Pol Flips Bird at Rangel Birthday

Embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) can’t escape controversy even at his birthday party: As the crowd entered the celebration Wednesday night, a heckler yelled, “You know you are attending a party for a crook!” But Rangel has his loyal supporters, including former New York Mayor David Dinkins, who promptly gave the heckler the middle finger. Rangel is in limbo as he waits for his House ethics trial to begin in September, and his party came at a bad time—close to the primaries—for his fellow Democrats. Despite Republican threats to make their opponents’ attendance a campaign issue, many pols heeded Rangel’s pleas to show up at his 80th birthday party at the Plaza Hotel. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and gubernatorial nominee and attorney general Andrew Cuomo mingled as Diane Warwick sang her classic song, “That’s What Friends Are For.”