Senate Conservatives Fund

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) is in some trouble. It’s a good thing he has some friends in the Senate — 61 of them to be exact.

Besides accepting real estate gifts, Rangel has been been requesting meetings with business leaders since 2005 to “discuss” the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service, a sort of presidential library for the New York Congressman. Even the Washington Post is critical of Rangel’s efforts to use his position to promote his very own “Monument to Me”:

Mr. Rangel’s actions raise a couple of red flags. First, House rules forbid solicitations on official letterhead, even for nonprofits. At a minimum, he should stop this practice. Next, Mr. Rangel says that congressional business never comes up at his meetings. We’ll take him at his word. But those with business before Mr. Rangel’s committee could try to curry favor with him by donating to the Rangel Center. The appearance problem here is huge.

Even worse, Rangel has been using congressional earmarks to steer taxpayer money to his Center.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) offered an amendment on October 18, 2007 to stop a $2 million earmark sponsored by Rangel for the Rangel Center. Like most efforts to stop wasteful and corrupt earmarks, the amendment was defeated. Here are the 61 senators who voted to protect Rangel’s “Monument to Me” earmark: