Catastrophe - Dick Morris [88]
one was sent to an administrator at the Starr Foundation, where Mr. Greenberg serves as the chairman. The foundation did not make a donation in 2006…. In March 2007, two months after Mr. Rangel had been elevated to Ways and Means chairman, he wrote a letter directly to Mr. Greenberg, using his Congressional stationery. By the end of the year, Mr. Greenberg had pledged $5 million, by far the largest contribution to a project that has raised $11 million to date.324
After widespread reports of Rangel’s practice of using his congressional imprimatur to solicit funds appeared in the media, Rangel initially defended the practice, declaring it legal. But he then changed his position and asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate the matter. That was in July 2008—and so far there’s been no finding by that committee.
Don’t hold your breath.
What is it about building a Monument to Me that makes our elected officials go begging to the nearest corporate donor?
Bill Clinton, for example, spent his last years in office hitting up every last rich guy and Middle East leader for contributions to his library. What’s wrong with that? Well, first, he was raising money directly from the White House while he still had the power to do major favors. And then he arrogantly did it in secret and defiantly refused to release the names. It doesn’t inspire confidence in our system, does it? When Clinton granted a last-minute pardon to the fugitive Mark Rich that circumvented the Justice Department mechanism, there was widespread suspicion that it was bought and paid for by Denise Rich’s $450,000 contribution to the library (as well as gifts of furniture and campaign contributions to Hillary).
And Charlie Rangel isn’t the only man on the Hill with his very own Monument to Me. Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) have also gotten earmarks for projects bearing their names while they still serve in the Senate. This practice is both tasteless and disgraceful.
Right now, there’s frantic fund-raising going on to build—albeit from private money—a new Edward M. Kennedy Institute of the Senate in Boston. According to the Boston Globe:
Drug companies, hospitals, and insurance firms have helped to amass $20 million to finance a nonprofit educational institute in Boston that will honor Senator Edward M. Kennedy…. The biggest donation has been $5 million from Amgen Inc., a national biotechnology drug firm based in California that depends heavily on federal healthcare policies and Medicare prescription drug reimbursements for its profits…. The Service Employees International Union gave $2.5 million, and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America pledged $1 million. The Novartis US Foundation gave $250,000, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts gave $200,000.325
QUESTION: What do all of these groups have in common?
ANSWER: They all are regulated (at least partially) by the federal government, seek money from it, and/or seek legislation in Congress.
QUESTION: Who’s the chairman of the Labor, Health and Education Committee that makes decisions on all health care–related bills?
ANSWER: The one and only Senator Kennedy.
That’s the problem.
Though Senator Kennedy himself has not been involved in the fund-raising, his son, Ted Kennedy Jr. represented him at a fund-raising dinner. Those who are making the fund-raising calls told the Globe that there were no ethical issues with the fund-raising efforts, since the senator himself had no role in overseeing it. They also indicated that they intended to reach out to the financial and entertainment industries for contributions, too.
But segregating the senator is not enough. If any of his family members and staff are attending the fund-raisers and speaking to possible donors, there’s at least the appearance of an ethical problem, isn’t there?
There should be a broad prohibition against any public official