Esquire: Defeat Rangel

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) might want to cancel any Esquire subscriptions sent to his New York apartments.

The fashionable 19-term lawmaker is one of just two New York incumbents Esquire is not endorsing for re-election. The New York-based men’s magazine faults Rangel for not paying taxes on rental income he earned and for getting four rent-stabilized New York apartments.

“Maybe it’s time for Charlie to retire and tend to his real estate holdings full-time,” it writes in a brief endorsement of Republican Edward Daniels.

It’s one of 482 races where Esquire offers an endorsement in its November issues, which includes a lengthier write-up of its call for voters to elect Barack Obama as president.
The magazine is tough on the GOP. Esquire endorses those challenging the House’s top Republican leaders as well as Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.). But it’s also not thrilled with all of the Democratic leaders.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gets the nod, but Esquire adds a one-word
critique: “Ugh.”

Esquire also offers its choices of the ten best and worst lawmakers. The best include Reps. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and the “electric” Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.).

Whittling down a list of the 10 worst lawmakers was tougher, the magainze suggests. Those getting the unwanted nod included Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Joe Baca (D-Calif.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.) and John Murtha (D-Pa.).

–Ian Swanson