One of the biggest personalities in New York politics wasn’t going to let one of the biggest names in Republican politics show up in his neighborhood without stealing a little of the limelight.
Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) crashed a hush-hush visit between Rick Perry and some Hispanic Republicans in New York, Ben Smith reports.
Perry was in town to meet with “Hispanic leaders in Inwood, including 100 business leaders from the Inwood and Washington Heights sections,” NYC AM news station 1010 WINS reported Monday.
The meeting was not supposed to make headlines.
“[I]t’s something that I kept pretty quiet, because I just wanted it to happen,” Fernando Mateo, head of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, told the station. “I don’t know how 1010 WINS got a hold of the information, but you did, and I’m not going to deny it.”
The meeting happened to be in Rangel’s district, and the brash Democrat decided to make an appearance. From Smith:
[A] few minutes before Perry’s arrival, local Rep. Charlie Rangel stepped smilingly out of his sedan to tell reporters that “the Republicans have a problem with their candidates,” but that nonetheless he planned to crash the private event at Papasito Mexican Grill and Agave Bar.
Perry has the potential to make some inroads with the Hispanic Republican community. He’s taken heat from the tea party for some of his Texas stances, including supporting a version of the DREAM act in the state. On the national level, he’s said he supports giving illegal immigrants who serve in the military a path to citizenship. Still, it seems he didn’t want anyone to make a big deal of out of his meeting with the Hispanic group in New York.
But it seems he didn’t count on Rangel, who is something of a walking big deal.
Mateo told Smith that Rangel is “a statesman and we don’t turn anyone away.” Smith reports that Rangel left after twenty minutes.
Rangel’s staff were unable to immediately provide more details on the appearance after we contacted them.
