Controversial Pete Stark to Be House Ways and Means Chairman

A Pete Stark flashback from the Washington Post:

2001: At a Ways and Means subcommittee hearing on abstinence promotion, Stark referred to then-Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) as the "current Republican Conference chairman, whose children were all born out of wedlock."

1995: In a private meeting, Stark called then-Rep. Nancy L. Johnson (R-Conn.) a "whore for the insurance industries."

"He didn't call her a 'whore,' " defended Stark press secretary Caleb Marshall. "He called her a 'whore of the insurance industry.' "

1991: Stark singled out "Jewish colleagues" for blame for the Persian Gulf War, referring to then-Rep. Stephen Solarz (D-N.Y.) as "Field Marshal Solarz in the pro-Israel forces."

1990: Stark called then-Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, who is African American, "as close to being a disgrace to his race as anyone I've ever seen."

We get the feeling that Charles Rangel might be a lot less controversial than Pete Stark.