Rangel takes swipe at Clyburn

As Democrats look at the possibility of near-complete control of government, friction is beginning to show, even among traditional Democratic allies.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) took a swipe at House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) in a story published in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal.

{mosads}Rangel criticized Clyburn for advocating a go-slow approach if Democrats take the White House and boost their majorities in Congress.

“I'm thinking of his constituents, and he doesn't have the slightest clue what he's talking about,” Rangel told the Journal.

The slight is notable not just because the two men are both high-ranking Democrats — both are also among the most powerful black lawmakers in the country.

Clyburn’s office declined to comment on the quote, but an aide said Clyburn knew about the Journal quote before it was published, and chose not to respond.

Rangel’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Republicans used the opportunity to highlight an ethics investigations looking into Rangel’s Dominican Republic villa, rent-stabilized apartments in New York and fundraising for a center bearing his name.

“It’s interesting that a chairman now under investigation would mock his own whip, especially someone who voted to defend Rangel’s indefensible ethical lapses,” said Kevin Smith, spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). “But it does demonstrate a divide within the caucus that isn’t going to go away.”