

"What has President Obama actually accomplished?" said Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

"It is unfortunate that the president's star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights."

There was praise from two Democrats who also have won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Former President Jimmy Carter, who won in 2002, called Obama's selection a "bold statement of international support for his vision and commitment."

And former Vice President Al Gore, who won two years ago, said Obama's prize was "extremely well deserved."

"I think that much of what he has accomplished already is going to be far more appreciated in the eyes of history, as it has been by the Nobel committee," Gore said.

And some Republicans had kind words, too. "Under any circumstance an appropriate response is to say congratulations," said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

But GOP Rep. Gresham Barrett, who is running for governor of South Carolina, mocked Obama's prize. "I'm not sure what the international community loved best; his waffling on Afghanistan, pulling defense missiles out of Eastern Europe, turning his back on freedom fighters in Honduras, coddling Castro, siding with Palestinians against Israel, or almost getting tough on Iran," Barrett said.

Several commentators challenged the value of the Peace Prize, noting that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat shared it in 1994.

"What's Obama done?" asked Rick Moran in his blog on American Thinker, a strong advocate of Israel. "What peace has he negotiated? ... I suppose an organization that thought Yasser Arafat worthy of the same prize can't be taken seriously anyway. But they are." - FOX News Story

Democrats Hang With Rangel and his Ethics Problems

In his trademark gravelly New York brogue, Charlie Rangel has been known to say: “I’ll be with you ‘til I can’t be with you.”

Now, even some Democrats who have stuck with him through his messy financial problems are beginning to wonder if they can’t stick with him anymore.

The House ethics committee expanded a sprawling investigation into Rangel Thursday, digging into allegations stemming from an August restatement of his personal finances, in which he under reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets. The ethics committee action – which was unanimous — came a day after House Democrats turned back a Republican attempt to force Rangel from his Ways and Means chairmanship while the investigation, now in its second year, is completed.

“There’s growing concern at the piling up here of issues,” said one Democratic lawmaker who asked not to be identified talking about Rangel. “People are willing to give some time to the process, but not an infinite amount of time. There will come a time, if this goes unresolved, when the drip, drip, drip will become a torrent.”

Two Mississippi Democrats, Gene Taylor and Travis Childers, have already bailed on Rangel, voting against him on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday night, Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., who is running for the Senate, chose not to sign a Black Caucus letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in support of Rangel.

Meek told POLITICO that his vote to refer the Rangel matter to the ethics panel was enough of a statement of his position. - Politico Story

Pelosi Fails in Bid for Ethical and Transparent Congress

Pay your taxes or step down.

That's the message House Republicans are sending to Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and subject of a major ethics probe into alleged tax evasion and other violations.

House Republicans on Wednesday tried to pass a resolution to oust Rangel from his chairmanship following the reading of a long and stinging list of alleged wrongdoing. The measure stemmed from a major ethics probe into Rangel's alleged failure to pay his taxes and disclose income on multiple properties -- as much as $1.3 million.

But House Democrats were quick to strike down the measure to remove Rangel, who represents New York's Harlem district, from his post. House Republicans refused to accept defeat of the resolution, and asked for a second recorded vote following the first. The reading of the resolution was interrupted several times, and at one point was challenged by Democrats before being put to a vote.

A representative from Rangel's office on Wednesday blasted the resolution as a "highly partisan effort."

"Let's look at this resolution for what it really is -- a highly partisan effort designed to undermine the important work in Congress on health care reform," the representative, who declined to be named, told FOX News.

"It's also an attempt to circumvent House rules, which provide for a comprehensive, bipartisan ethics committee process for reviewing matters such as these," the Rangel aide said. "The congressman himself initiated the request for the committee to review the issues and the members should let the process work as established by the rules of the House."

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the resolution's defeat is "the latest example of Speaker Pelosi breaking her promise to have the most 'open and ethical' Congress in history." - FOX News Story

Democrats Struggle with ACORN Donations

Democratic lawmakers in a handful of states are facing pressure from Republicans to distance themselves from the Service Employees International Union as a result of its ties to ACORN.

Republicans in Kansas, Virginia and Illinois in recent weeks have called on union-backed Democrats to return SEIU campaign contributions, citing the close connection between the union and the community organizing group, whose full name is the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

ACORN has been under fire in the past month after secretly recorded videos showed ACORN employees offering advice on evading taxes, setting up brothels and smuggling illegal immigrants. ACORN has called the actions unacceptable and has fired the workers involved.

The Virginia Republican Party urged Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds to return campaign contributions from the SEIU, one of the biggest financial backers of Democratic candidates. Deeds received a total of $200,000 from the SEIU in 2009, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks campaign contributions in the state.

"The close, almost symbiotic, relationship that SEIU and Acorn have call into question the propriety of being so closely involved with this union," said Tim Murtaugh, spokesman for the Virginia GOP. A spokesman for Deeds couldn't be reached for immediate comment.

Michelle Ringuette, an SEIU spokeswoman, said the union had suspended all organizing work with Acorn, pending a review of the organization. She said Republicans are engaged in a "smear" campaign against the union. - FOX News

More Questions about Obama's Czar's

WASHINGTON — A liberal Democratic senator questioned the roles of Obama administration policy "czars" Tuesday, but the White House denied it is using these officials to evade congressional scrutiny.

Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., said Congress needs to know whether some of the czars make policy but have no obligation to submit to congressional questioning.

While the Obama administration is hardly the first to name high-level advisers to handle issues like health care and climate change, Feingold said, "It's not good enough to simply say, 'Well, George Bush did it too.'"

Prior to a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing that featured academic experts, Feingold released a letter from White House counsel Gregory Craig that defended the officials.

Craig said some presidents have used such special advisers, or czars, to undermine Congress, but "that is simply not the case in the current administration."

Feingold also was critical of the administration for declining to send a witness to the hearing.

"The White House decided not to accept my invitation ... to explain its position on the constitutional issues we will address today," Feingold said, referring to the Senate's role in confirming top officials.

"That's unfortunate. It's also a bit ironic since one of the concerns that has been raised about these officials is that they will thwart congressional oversight of the executive branch."

Craig's letter broke down the roles of 18 officials questioned by members of Congress.

Eight are in federal agencies whose employees testify regularly before Congress. This group includes Richard Holbrooke, the Afghanistan czar and Ron Bloom, the car czar.

Four more are in the National Security Council, individuals who have no independent authority and whose sole function is to advise the president.

Another four are in the president's and vice president's offices and function as senior White House advisers on health, energy and environment, urban affairs and domestic violence. They are Lynn Rosenthal, domestic violence; Carol Browner, energy and environment; Adolfo Carrion Jr., urban affairs and Nancy-Ann DeParle, health.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said the administration has created doubt about its promise of transparency. However, neither Coburn nor Feingold would criticize any specific official.

It's not even clear what constitutes a czar.

"'Czar' is not an official government title of anybody; it is a vernacular of executive branch public administration," said Bradley Patterson, a hearing witness who has served on the White House staff under Republican presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. - FOX News Story