As a rule, we don’t pay much attention when Republicans call for Democrats to resign or when Democrats ask for Republicans to resign. Politics is so full of pointless posturing that 99 percent of such statements are virtually meaningless. This time, however, we tend to agree with those who are asking that Rep. Henry Rangel (D-N.Y.) step down as leader of the immensely powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

Rangel has been under investigation since last year, initially because of allegations that he broke a rule that forbids members of Congress to accept gifts valued at more than $100. Since then, however, Rangel’s problems have widened to include allegations that he had failed to pay all the taxes he owes, because he did not report sizable chunks of income. That at least some of the allegations are accurate seems likely, given reports that Rangel has amended his own House disclosure forms to show that he under-reported his income by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Many people, confronting such obvious lapses, would feel enough embarrassment to step down as the leader of a committee that plays a huge role in creating the very tax laws that may have been broken. Many, feeling some loyalty to the party he represents, would step down to save damage to that party.

Rangel has been unwilling to do so and, equally oddly, the Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, has refused to ask Rangel to resign.

A congressman since 1971, Americans can’t help but wonder whether decades of power and privilege have simply distorted Rangel’s view of what is right. Pelosi, presumably, suffers from a similar malady. Can either of them truly be serving the American public and their constituents when confronted with the sorts of transgressions that Rangel has perhaps committed?

Although things might look different from the lofty perch of Capitol Hill, from here it seems that Rangel and Pelosi should heed calls for Rangel to step back from his chairmanship – even if only until investigators complete their work.