Wow, great read here.

This is exactly why I have been furious with not only the msm, more-so the Senators, Hatch made me ill with his floor yak in defense of both of these men, I was very surprised when Harking did this, plus his words about all of this, like I posted elsewhere sometime back, it is a first I think for me....I agreed with Harkin for once.

What Geithner did was something any of us would be behind bars for by now ...and no repub would have ever made it 24 hours with the talking heads in the msm if they were in either of these mens shoes, nor would they have had any members in the Senate backing them.

What about Franken, has he ever paid what he owes, and he may be seated as a Senator yet, plus we have Rangel, who writes the tax bills...nada has happened to him, he hasn't even stepped down from his chair as head of Ways and Means.

It has all been simply unbelievable...and the msm stays mum. 

I guess however it comes out, it's good.  This evidently is ringing bells even among the most dedicated democrats.  As has been pointed out numerous times in NewsBusters and other conservative press outlets like American Thinker:

Inspired by their recent behavior, I left a question on my corporate accountant's voice mail today. "Jim, I just want to know if I can simply pay taxes just the way the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee OR the incoming Secretary of the Treausurer pay them?"

He laughed, and replied "of course... as long as you don't mind doing some time."

Which is why the public is having trouble swallowing this- it's easy to understand, and it goes directly against everything Obama promised.

The Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and the U.S. Treasury Secretary  are literally the two highest ranking political figures with regard to the Internal Revenue Service.  If any two people on the planet should set an example in their tax behavior, it is the two people who hold those positions and anyone who aspires to them...

...

Charles Rangel and Timothy Geithner are apparently somewhat more casual about tax compliance, taking hypocrisy and irony to new levels in the process.

As the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rangel is literally the most influential member of Congress related to taxing and spending. As we found out in September, Rangel decided that he was above paying taxes on rental income on some houses he owned in the Dominican Republic

And as we found out days ago, the man appointed by Barack Obama to run the Treasury Department -- of which the IRS is a major part -- has also considered himself above the tax laws that haunt the rest of us.

Please understand these two people will have tremendous influence on how our tax laws are written and that they will expect every damned one of us to follow that 66 thousand page tax code to the letter. Or as Joe Biden would say, they expect us to "be patriotic" and to do so accurately.

And so we now have a GOP congressman introducing the "Rangel Rule" (h/t Rush): 

Americans may be able to rest a little easier this April if Congressman John Carter, R-Texas gets his way.

Rep. Carter introduced a bill Wednesday to eliminate all IRS penalties and interest for paying taxes past due.

The legislation calls for the creation of what he calls the, "Rangel Rule"...enabling citizens who fail to pay taxes on time to do so later with no additional fees.

As of September 2008 the Harlem Democrat reportedly paid back more than $10,000 in taxes but that did not include any IRS penalties.

"Your citizens back home should have the same rights and benefits that come to you as a member of congress. You shouldn't be treated any differently under the law than your citizens back home," Carter said.

He added that citizens should receive the "same courtesy" that the IRS is allegedly granting Rangel and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who also recently acknowledged a failure to pay taxes.

Carter penned a letter to Rangel earlier this month requesting that he either pay the IRS fees or join him in co-sponsoring the legislation establishing the rule.

"As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, I believe you set an example for all American taxpayers in your dealings with the IRS, and that you must do so in a way that enforces blind justice without regard to wealth or status," he wrote in the January 6th missive.

A spokesman for the New York Democrat would not comment on the state of the tax issue, which is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, but did respond to the Carter bill.

"This legislation is unnecessary.

No surprise there, but the rest of the comment is a little hard to swallow:

All taxpayers currently receive equal treatment under the law," Rangel spokesman Emile Milne said. (my disbelieving emphasis!)

I was listening to Glenn Beck earlier today and he was talking about how there are now two sets of laws- one for the regular people who are not really important enough to merit special consideration, and the other set for those who are so important that if they were not in the positions of power that they hold, things would just simply fall apart.  Geithner anyone?  He also talked about how in the USSR, there were special traffic lanes reserved for party members only, as well as special stores and other perks.  Unfortunately the "citizen legislator" appears to absolutely be a thing of the past.  We seem to be entering a phase that reminds me of what I learned about Rome when the property owning citizens no longer were the ones making the laws.  Due to crisis, they appointed a supposedly "temporary" dictator, which eventually morphed into Julius Ceasar, and the age of the Emperors, ascension to the throne by lineage and all that that implies.  Good bye Republic.

"The future is not set.  There is no fate but what we make for ourselves."

michaelyon-online.com

As this nation accelerates along the path to socialism, I believe we are beginning to see the same societal divisions that are present in all socialist countries, which essentially are comprised of two groups:

The ruling class and everybody else.

In the former USSR, the ruling classes had their own stores to shop in, and if you were among the elite of the ruling class, you even had lanes on the roads that only you were allowed to drive in. There were lots of other perks, too.

I believe we are beginning to see that very same thing developing in this country, where the ruling class doesn't have to follow the same rules as we members of the peon proletariat.

And I still cannot believe Geithner's confirmation sailed right through the senate with hardly even a raised eyebrow among the republicans there.

This man should now be standing trial for tax evasion. Instead, he is now in charge of the IRS in what is fast becoming a joke of an Obama administration.

-Dave

Our clueless political leaders are about to drive us all over a cliff. The time to HITM is now-before we go over.

2 points - what kind of interest payments will be collected by the IRS, and do the 'common folk taxpayers' get the same deal? Can't WE say "I'm sorry" and get a pass on our little, hones mistakes too?

I'd now like to see a republican/conservative LEADER emerge and make the following proposal -
"We, the servants of the people, will lead by example, and like the CEO's of bailout companies, will now take a payroll cut of 50% for the duration of this crisis. We know that this will not in anyway stimulate the economy, but it is a gesture that the voters need in order to see we really do have their best interests in mind."

I would now wonder if Chrissy would get a tingle up and down his leg with that statement, and I wonder what the demolibs would say, or what excuses they would use to NOT take the cut - could be as interesting as the ride we are now on, due to the historical events of the past election.

There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V

Geithner was audited and paid the back taxes for the years audited, but he did not pay Social Security/Medicare for the years that were past the statute of limitations. Because this was a ‘mistake’, no problem. But if Geithner intentionally failed to pay what he owed, that was tax fraud…. no statute of limitations.

My husband and I have paid estimated taxes for years. On the same 4 days each year we write a check and fill out the IRS-provided coupon and put both the check and the coupon in the IRS-provided envelope. And we are not reimbursed. This procedure is not rocket science.

Just try to convince me that Geithner is not a tax cheat.

There is no way that this character Geithner did not cheat on his taxes. First off, I don't believe he did his own taxes. Second, if he did do his taxes, then he should have been reading the instruction booklet (ignorance of the law doesn't cut it). They are very specific on what is wages and what taxes need to be paid. Third ,he signed a paper that he was responsible for his taxes, which kind of indicates that he was self-employed. It would be interesting to know if he received a 1099 instead of a W-2. Fourth, anyone who is self-employed must pay both social security and medicare which is 15.3%. For a person who works for a company, that company pays 7.65% and the employee pays 7.65% which equals 15.3%.

Based on what I know, IMO this guy, Geithner is a tax cheat and should be hauled into court, put on trial, and if found guilty put in jail. If guilty, he would be a felon and would not be able to hold the job.  That's my take on it.

Remember folks, Freedom isn't Free. It was bought with the blood and sacrifice of the men and women who are serving and who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

For those who fought for it, Freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.