The Swine Line

Talk about a self-serving pork-barrel project.  House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) is forcing the City College of New York to name three projects after himself - the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service, the Rangel Conference Center, and The Charles Rangel Library.  Later today, porkbusting Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) will try to eliminate the $2 million earmark for these projects contained in the fiscal year 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act.  Sen. DeMint’s blog links to a CBS News story, Rangel’s press release, and a blog from Rep. John Campbell, who challenged Rangel on the floor of the House.  Rangel’s response is described in Campbell’s blog and is worth reading.  An article in The Hill called the the projects “the ultimate in vanity plates.”