Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) lashed out at tea party Republicans on Tuesday, invoking a dark era of American history in the process.
In an interview with CNN's Ashleigh Banfield, Rangel went after a "handful" of GOP members in the House, calling their actions akin to "Confederates" fighting during Civil War times. Rangel pinned geography as a supporting point in his claim, adding that the Southern states which elected them represent another parallel.
"You can see it in the streets," Rangel said. "You can see where they're coming from, and the same way they fought as Confederates, they want to bring down the government and reform it."
“Wait a minute ... whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa,” Banfield interjected. “I’m sorry. Are you likening — and I’m only assuming that you’re referring to the tea party members, who are pretty intransigent on their views — are you likening them to Confederates?
“Well, I can tell you this," Rangel replied. "If you take a look at the states that they control, take a look at the Dixiecrats, see how they went over to the Republican Party."
“Michele Bachmann is not from Dixie,” Banfield shot back with a chuckle. “What are you talking about?”
Rangel's remarks came amid chaos among House Republicans, as a last-ditch effort to pass their own budget deal appeared in jeopardy. The Tuesday morning proposal called for funding the government through Jan. 15, raising the nation's debt ceiling through Feb. 7, delaying Obamacare's medical device tax by two years, and eliminating federal health care subsidies for members of Congress but not their staffs -- a plan that was immediately shot down by Democrats and the White House.
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